Figure 1.--HBC relies heavily on period photography as a primary source of information. Here it is often difficult to assess the fanric/material of a garment from just a photograph. We use other sources, but photography is very important. One fabric that can often be identified from a photograph is velvet. This unidentified boy was photographed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The photographer was F. Bishop, Jr. The portrait is undated, but we woulf huess was taken in the 1880s. Knee pants tended to be longer in the 1870s.

Boys clothing has been made in a wide variety of fabrics. Aristocratic boys once wore fabrics such as brocades that we would today consider totaly unsuitavle for boys. Some such as denim have been used for play and casual clothes. Others such a velvet have been made for elegant party suits. Other fabrics such as flannel, serge, cheviot, corderoy and many others have been used for a wide variety of different garments. Quite a variety of other fabrics, sometimes quite expensice such as cashmere, camelhair, and satin have been used for expensive boyswear. Some fabrics were once quite popular, such as chambray, cheviot, duck, and serge were once very commonly used for boys clothing, but now rarely seen. In recent years clothing has moved from formal styles to more utilitarian clothing and thus the hard wearing durable fabrics like denim and corderoy have become increasingly important. One particularly luxurious fabrics sometimes used for outfits to be worn by younger boys is velvet. Many fabrics have interesting modern historical stories denim and chino. Other fabrics date back many centuries if not milenia. Cashmere, camelgair, and silk were staples of the freat caravan trade. Several important synthetic fibers were developed in the 20th century. Some of the most important fabrics used in boys clothing has included the following.

Natural Fibers

Some materials for clothing such as animal skins and fur predate history. Many important natural fibers are as old as civilization itself.

Fabrics A-L

Fabrics M-Z

Synthetic Fibers

Several different synthetic fibers have been produced in the 20th century. These fibers have been produced from petrochemicals and regenerative ptoteins. The first was nylonwhich appeared in the 1910s. The most important has been. The most important for clothing has been polyester which appeared in the 1950s.

Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web chronological pages:
[The 1840s] [The 1900s] [The 1930s] [The 1940s] [The 1950s] [The 1960s]
[The 1970s] [The 1980s] [The 1990s] [The 2000s]

Created: March 16, 2000
Last updated: 4:26 AM 5/24/2010