Figure 1.-- We have chosen a romper suit for Tom, but is just one of several different suits he might have worn. Boys and girls both wore rompers, the only outfit that both could have worn. Romper suits were made in different style and a wide range of detailing. The brown suit here is a very utilitarian play suit. Wide brimmed hats were popular, but in the 1910s were were often turned down.

Our three brothers underneath were dressed very similarly. All three would have worn union suits, depending on the season they would have worn wither long or short sleeved and long or short leg suits. In addition to the illustrations of the boys done especially for the project, we also note some HBC pages which show children in the morning before or in the process of getting dresses. The pages offer some useful insights. We note illustrations from the Ladies Home Journal of the children still in their waist union suits seeing dad off to work. We also notice what looks like a bed-time scene. The two younger boys might have worn three-quarter socks during the summer and long stockings during the winter with the necessary stocking supporters. The older boy would have worn long stockings even during the summer. Of course many boys went barefoot during the summer, but this was affected by where they lived and social class. Some younger boys wore dresses, but this was much less common in the 20th century, especially by the 1910s. There were a variety of outfits for younger boys. Boys wore rompers, tunics, Oliver Twist suits, sailor suits and other outfits. A very popular style for boys' Tom age was the tunic suit. We also see many boys wearing a variety of button-on outfits such as Oliver Twist and sailor suits. We have chosen a romper suit for Tom, but is just one of several different suits he might have worn. School age boys like Carl wore more mature styles. Sailor suits were still popular. Younger boys wore variously styled suits, oten with straight-leg knee pabts. Knickers had become popular in the 1910s and boy's John'a age would probably had a knickers suit.

Underwear

Union suits were still the main underwear style for both girls and boys during the 1910s although separate undershirts and ankle-length drawers were an alternative. Many drawes were ankle length, but some models had legs that just covered the knees. I think the ankle-length type was more popular. But union suits were much more common than two-piece long underwear for several reasons: (1) they were cheaper (only one garment to buy); (2) there was no bunching up at the waist with more than one layer unless the boy wore a separate underwaist on top of the union suit; (3) union suits could eliminate the waist by having waist buttons and garter taps already built in (these were called waist union suits). Waist union suits were made in ages up to 13 and sometimes even 14. Regular untaped union suits were for any age boy and were essentially the same as what father wore. Garter waists and underwaists were available in sizes up to 12, but some garter waists were for boys as old as 14. All of the Marshall children woyuld have worn essentially the same style. The union suit is a close-fitting underwear garment. The term union refers to the fact that it involves the combination of both a shirt and pants (drawers) in a combined one-piece suit. The garment commonly included a drop seat with buttons for closing. The buttoning was a little different for the younger children. There was a choice of short or long sleeves and a choice of length for the pants. This was necessary because some of the popular summer fashions for the younger boys were garments like rompers, tunics or knee pants which were often worn with socks during the summer. Long-leg union suits would have been unsighly with bare legs. Another choice was whether the legs of the knee-length pants were close-fitting or loose. The wrists of all long-sleeve union suits were knitted elastically (like modern sweatshirts or sweaters).

Support Garments and Hosiery

American children wore a garment called a waist to hold up various other garments such as underpants or panties, skirts, short trousers, and long stockings. The waist (or sometimes a waist union suit) had multiple functions but, gradually, the principal function became the support of long stockings, although some of the later models still continued to provide waist buttons for other functions. We note a variety of different bodices or underwaists with more or less the same function. And they could look somewhat different from each other. For example, some models were like a sleeveless shirt with garters attached while others consisted of a belt with shoulder straps and attached garters. The terminology for waists and associated garments can be confusing and is rather flexible. We have tried to create categories but the terms are sometimes used loosely and a certain amount of overlap results. Younger children Tom's age wore underwaists (sometimes called panty-waists), probably up to the age of ten, to support additional underwear (such as bloomers or panties) or outer clothing (such as trousers or skirts). Underwaists were bodices made of stretchy knitted fabric (and therefore rather form-fitting) or bodices of cambric material and a bit looser. They nearly always were equipped with shoulder reinforcement straps, waist buttons, and garter tabs for attaching hose supporters (the popularity of underwaists declined in the later 1930s and early 1940s). Older school age children, John's age (up to 18 years) more commonly wore suspender waists to hold up stockings and other garments. So-called "suspender waists" were invented at the turn of the 20th century. The style did not last very long but was most popular during the 1910s and very early 1920s. They were called "suspender waists" because they combined trousers suspenders with hose supporters and had leather suspender attachments for holding up knee pants in addition to hose supporters for long stockings. Although some models of the suspender waist (such as the Kazoo) were manufactured in styles that could be worn also by girls, the main wearers of these waists were boys. Garter waists could simply be an underwaist with garters or a skeleton waist worn under the outer clothing with shoulder straps, a belt, and hose supporters. They were worn by boys and girls alike.

Outer Clothing

Some younger boys wore dresses, but this was much less common in the 20th century, especially by the 1910s. There were a variety of outfits for younger boys. Younger boys wore rompers, tunics, Oliver Twist suits, sailor suits and other outfits. A very popular style for boys Tom age was the tunic suit. We also see many boys wearing a variety of button-on outfits such as Oliver Twist and sailor suits. A very popular style for boys' Tom age was the tunic suit. We note Russian blouse/tunic suits for boys from 2 1/2 up to 6 years of age. We also see many boys wearing button-on outfits such as Oliver Twist suits because the button-on styling was rather like the skeleton suits worn in the early 19th century (the era in which Dickens set Oliver Twist). Button on styles were increasingly popular in the 1910s and the Oliver Twist suits are a primary example of this. Sailor suits were also made with button-on styling. Wide brimmed hats were popular, but were often turned down. Soft sailor caps were also worn, some rather like tams. We have chosen a romper suit for Tom, but is just one of several different suits he might have worn. Boys and girls both wore rompers, the only outfit that both could have worn. Romper suits were made in different style and a wide range of detailing. School age boys like Carl wore more mature styles. Sailor suits were still popular. Younger boys upto 10 years wore blouses without suit jackets with knee pants during the summer. Another favourite was the sailor suit. Yonger scjool-age boys wore variously styled suits, oten with straight-leg knee pants. Large collars were still popular for younger boys, but not as large or fancy as in the 1900s. Knickers had become popular in the 1910s and boy's John'a age would probably had a knicers suit. Both double breasted and Norfolk styles (from 8 to 16 years of age) were popular. In the United States knickerbocker pants were called just knickers. In the 1910s knickers more and more replaced knee pants for older boys. Boys began wearing knee socks in the 1910s, but long stockings were much more common, especially black long stockings. A variety of cap styles wee worn, but the flat cap was the most popular style for school-age boys.

Created: 4:50 AM 5/5/2007
Last updated: 10:01 AM 5/13/2007