Figure 1.--This is the tunic or top part of a fancy two-piece tunic suit which a boy would wear for sunday school or a party. It was a Summer suit of a snow white corded twill cotton. White was a particularly popular color for summer dress outfits.

This was a fancy tunic suit worn by an American boy. They were also called bloomer suits. A boy might wear it for tunic suit which a boy would wear for sunday school or a party and it might be his best outfit. It was a two piece Summer suit of a snow white corded twill cotton. White was a particularly popular color for summer dress outfits. It was a white suit and probably dates to about 1905. It was done in a basic sailor styyle with a deep front "V" and back slap. Accented with a frilly eyelet lace sailor style collar and complimenting lace and attached lace belt, a hidden side of front button closure to the blousy box pleated drop waist skirted tunic, and matching knicker-lengh pants having drawstrings at the waistband and legs. I had thought that the boys wearing bloomer-leg pants had elasticized lgs. But drawstrings may have been more common. This suit had a 30" loose fitting chest and waist, 10" from shoulder to shoulder, 19" from shoulder to hem, and an 8" inseam. A superb original boy's Summer suit that exemplifies the Edwardian era.

Terminology

This was a fancy tunic suit worn by an American boy. They were also called bloomer suits.

Convention

A boy might wear it for tunic suit which a boy would wear for sunday school or a party and it might be his best outfit. The boy may have also had tunic play suits, but this was a dressy suit for fancy occassioins.

Garments

The suit consistd of a tunic and matching knicker-length pants designed to be worn bloused out in bloomer fashion. The tunic itself is shorter than many tunics we have seen. It looks to be well aove the knees and doesnot ciover the pants--although this maybe because a boy is not modeling it and it on a dummy. The tunic looks to have half sleeves that covered the elbows, but did not extend all the way to the wrists. The wrist cuff looks to have been doubled, but we do not notice any lace trim. The tunic had a dicky in matching material with minimalI horizontal embroidery. We had thought that the boys wearing bloomer-leg pants had elasticized lgs. But drawstrings may have been more common. This suit had a 30" loose fitting chest and waist, 10" from shoulder to shoulder, 19" from shoulder to hem, and an 8" inseam.

Age

I am not sure just what age boy wore this suit, but we eventually should be able to deduce it from the size of the garment. We suspect that he was a pre-school boys, but boys of 6 or even 7 year of age may have worn a suit like this and we have seen a few portraits of slightly older boys. The 1970 Sears catalogue would have placed a 30 inch chest at a size 12 and a 30 inch waist at a size 22. The 30" waist size comes from an e-Bay seller, so I am not sure precisely how accurate it was. Obviously the chest must have been loose fitting.

Material

The material was areatively light weight corded twill cotton. The light-weight material and color show this to be a suummer suit.

Color

White was a particularly popular color for summer dress outfits. This one was a snowy white. We are not entirely sure why white was so popular. Perhaps because the association between white and puity or innosence appealed to mothers. here were also practical matters. White could be more easily cleaned with bleach while colors were more difficult to deal with. Laundry was an extemely laborious task at the turn of the 20th century. Another factor was that light-colored clothing is more comfortable to wear in the hot weather.

Chronology

It was a white suit and according to the E-Bay seller probably dates to about 1905. HBC suspects that perhaps the 1910s ws moke likely because the tunic was very short. Tunic suits at the turn of the century generally had tunics almost covering the pants. These shrter tunics were more common in the 1910s. It is a superb original boy's Summer suit that exemplifies the Edwardian era.

Gender

We believe this was a boy's garment. Girls would have been unlikely to have worn pants-like garments in the early 1900s--especially with such a short tunic. We have, however no probinance to confirm this.

Styling

The suit was done in a basic sailor style with a deep front "V" and back slap. Accented with a frilly eyelet lace sailor style collar and complimenting lace and attached lace belt. Notice that the belt had no practical purpose and was purely decorative. There was a hidden side of front button closure to the blousy box pleated drop waist skirted tunic, and matching short pants having drawstrings at the waistband and legs.