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Younger boys in 1908 might still wear dresses, although the convention was becoming less common. Older boys wore both knee pants and knickers. Buster Brown and other tunic suits were poular for younger boys. Knee pants were still common, but gradually being replaced by knickers. We se catalogs offering both knee pants and knickers in 1908. The knickers largely, but not entirely replaced knee pants for older boys. The transition for some reason was very rapid, surprising for a garment thast had been so dominant for an extended period. Knee pants coninued to be worn by some younger boys fr sone time, although knicker suits for them als became more popular. Boys and girls still commonly wore long stockings rather than kneesocks. Black long stockings were very common. Younger boys and girls of all ages might wear while long stockings.
Younger boys still wore dresses in 1908, although the convention was declining in popularity. Ladies Home Journl offered children's dress patterns for mothers. The Journal offered several dresses for "little tots", meaning both boys and girls could wear them. One dress was specifically for a boy, although the ad copy explains that a little girl could also wear it. Of course this is meant to widen the potential market for the pattern.
Kilt suits had been popular in the late-19th century and we still see them after the turn of the 20th century. As far as we can tell, the syule had disappeared for boys by 1908. At least we have not yet found an example of a kilt suit being offered. We believe the kilt suit was largely replaced by the popular tunic suits which were done in the same size range as kilt suits.
Tunic suits were popular boyswear during the 1900s and 10s. And they were very popular during 1908. They were prominently featured in mail order catalogs during those two decades in a wide range of styles, but various terms were used. Tunic suits were worn in the 19th century, but the suits worn in the early-20th century were destinctive. Tunic suits were in some ways an anonomaly. Younger boys wore a variety of skirted garment, including dresses, skirts, kilts, and tunics , but by the turn of he 20th century this had for the most part going out of fashion. Tunic suits were the only skirte garment hat persisted in the early-20th century. A variety of tunic suits were popular for younger boys in 1908. There were tunics in a varirty of styles, including sailor Russian, and Buster Brown styles. Buster Brown suits became rather the symbol for the era--perhaps because of the cartoon strip. Actully sailor tunics were probably the most common. The photographic records shows that tuic suits were widely worn. For the most part they were worn by pre-school and early-primary age boys. We do not seen mby boys wearing them older than about age 6 years, but we see some suits in the catalogs being done in sizes up to 9 years old. They seem most popular or summer wear, but some were done n heacioer favric for winterwear.
Tops of course are very imprtant for boys. More imprtant than for girls. Dresses had bodices that wer part of the dress. Grls had bluses and skirts, but in the 1900s, dresses were much more common. Boys tops included blouses, shirt waists, and shirts. Shirt waists were the tops esigned o be worn with detachable collars. At the time boys wore mostly blouses ans shirt waists. Shirts were not very common. It is difficult to tell from theE photographic record in part because boys commnly wore suit jackets covering up most of the tops so it it impossible to see any details. Mail order catalogs in contrast provide detals on the types of boys tops with the adcopy provided. .
This is a very interesting ad illustrating the variety of boys' stiff detachable collars worn with their shirts and attached by means of collar buttons at back and front. Since collars soiled more easily than the rest of the shirt, they could be removed and replaced without sending the worn shirt to the laundry. Detachable collars remained in existence into the 1930s in America and continued to be worn with evening dress shirts much longer than that. The collars advertised here look like linen but are actually made of a discardable material (like stiff paper) and can be discarded after use.
Suits were still very common for boys in the 1900s. They were not just worn for special occasions. Many boys still wore suits to school. Boys did not have the extensive wardrobes that are common today, but suits were an important part of it. Commonly boys had two suits, a new suit for best and an older one for everyday wear. Younger boys commonly did not wear the jackets during the summer. We see quite a range of suit offerings for boys in 1908. The primary garments were jackets and pants. For jackets the major choices were single and double-breasted styles. For pants the choices were knee pants knickes and long pans. Knickers had begun to replace knee pants. We are not sure why this began all of a sudden in 1908. Many suits canme with vests. Some suits had matching caps. While these were the major choices, catalogs hasd long lists of choices, with various stylistic altenatives and options like a second pair of pants and a myrid of available colors and fabrics. Knickers suits by 1909 had mostly replaced knee pants suits for older boys, although knee pants could still be found. Knee pants suits after 1908 were mostly availab;e only for younger boys. Catalogs might include long lists, most of which were not illustrated.
traigh-leg knee pants which has dominarewd boys wear for several decadeds were still common in 1908, but began to be replaced by knickers. Surprisingly, knee pants a garment widely worn since the 1860s, were very rapidly replaced with knickers. We are not entirly sure why this surpisng transition occured so quickly. We doubt if mothers were all that concened about knickers. If so, we have no idea why. We first see knickers in large numbers during 1908. Mail order catalogs offered both knee pantsand knickers in 1908. And by 1909 knickers were becoming clearly dominant. It was perhps the most trartling stylistic change in Amnericn fashion history. Knickers were standard in the 1910s. The knickers had largely, but not entirely replaced knee pants for older boys. Knee pants continued to be offered for younger boysfor some time, but knckerswere stndard for boys in the 1910s. We also see long pants being offered for boy beginning aound 11-12 years of age, but in 1908 knee pants or knickerswere more common even for yonger teens. The only exception eas in rutal areas where long pnts were somewhatmlre common. Strahely, it is about 1908 that we begin to see overalls being widely worn by rural boys. Overalls hd been in existence fr decades, we are not sure why boys were no wearing them more commonly earlier..
Boys and girls still commonly wore long stockings rather than kneesocks. Black long stockings were very common. Younger boys and girls of all ages might wear while long stockings.
The primary underwear for men and children in the late-19th and early 20th century was the union suit. We have just begun to collect information on underwear in 1908. We have found an advertisement for a Nazareth waist union suit. It's one of the earliest ads we have found for for waist union suits. HBC has generally dated the invention of waist union suits (the combination of a child's union suit with an underwaist in a single garment) to the 1910s. But the Nazareth Waist Company (founded in Nazareth, Pennsylvania) was one of the more important innovators in this style of garment, and here we have an advertisement in the Kansas City Star newspaper. Such advertisements were common at the time.
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