Figure 1.--Here we have two unidenified siblings. They look to be about 6-8 years old. The CDV here looks to have been taken in the 1860s. Both the white socks and the mount style suggest the 1860s. Note the jacket and kilt skirt do not match That suggest the early-60s because we see suits that did not march in the 1850s, but that was much less common in the 60s. Both children wear what look to be matching pantalettes, white three-quater socks, and button high-top shoes. The studio was Ben Scott in Carlisle, Cumbria. The boy's hair style is unusual elicicting some specuklation among readers. Click on the image for a discussion.

We have just begun to build a kilt suit chtonology. This is, however very difficult to do without a substantial archive. And because kilt suits were not nearly as prevalent in Britain as America we can only make prelimanary assesments at this time. The decision of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to dress the princes in kilts mean that the boys wore proper Highland kilts (1840s). There was, however, no precedence for any kilt-like garments like kilt suits. The earliest examples we have look to date from the 1840s, but it is very difficult to destinguish 1840s and 50s Dags. We note an unidentified boy, perhaps as early as the 1840s. If not the 1840s it would have been the 50s. A good example of an 1850s kilt suit is the one worn by Philip Saltmrshe about 1859. They are not dated examples, only our period estimate. We definitely note English boys wearing kilt suits (1860s). The CDV here looks to have been taken in the 1860s (figure 1). Note the jacket and kilt skirt do not match. Both children wear pantalettes. The CDVs are a little eaier to date and it suggests that they were worn earlier, but HBC does not yet have information as to the actual time line or the extent to which they were worn. We are, however, not sure about the date. Ernest on the previous page wears a kilt suit (1876). We note Stanley Clulow who looks to be wearing a sailor-styled kilt suit (1899). We have not yet found any 20th century image. But given the Clulow 1899 image, surely there were some, although we suspect not very many.

The 1840s

The decision of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to dress the princes in kilts mean that the boys wore proper Highland kilts (1840s). There was, however, no precedence for any kilt-like garments like kilt suits. But the Royal Family's populrization of the kilt as a boy's garment layed the foundation for what would become the kilt suit. The earliest examples we have look to date from the 1840s, but it is very difficult to destinguish 1840s and 50s Dags. We note an unidentified boy, perhaps as early as the 1840s. If not the 1840s it would have been the 50s.

The 1850s

A good example of an 1850s kilt suit is the one worn by Philip Saltmrshe about 1859. They are not dated examples, only our period estimate. It is very difficult to date Dag and Ambros. Phiiiip's portraitb canbe dated because we know when he was born. Thuis is a kiklt suit, but it does not have a suit look to it, meaning a boyish loking jacket combined with a kilt skirt. We have not yet found a kilt suit from the 1850s with boyish looking jacket. And ntuice this would have been taken at the end iof the decade, almost the 1860s. .The fact that we do notb have images of kilt suits in the 1950s should not be seen as an indication that they were not worn. Ohitograohy was born un France and Engkand, but it was not nearky as wide spread as in America. Thus our archive of English Dags and Ambros is very limited and as a result not a good induicator of fashion prevaence.

The 1860

We believe that English boys were wearing kilt suits (1860s). While we do not have dated examples, we have several CDV portraits that look to be taken in the 60s. And of course we a have a few Dags that were taken in the 1850s, perhaps thev 40s. So there musthave been some biys wearing kilt suits in the 60s. While some could have been taken in the early-70s, we think some were surly taken in the 60s. Without actual dated images, however, we can not be sure. The popularity of the CDV meant that the photographic record significantly expanded in the 1860s. Thus we have more condudence in using these images as an indicator of prevalence. The larger numbers provide mre valid results. The CDV here looks to have been taken in the 1860s (figure 1). Note the jacket and kilt skirt do not match. We are not sure how common thst was as we have so few eamples. Both children wear pantalettes. The CDVs are a little easier to date and it suggests that they were worn earlier, but HBC does not yet have information as to the actual time line or the extent to which they were worn. We are, however, not sure about the date. Notice that unlike America, some Engklish boys were wearing kilt suits with socks rather than long stockings.

The 1870s

The 1870s decade was pme of the most common decades for kilt suits. And the same seems tgo be the case in England. While we haved founf a number of photographic imgds ofebglish boys wearing kilt suits, we have found very few that are asctually dated. As a result, we are left having to estimste them. We believe we can do thid to a fair degree of accuracy, but it is not the sane as hzving a dated image. We see a good exmple of what looks like a kilt suit with an unidentified boy dating to about the early-70s, but could be the late-60s. Ernest on the previous page here wears a kilt suit (1876). One indated portrait wih young children shows the two younger boys, probably 3-5 years old wearing kilt suits.

The 1880s

Kilt suits were also worn in England during the 1880s. We have, however, not yet found many examples. And thus do not know much about them. We are not sure if the lack of examples reflects the fact that they were niot very common or our limited English archive. We notice them being worn with panteletts well below the hem of the kilt. This was less common in America. The one example we have found has matching jacket, vest, and kilt-skirt. This seems to be the standard convention, although with so few examples we cannot be sure. The example we have found does not have any Fauntleroy trim.

The 1890s

We see quite a few English boys wearing kilt suits in the 1890s. And kilt suits without any Highland kilt accessories. They may have been a little younger than in earlier decades, but our archive is not yet extensive enough to make any firm assessments. We note Stanley Clulow who looks to be wearing a sailor-styled kilt suit (1899). He looks to be about 3-years old. A cabinet card shows London children we think in the 1890s. The younger boy looks to be about 5-years old. He wears a Fauntleroy-styled kilt suit. The kilt suit looks just like the ones American boys wore. The only major difference is the knee socks he is wearing. American boys almost always wore long stockings.

The 1900s

We have not yet found any dated 20th century images of English boys wearing kilt suits. But given the Clulow 1899 image, surely there were some--although we suspect not very many. While we have not yet found a dated image from the 1900s decade, we think an early English snapshot showing a boy wearing a blouse kilt suit is an example. It is possible that the snapshotwas taken in the 1890s, but the early-1900s seems more likekly. The prevalence of the kilt suit was clearly declining, but we believe like in America, a few boys were still wearing them. Wev not only see fewwer boys wearing kikt suits, but increasingly younger boys.

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Created: May 1, 2002
Last updated: 2:29 AM 1/22/2024