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Sewing patterns in particular are difficult to date. We note a Butterick catalog with a range of outfits for younger boys, mostly ages 1-2/6-8 years of age. Unfortunately it is undated. The pattern companies usually did not date their patterns, we suppose so that they could be sold for n extended period. We believe that it probably dates to the late-1910s, but the early-20s is not possible. The offerings include tunics suits, but not very many. Whih is one reason we are guessing it dates to the late-1910s. We are are able to read the ad copy, but for the most part it does not identify the style, only calling most of the the various outfits as 'suits'. As is common with sewing companies, the ad copy focused on the amount of materiel needed. There are some suits that can are identified or we can see. We also note the use of collars, pants, and footwear.:
The age levels for these outfits are 1-2/6-8 years. This means toddler boys and the early primary years. Eight years old would mean 3rd grade. We do see toddler boys wearing outfit that look like some of these. The school photography for the 1910s do not show boys wearing any of these outfits. You can also look at individual schools.
While these outfits were to be done for boys up to 6-8 years. note that the hair styles re ll done for pre school boys. The only exception is the 7188 smock outfit, probably the outfit older boys would be the lest likely to wear.
We note the varietyof styles. There is more choice here than we see with modern boys' clothing. We are are able to read the ad copy, but it does not identify the style for most of the otfits, only calling most 'suits'. The ad copy here primarily tells the mthr how mch fabric was needed. Some are related to popular styles fm the 19th century. Oher look like styles that will be come popular in the mid-20th century.
Cut away jackets suits was a major style for boys during the second half of the 19th century. It was the classic syle used for Fauntleroy suits (1885-1905). We see this style for 6354 and 9401. Both had age levels up to 8 years.
Outfit 6049 is a strange combination of overalls and guimpe. The overalls are plain to see, the guimpe is rather surprising. The guimpe was a medieval garment. During the 19th century guimpe was a kind of short under-blouse or chemisette which girls wore under a pinafore or low cut dress to fill in the neckline There were sleeved versions to cover the arms. Combining it with overalls was unusual. We wonder how many Americans knew what a guimpe was. Perhaps home sewers were more knowledgeable about fashion terms than most.
Outfit 6049 can be seen as short cut overalls, but without the bid front. We see a style that looks rather like an early version of shortalls. We don't see boys wearing overalls to any extent until about 1908. Soon it became a boys' standard, at least in rural areas. We see that in school photography, but almost always with long pants. There were also coveralls for younger city boys.
6631 was described as a play suit. We are not entirely sure why. Perhaps it was the simplicity of the garment. Note the sailor style back flap and the back buttoning. That meant mother's help would have been needed for dressing. Identifying this as a play suit, suggests that the other outfits were suitable for dress up occasions. These may seem dressy to modern mothers, but are decidedly less formal than what we see in the late-19th century
We see American clothing companies using the term rompers for one-piece play suits for younger boys and girls. For really young children this included puff pants as were common in France, but more common were outfits like this done with straight-leg knee pants. Item 7203 is identified as rompers. .
Some of the outfits had sailor syyling, including 7101 and 7311. Actual sailor suits were still being worn by younger primary boys and we see examples in school photography. We do not, however, see the items pictured here being worn in the schools.
We don't see shortalls in the 1910s. But there are garments here that look somewhat like shortalls. This includes 6069 and 8748. And we begin to see actual shortalls (1920s). Which became a popular style for decades.
American boys did not commonly wear smocks. Smocks were common in several European countries, but fr whatever reason not in America or Britain. We see some in the photographic record, but not very many. 7188 is a smock outfit, complete with decorative smocking.
Suspeder and H-bar shorts were very popular in Europe. We do not see them very commonly in America. We do boys wearing suspenders, but not suspender shorts. Here we see a suspender shorts outfit--8903.
The most formal outfit 6354. It was a three piece outfit. This was a three-piece suit for a younger boy. In this case the third piece is the blouse with a large collar.
Tunic suits were a very popular style for boys in the 1900s-10s. Here we see only see two tunic suit offerings, 6551, 6736, and 8300. Tunic suits were mostly worn with bloomer knickers, meaning done with drawstrings. We also see some straight-leg knee pants. Note that bloomer knickers are shown as an option.
We see a range of collars worn with these outfit. Some of these are part of the suits. Others are blouses worn with the suits. We note 9401 is identified as worn with an Eton collar, but it look more like a Peter Pan collar. Boys still commonly wore blouses in the 1910s. This changed significantly in the 1920s.
All of the outfits are pictured with straight-leg knee pants. Knickers became standard in America during the19190, but many younger boys still wore knee pants. We note tunic suits often worn with bloomer knickers. An if you look 6736 you can see bloomer knickers were an option.
The illustrations all show the boys wearing socks, although the styles do not look like specifically summer styles. This would probably be reflected tin the fabric chosen. During the 1910s, long stockings were still very common and not just for winter wear.
Notice how the boys are almost all pictured wearing strap shoes. This was still common for pre-school boys in he 1910s, at least boys from affluent families which had well-dressed children. A factor here was that boys for the most part only learned to tie their shoe laces at about 5-6years of age. Again this is something you do not see at school even with the 6-year old first graders.
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