Figure 1.--All we know about this portrait is that it was taken in ??, Wisconsin. The portrait is undated, but we would guess was taken in the late 1880s. The boy wears a dark colored kiklt suit with a large lace collar and long black stockings. |
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The two major components of the kilt suit were of course the jacket and kilt or skirt. Other garments and accessories were also worn with kilt suits. The accessories in oparticular could be quite varied. Many boys wearing kiklt suits wore wide-brimmed hats, but HBC has not yet fully assessed the tyoes of headgear most commonly worn. Few images show boys in kiltsuits wearing their head gear, primarily because most of the available images are studio portraits and mothers usually wanted the boys' hair to show. Kilt suit jackets were made in several differebnt styles. The jackets worn with kilt suits could be quite long. Much longer, for example, than Fauntleroy jackets. The exception of course was the kilt suits in the Fauntleroy style. Many boys had fancy collars for their kilt suits. The most common collars were lace or ruffled collars of widely varying sizes and shapes. Some wwere huge affairs almost enveloping the boy while others were modest in size. The lace collar was common, but ruffled collars seem less common than with Fauntleroy suits. The boys wearing Fauntleroy kiltsuits of course tended to have the fanciest collars. A few boys had Peter Pan and Eton collars. The collars were worn both with and without bows. Generally speaking the boys shirt or blouse was covered by the jacket and vest. Thus we have little information about what kind of short or blouse was worn, although often there is a collar shown. Only when wearing a Fauntleroy kilt suit do we get a good view of the blouses that the boys wore.. Many kilt suits were worn with vests (waistcoats). The vests were commonly matching rather than contrasting. HBC has noted, however, some contrasting colored vests. Usually the jacket was buttoned, but we have noted some kiltsuits where the jacket was worn open or partially open to show off the vest.
The kilt skirts were generally of two kinds. One had a flat pannel at the front, often decorated with buttons and pleated at the back. The other was more like a standard skirt, pleated all around. The kilt or skirt worn with the kilt skirt was usually a matching color and material. There were, however, some skirts with specialized styling. Generally the standard kilt suits wore dark muted colors and fabrics. Almost all boys wearing kilt suits wore them with long, over-the-knee stockings. We have seen very few images of boys wearing socks with kiltsuits. Black was the predominate color.
Many boys wearing kilt suits wore wide-brimmed hats, but HBC has not yet fully assessed the types of headgear most commonly worn. We believe that tams were also popular. Few images show boys in kiltsuits wearing their head gear, primarily because most of the available images are studio portraits and mothers usually wanted the boys' hair to show. Many mothers, however, insisted on the boy's hat or cap be in the portrait and the headgear is often on a table or lying on the floor. The kiltsuit was a popular style for boys in the late 19th century before the turn of the century. It was still worn after the turn of the century, but not nearly as commonly. Thus there are relatively few outdoors family snapshots. Almost all of the available images or indoors studio portraits in which the boys are not wearing their hats or caps. The few where they are we notice broad-brimmed sailor hats, sailor caps, and tams. Other styles were also worn, but we have few examples.
Kilt suit jackets were made in several different styles. We have seen quite a range of different styles. The jackets worn with kilt suits could be quite long. Much longer, for example, than Fauntleroy jackets. The exception of course was the kilt suits in the Fauntleroy style. These small jackets were worn to best show off fancy Fauntleroy blouses. A good example here is Bert Dodge in the 1880s. There were both jackets worn open and others worn buttoned to the collar like the one the boy here is wearing (figure 1). The jackets worn open were often worn with vests which could be in either a matching or contrasting material. There were also jackets in lighter baterial that were bloused at the waist. Some of the jackets which buttoned to the collar also bloused that this was less common than the jackets which extended over the hips. This was especially common when the jacket was done in the sailor style. The shorter jackets could be worn interchangably with kneepants. The longer style jackets were suitable only to be worm as part of a kilt suit. We have noted both chronolgical and national differences in these jackets.
Boys wore a variety of collars with kilt suits, Yhis varied over time and from country to country. There may have been other factors such as social class. When kilt suits first appeard boys did not commonly wear large collars. Collars in the 1860s tended be very small, but likt suits were only beginning to appear. Collars were only skightly larger in the 1870s when kilt suits becan. It is only with the 1880s and Mrs.Burnettes book that we begibn to see really large collars whem Mrs. Burnett wrote her book and the Fauntleroy Craze began, This was especially the case in the United States where the Fauntleroy styles were especially popular. Many boys had fancy collars for their kilt suits. The most common collars were lace or ruffled collars of widely varying sizes and shapes. Some were huge affairs almost enveloping the boy while others were modest in size. The lace collar was common, but ruffled collars seem less common than with Fauntleroy suits. The boys wearing Fauntleroy kiltsuits of course tended to have the fanciest collars. A few boys had Peter Pan and Eton collars. It is often difficult to tell the type of collar, in part because they were often covered up with floppy bows. They collars were worn both with and without bows.
Generally speaking the boys shirt or blouse was covered by the jacket and vest. Thus we have little information about what kind of short or blouse was worn, although often there is a collar shown. These collars until the1870s tended to be rather small. Only when wearing a Fauntleroy kilt suit do we get a good view of the blouses that the boys wore.. With Fauntleroy kilt suits the the small jackets show off generally fancy blouses with large collas and wrist cuffs.
Kilt suits became increasingly popular in the 1870s and were widely worn by boys through the turn of the century. Kit suits were a compromise for the doting mother between dresses and pants. Mothers who thought their sons too young for trousers, could dress him in kilt suits foe a few tears before breeching him. Unlike true Scottish kilts, kilt suits were commonly worn with bows. The bows, however, were often not nearly as large as those worn with Fauntleroy suits. This is especially true of the kiltsuits worn in the 1870s before the Fauntleroy craze of the 1880s. Larger bows were worn with the kilt suits worn in the 1880s and 1890s.
Many kilt suits were worn with vests (waistcoats). Some jackets buttoned at the collar, but others were open and worn with a vest. The vests were commonly matching rather than contrasting. HBC has noted, however, some contrasting colored vests. Usually the jacket was buttoned, but we have noted some kiltsuits where the jacket was worn open or partially open to show off the vest. We notice a few images of boys wearing vests without the suit jacket. In rare cases the vest was made to contrast with the kilt. One example is a Philadelphia boy photographed we believe in the 1890s.
The kilt skirts were generally of two kinnds. One had a flat pannel at the front, often decorated with buttons and pleated at the back. The other was more like a standard skirt, pleated all around. The kilt or skirt worn with the kilt skirt was usually a matching color and material. There were, however, some skirts with specialized styling. Generally the standard kilt suits wore dark muted colors and fabrics. Sailor kilts varied more, including white suits. There were also Fautleroy kilts which might have both solid color and plaid klits.
Most boys wore long-dark (presumably black) stockings with kilts suits. Assessing the type of pants-like garment is difficult becaise in most images only the stockings show. It is often unclear what kind of pants-like garment they wore with these outfits. Quite a number of boys wore pantalettes with these suits. Commionly they were lace trimmed pantalettes that came just to hem of kilt-skirt. Some of the plainer pantalettes worn in the 1820s-40s seem less common by the 1860s and are not commonly seen with kilrsuits. Some boys may have worn petticoats rather than pantalettes. It is not always easy to destinguist the two in old photographs. We believe that petticoats were less common, but we can not yet substantiate this. We do not note boys commonly wearing kneepants or the bloomer knickers that were worn with tunics by the 1890s. We do note boys wearing what look to be pantalettes or even short oants, made in the same material of the kilt skirt.
Despite the fact that knee socks, often tartan knee socks, were often associated with kilts, we have never seen them used with kilt suits. Boys mostly wore long stockings with kilt suits. Almost all boys wearing kilt suits wore them with long, over-the-knee stockings. This is not always easy to tell because many boys wore the kilt/skirts very long. As best s we can tell, however, almost all boys wore kilt suits with long stockings. We have seen very few images of boys wearing socks with kilt suits. Striped stockings were popular in the 1870s, By the 1890s, solid colored, dark long stockings were most prevalent. Black was the predominate color. Some dark colored stockings might have also been worn, but we are not yet positive aboit the colors. This was especially true in America, but we also think it was the general convention in England and other countries where kilt suits were worn.
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