Figure 1.--Hee we see some of the 3rd grade children at the Davis Streey scgool in Alanta Georgia during 1896. Notice the many many blouses the boys are wearing. In cotrast the girls are all weearing dresses.

Blouses were widely worn by American boys to school in the 19th century. The gender association with girls did not exist. As a result, the definition of blouses have changed. A blouse in the 19th century was a top or shirt-like garment worn by both boys and girls. The basic difference was that blouses were shorter garments that shirts and did nit have tails. The term blouse was acquired because the garment often bloused out at the waist. Without tails it was not tucked in. In fact it was designed that way, because children wire stocking supporters which held up both pants and skirts, but also long stockings. We do not know a great deal about early-19th century tops, but with the advent of photography (1840s), we know much more about the second half of the century. We see blouses at mud century, but soon most boys are wearing suit jackets to school. And all we see are the collars which tended to be very small. The collar sizes gradually increased until the they became really large and fancy during the Fauntleroy era. We still see boys wearing blouses after the turn-of-the 20th century, but they rapidly disappeared after World War II in the 1920s, al least for boys. They continue to be a major garment for girls.

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Created: 6:18 AM 9/27/2023
Last updated: 6:18 AM 9/27/2023