Figure 1.-- This English boy was photographed for a CDV portrait in the 1860s, probabkly the late-60s. He looks to be about 6 years old. It is a rather unusual all plaid outfit in that his jacket and vest and not only the kilt is plaid. There may even be a plaid bow. Also he has striped stockings rather than Argyles. Often Engish bys wore dark kbee socks with kilts, but striped stockings were not very common. They were, however, a common type of hosery in England during the 1870s. The studio was Clayton in Wantage.

The fashion of boys wearing Highland kilts was still relatively new in England during the 1860s. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert only introduced the idea in the 1840s. It took time for the fashion to catch on with the public. The headwear seems to have been either the Balanoral or Glengary style Scottish bonnets. The jacket was commonly a black military style, but we also see cut-away jackets, often worn with vests. The kilts were alost always plaid. The accoutrements also seem well established, especially the sporan and plaid. We see fewer boys with dirks which is understandable the princiole that boys will be boys even if boys were a bit better haved than is the case tody.. The conventions such as the hosiery to be worn seem to have been less well established. We see some images that do not conform to what we now see as basic Highland kilt conventios. The unudentified boy on the previous page has an elaborate Highland outfit. He does not have Argyle knee socks, but dark colored knee socks were fairly common in the English Highland kilt outfits we have seen. We have several 1860s images at this time, but hope to get a better idea of 1860s trends as HBC expands. In fact, we have more 1860s examples than any other decade. This may reflect how common Highland kilts were at the time.

Headwear

The headwear seems to ave been either the Balmoral or Glengary style Scottish bonnets. Mums did not always want the boys to wear their hwadwear for a portrait as we see here (figure 1). Mum apparently wanted to show off his hair styling. He is not even holding his cap or as was common is a cap placed somewhere in the portrait. The boy on the previos page is holding a black Glengary to match his black jacket. People in the 19th century commonly wore headwear, especially when dressing up. Headwear was commonly seen as a requirement when leaving home for both adults and children. So almost certainly any boy outfitted in a Highland outfit would have had a cap to go with the outfit.

Blouses

Rasrelyb do wev see much of the blouses the boys are wearing-exceot for the collar. We do not always even see the collar, but when we do it is almostb always in yhe 1860s a very small collar.

Jacket

Jacket styles varied depnding on the type of kilt outfit. Black military-styled jackets and cut-away jackets were the two most common jacket styles for Highland kilts. The jacket for many of the Highland kilt outfits seems to have been a black military style. The black jackets were styled differently. We also see also see cut-away jackets wuth Highlnd kilt outfits. This was a very popular jacket style for younger school-age boys during the 1860s. These cut-away jackets were usually very plain done in various colors which unfortunately can not be derermined with the black and white photograohy of the day. Rarely were the jacket done in plaid or any other pattern. The boy's outfit here is an exception with more plaid than we have ever seen before in these Highland outfits. There is plaid every where you look except for the hosiery (figure 1). There may even be a plaid bow. For kilt suit outfits, the cut away jacket was fairly standard.

Vests

Boys wearing cut-away jackets with their highlAnd kilt outfit often worn with vests. The vests were usually the same color and pattern as the jacket. This was even the case with the plaid outfit here (figure 1).

Kilts

The kilts were alMost always plaid. We can't tell much about the kilts. Notive how the kilt is covered up by the sporan.

Accoutrements

The accoutrements also seem well established, especially the sporan and plaid. We see fewer boys with dirks which is understandable the princiole that boys will be boys even if boys were a bit better haved than is the case today. br> >h2>Hosiery

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Created: 1:22 AM 4/7/2017
Last updated: 4:38 PM 3/20/2024