Figure 1.--The Rowe ad copy read, "Black velveteen, with waistcoat." It was done in sizes 5-7 years. This was a velveteen short pants suit with a vest or waistcoat. Velveteen was an inexpebsie form of velvet, done with cotton or cotton blends rather than pure silk. It had a rather long jacket. Unlike a cut-away jacket, it buttoned midway rather than the top. The illustration here shows a Peter Pan collar which looks like it may be part of the waistcoat. We have not seen waistcoats done like this before.

Rowe of Bond Street offered a wide variety of party suits for younger boys up to age 7 years. There were many fancy suits, including both jacket suits and blouse short sets. Here are the outfits offered, some of which have accomanied illustrations. In addition to the many different juvenile offerings, Rowe advises their clients, " Page and Fancy Dress Suits and Period Costumes made to order in all styles and periods. Such garments would have been used to dress up children for society weadings. Notice that there are no sailor suits among the fancy outfits listed and depicted here. The ad copy provides not only useful information about syling, but a lot of helpfulminformation about the fabrics used. The prices indicated are very expensive and this is reflected in the high quality fabrics and finishings, including the use of silk and velvet. We note a lot of 'Buster' out fits and even a kilted outfit, a style going out if fashion for boys when not done in the Highland fashion. Especially notable is the use of Peter Pan rather than Eton collars. This was part of the juvenile styling.

RJ 232: Crepe-de-chine "Buster"

The Rowe ad copy read, " Crepe-de-chine "Buster" whire crepe collar, front, cuffs, frills. In colours." The available colors are not explained, nor is it clear just what is colored, the whole blouse or part of it and the shorts. Crepe de Chine or Crêpe De Chine (French for 'crepe of China') refrs to the fabric. The Anglicized versions is crape. It is a light, fine plainwoven dressy silk fabric, but ther mateials can be used including, wool, or synthetic fiber. It is a very distinctively fabric, crisp with a crimped appearance. The crimpled texture is its most destinctive feature. This is how crepe paper got his name. It is woven with either an all-silk warp and weft or else with a silk warp and hard-spun worsted weft. We think Rowe is using the term Buster to mean a suit outfit consising of a blouse and shorts, but worn without a jacket. This is different than the American Buster Brown uit--an iconic tunic suit outfit. The Rowe garment here is a button-on outfit. It is offered in sizes 2-5 years.

RJ 233: Black velveteen

The Rowe ad copy read, "Black Velveteen, with waistcoat." These were done in sizes 5-7 years. Velveteen in an inepensive form of velvet made with cotton rather than silk or a silk-cotton blend. It is similar to corduroy, but wthout the cord affect. Note the cut-away jacket is cut much longer than we commonly see and there is a light-colored waistcoat. The illustration shows a Peter Pan collar. That presumably was part of a blouse which was purchased separately. It could have been a detachabe collar, but we think that they were more commonly Eton than Peter Pan collrs.

RJ 234: Velvet and Crepe-de-chine "Buster"

The Rowe ad copy read, "Velvet and crepe-de-chine "Buster"; knickers black, brown, blue, buff. Top white crepe, also colours toning with knickers." It was dine in sizes 2-4 years. Velvet of course is an expensive fabric if done in silk. Knickers here is not used in the American sense or the modern British since (girl's underpants) but meaning at the time short pants or as the British would say short trousers as can be sen by the illustration. Curiously Rowe is not consistent. In some of the ad copy they refr to shorts. As far as we can tell the terms are used interchangeably. We know that because this outfit is one ofvthecones illustrated and the boy is clearly wearingbshort pants and knickerbockers.

RJ 235: Crepe-de-chine

The Rowe ad copy read, " Crepe-de-chine, white, bound pink, blue, mauve; also plain colours bound grey." It was done in sizes 2-4 years. We have no idea what "bound pink" and "bound grey" means. The ad copy does not specify this, but we think this was a blouse-shorts combination. There was a separate page for just blouses and tops.

RJ 236: Washing silk

The Rowe ad copy read, "Washing silk, smocked sky, pink, yellow, ran, mauve." It was done in sizes 2-4 years. Washing silk mean an inexpensive grade of silkk that could be washed. We believe that smocked meant that the embroidery technique called smocking was used. This meant that the fabric in the blouse was gathered. This was originally done so that it can stretch. Before elastic was available, smocking was commonly used in cuffs, bodices, and necklines in garments where buttons were not used. By the 20th century it was more a decorative device. In children's clothes it was used in the bdice of desses, smocks and rompers and in blouses. Sky refered to a color--light blue. Notice that ink was a color used in boy's clothes.

RJ 237: Washing silk: "Buster"

The Rowe ad copy read, "Washing silk, "Buster" smocked top, Sky. yellow, saxe, tan." It was done in sizes 2-4 years. Washing silk is an inexpensive grade that cold be washed. Smocked top meant that the blouse had decorative gathered fabric known as smocking. Sky is a light-blue. Saxe is a light blue colour with a greyish tinge. We note in being used in Britain.

RJ 238: Black velveteen

The Rowe ad copy read, "Black velveteen, with waistcoat." It was done in sizes 5-7 years. This was a velveteen short pants suit with a vest or waistcoat (figure 1). Velveteen was an inexpensive form of velvet, done with cotton or cotton blends rather than pure silk. Given the price, we are not sure why Rowe is not using true velvet. It had a rather long jacket. We have not seen jackets like this in the photographic record. We suspect that not very many were actually sold, although our English archive is not nearly as large as our American archive. Unlike the cut-away jackets so commonly used for Fauntleroy suits, this jacket buttoned midway rather than at the top. Note that the boy is wearing a plain wistcoat rather than a fancy blouse explaining the difference. The illustration shows a Peter Pan collar which looks like it may be part of the waistcoat. We have not seen waistcoats done like this before. The Peter Pan collar is being used to emphasize the juvenile look. Detachable Eton collars wre still being wirn by boys at school, although this fashion was declining.

RJ 239: Black velvet

The Rowe ad copy read, "Black Velvet, kilted, Georgette collar, cuffs, front." It was done in sizes 2-4 years. This is the only skirted outfit offered with the party suits here, showing how the fashion of dressing smll boys in dresses and other skirtd outfits had decclined. We were not entirely sure what was meant by 'Georgette collar. We at first thought it meant the shape of the collar. The one pictured here is a large white, rounded collar. This was a residual Fauntleroy feature, but not relted to the name. Apparently the reference is to the fabric used. Georgette is a crêpe fabric--Crepe-de-chine dscribe above. The usage here comes from crêpe Georgette, is a sheer, lightweight, dull-finished crêpe fabric named for the the early 20th century French dressmaker Georgette de la Plante. It was originally a silk fabric and the one pictured here was surely silk crêpe Georgette with a crinkly surface. As we see on this page, the favric was used for blouses and youngr boy's pants. It as also used for girls' and women's dresses aswell as trimmings like the collar with this kilted suit. crêpe Georgette is springier and less lustrous than the closely related chiffon which was not used for boys' clothes.

RJ 240: Moire silk "Buster"

The Rowe ad copy read, "Moire silk 'Buster,' crepe-de-chine, front, collar, cuffs, edged frills. Blue, flame, green, tan, buff, cherry, white." This was done in more colors than the other outfits. It was done in sizes 2-5 years. A moire or moiré is a fabric with a wavy, often described as a watery appearance. It was inintilly associated with silk fabrics, but has been dome in other material, including wool, cotton and rayon. The wavy, watery appearance is created by a finishing technique known as calendering. Moire effects can also be achieved by certain weaves achieved by adjustinhg the tension in the warp and weft of the weave. Some weavers run the fabric through engraved copper rollers. Moire silk run through this process is sometimes referred to as watered silk. Buster refers to an outfit foir younger boys including a blouse and short pants, but no jacket. Crepe-de-chine is describes above and is used for the trim.

Sources

Reynolds, Jonathan. "FOOD; Nut Cracking," New York Times (December 22, 2002).

Rowe, W.A. The Rowe Journal: Rowe of Bond Street - Clothes for Young Men, Young Ladies, School Boys, School Girls and Children of Kindergarten Age (1925). Unfortunately we have not yet been able to find a copy. But the pages a readervhave provided us here may come from this book.

"Rowe of Bond street," The Pittsburgh Press (September 17, 1928), p.11. Note the date, just before Black Thurday and the Wall Stree crash leading to the Great Depression. This presumably would have forced the company to cut back on American markting.

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Last updated: 4:17 PM 10/21/2014