* English school uniform garments -- shirts styles detachable collars chronology





English School Shirt Collars: Detachable Collars--Chronology


Figure 1.-- Here we see an English school class we think in the 1890s, perhaps the late-90s. It looks like a state primary school. Almost all of the boys wear detchable Eton collsrs of various sizes with a variety of jackets. A cople boys wear suit jackets, but uthout the collrs. Onr boy wears a sailor suit and another a Fauntleroy blouse. The boys look to be about 10-11 years old.

The Eton collar was an English creation. Boys at Eton College began wearing it in the early-19th century before the invention of photography. Detachable collars were, however, only created at mid-century, so we are not sure about what collars were worn with Eton suits in he early-19th centuury. We have very few early English photographic images (Dagurerreotyoes and Ambrotypes), unlike America, for the 1840s and 50s. So we have very little informztion on collars during this period. We do not have many images, however, until the appearance of the CDV in the 1860s. With CDVs we have for the first time substantial numbers of images. Most are invividual portraits. The Eton style was not the onlt style of detachable collar, but it was by far the primary style worn by school boys. We do not have many class or other school groups until the 1880s. And Eton collars are quite prominant by thus time. This is not only the case in private schools, but in state schools as well. It was an ubiquitous style of schoolboy dress. The school portrait here is a good example (figure 1). The Eton collar was still standard at the turn-of-the 20th century. The Eton collar was commonly worn for years during the 1900s and 1910s. Thet began to decline in pularity during World War I (1914-18) and were notably less common, although still widely worn during the 1920s.

The 19th Century

The Eton collar was an English creation. Boys at Eton College began wearing it in the early-19th century before the invention of photography. Detachable collars were, however, only created at mid-century, so we are not sure about what collars were worn with Eton suits in he early-19th centuury. We have very few early English photographic images (Dagurerreotyoes and Ambrotypes), unlike America, for the 1840s and 50s. So we have very little informztion on collars during this period. We do not have many images, however, until the appearance of the CDV in the 1860s. With CDVs we have for the first time substantial numbers of images. Most are invividual portraits. The Eton style was not the onlt style of detachable collar, but it was by far the primary style worn by school boys. We do not have many class or other school groups until the 1880s. And Eton collars are quite prominant by thus time. This is not only the case in private schools, but in state schools as well. It was an ubiquitous style of schoolboy dress. Many schools did not require Eton collars, but they were still widely worn (figure 1).

The 20th Century

The Eton collar was still standard at the turn-of-the 20th century. The Eton collar was commonly worn for years. Tt was still standard during the 1900s. And we continue to see it widely worn in the 1910s, especually the early 1910s. The Etin collar began to decline in pularity during World War I (1914-18), although still very common. This changed dramatically in the 1920s. Eton collars were still widely worn at the the beginning of the decade, but less commonly than im the 1910s. A good example is school photigraophs from Whitgift School in 1920. This is a good example of what was going on all over England.








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Created: 8:57 AM 8/18/2014
Last updated: 8:43 PM 9/9/2017