Vintage Clothing: English Sailor Suit--Selfridge


Figure 1.--The Selfridges white sailor suit has traditional three white stripes on blue styling at the neck and back flap.

This English boys' sailor suit is reportedly old, but we have no idea as to when it was made. It was sold in Selfridges, a major London department store. The label probably can be used to identify the age. It is a white with blue trim long pants sailor suit. The size is 28" on the trousers. The middy blouse is 17.5" in length, arms are 15".

Chronology

This English boys' sailor suit is reportedly old, but we have no idea as to when it was made. It was sold in Selfridges, a major London department store. The label probably can be used to identify the age.

Selfridges

Selfridges is a major British department store. There are large stores in both London and Birmingham/Manchester. The store was founded by Gordon Selfridge. He pened his store on Oxford Street, London, in 1909. Selfridges was not one of the early English department stores, but it was an inovative stores at the time. Selfridge opened a store with carpets rather than linoleum floors. His idea was to genuinely welcome people into his new store. Even brousers who bought nothing were welcomed. Selfridge encouraged his customers to "make a day of it" at his store. He clearly recognized the importance of women shoppers. From the beginning there was a major emphasis placed on cosmetics and beauty products. Selfridge took pains to make them feel at home. Selfridges in 1927 Selfridge's produced a series of children's books, as far as we know the only department store ever to do so. There was Selfridge's Schoolgirl's Story Book. Presumably there was a comparable boys volume.

Materail

I do not know what material was used.


Figure 2.--The front of the middy bloyse suit has the traditional "V" cut styling.

Color

The suit is a white with blue trim.

Styling

The suit is a long pants sailor suit with very traditioinal styling.

Age

I am unsure what age boy this was for, but here the size provides a clue. The suitlooks realtively modern to me, but the E-Bay seller induicated that it was old.

Size

The size is 28" on the trousers. The middy blouse is 17.5" in length, arms are 15".


Figure 3.--The Selfridges suit has matching long white pants. Click on the ikmage to see the buttoning arrangement.

Construction

The long sailor pants have a buttoning arrangement that I do not undersand.






HBC






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Created: April 30, 2003
Last updated: April 30, 2003