Figure 1.--This unidentified American boy wears a button-on outfit. There is no collar, but a small bow. For some reason it was considered stylish to cover up the buttons with a matching fabric waist belt. Notice the full sleeves and cuffs as well as the bloomer knickers and white stockings. This CDV is undated, but looks like it was taken in the 1860s. The boy looks to be about 8-years old. The studio was George M. Rice in Worcester, Massachusetts. Click on the image for a fuller discussion.

Button-on outfits have varied in popularity over time. We are not entirely about the chronology of these buttn-on suits, but have begun to develop some basic information.. We supose that the skeleton suits popular in the late-18th and early 19th century might be classified as button-on suits. We see boys wearing a variety of fancy suits in the mid-19th century. We are unsure about the 50s at this time. They do not seem to be noticeable in the Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes we have archived on our 1850s individuals page. We have a fairly good collection from the 1850s and we do not see these suits being worn very commonly. We see them in large numbers during the 1860s. This is in part because with the advent of the CDV, very large numbers of portraits were taken. Most ofthese portaits are undated, but look like the 1860s. The early CDVs from the 60s are quite destinctive. We also notice some if these suits being wirn in the 1870s, especially the early 1870s. Button-on styles seem to decline in popularity at this time. We see boys wearing blouses with draw string waistlines.

Created: 4:14 AM 7/21/2009
Last updated: 2:50 AM 12/20/2010