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The kilt suit does not appear to have been commonly worn until the 1870s, but it was a mzjor boys style by the 70s. The 1870s was one of the deczsdes in which the kilt suit was most popular. We are not precisely sure when the kilt suit appeared. As we have not yet found them being commonly worn in the 1860s, although we see a few examples in the late 1860s. The kilt suit seems to have first become a major style during the 1870s. We do not yet have a detailed time line. We do not know, for example, when the kilt suit first became popular during the 1870s. Our information is not yet detailed enough to tell us just when during the 1870s that they became popular. Nor do we know who introduced the style to the United States. Presumably it was the result of fasion magazines, although travelers may have been a factor. Of course it was the British Rooal family that created the interest in the kilt. Princes Victoria as a girl became fascinated by the poems and stories genrated by the Scottish revivl and romance of the Highlands. But kilt suits are another matter. We suspect that it was some time in the early 1870s as we do note quite a number of boys wearing them during the decade. A good example is Charles Corwing from Minnesota. A muted plaid material was commonly chosen for the suit. The fact that we find them from many relatively small towns and rural areas suggests that the kilt suit appeared fairly early in the decade and had time to spread around the country. The styling of the jackets vsried. They seem to have been primarily lapel sack suit jackets with skirt-kilts. We also see some boys wearing cut-away jackets. And their are also collar-buttoning jackets. This had been a popular suit jacket style for boys in the 1860s. These jackets were done in the same material as the kilt-skirt. We do not note many of the cut-away jackets being worn with kilt suits during the decade. The cut-away jacket with pants was a very popular outfit for boys in the 1860s. We also see blouse kilt suits. We note them being worn with both striped and dark long stockings. Period fashion magazines provide a great deal of useful information about fashion trends and conventions. The fashion writers in Harper's Bazaar provided some advice to mothers about boys' dresses and kilts--"Small boy's clothes" (1877). Yhis swas not hust a style in fashionanle northeastern cities. We see the styles being worn throughout the country. We notice a Minnesota boy wearing a kilt suit withn a fancy jacket in 1879.
Kilts were not just a Scottish garment. We see kilts being worn in England, America, and other countries, mostly British Empire countries. We see them in other countries, but almost always among upper-class families in which children were very fashionanly dressed. The kilt of course was assiociated with Scotlands. Thus the first kilt suits were done wuth tartyan gbric or tratan touches. Some of the kilt suits we have noted were done with fabric that used tartan fabric, or tartan looking, but most were done with either very muted tartan patterns or no tartan fabric whatsoever. At the time, few Americans actually knew what a kilt was And most who had heard of Scottish kilts were unaware that ther therr were differences between kilts and skirts. As a result, what we see being worn as part of kilt suits are often more skirts than real kilts. Few mothers were bothered with the diiference even if thety were awae of it. And over time as the style became moew estabnlished we see latge numbers of kilt suit outfits with no tartan fabric at all.
The best know Scottish kilt outfit is the Highland kilt outfit. We see some examples in America, England , Canada, and other countries, but not very many. And some of this was fancy dress. For other occaasions there was fancy dress for younger boys. There was onetype of kilt outfit that was very common in America -- the kilt suit this became a major style for American boys during much of the second half of the 19th century.
There are countless examples in the photographic record. We see a few examples in the 1850s and more in 60s. But by the 1870s, the kilt suit had become a major style for boys. The kilt suit seems to have first become a major style during the 1870s. We do not yet have a detailed time line. WEe have found contless examples in the photograpic record, but remember that the photographic record was heavily slabted toward the affluent classes who could best afford studio portaits. Unfortunately many available images are undated and we have had to estimate the dates. We have found a few images that can be dated, but so far mostly in the late-70s. We do not know, for example, when the kilt suit first became popular during the 1870s. Our information is not yet detailed enough to tell us just when during the 1870s that they became popular. Nor do we know who introduced the style to the United States. We suspect that it was some time in the early 1870s as we do note quite a number of boys wearing them during the decade. A good example is Charles Corwing from Minnesota. Period fashion magazines provide a great deal of useful information about fashion trends and conventions. The fashion writers in Harper's Bazaar provided some advice to mothers about boys' dresses and kilts--"Small boy's clothes" (1877). We have a portrait of an Ohio boy taken about this time. We notice a Minnesota boy wearing a kilt suit withn a fancy jacket in 1879.
There were social class connotations associated with the kilt suit. It was a style popular among middle- and upper-class boys who could affiord to dress theuir children fashionably. The kilt suit was much less common for working-class familess. We see many examples in the photograophic record because the parents who coud affiord to dress their children fasionably are the same that could afford a studio portrait. And more often. This means that while invaluable the photographic record is biased toward the affuent classes. And in the fewer working class images we rarely if ever see boys wearing kilt suits. We shold mention that after the Civil War (1861-65), the American industrual economy really took off creating afflences on an unprecdented scale. No economy had ever grown so rapidly (until the Asian Tigers abd China in the late-20th century). This shows graphically the unprecedented wealth generatring capabilities of capitalism. This meant that not only was Amerrica creating industrial moguls, but the most prosperous working claas in human history which is why Europeans begsn flooding intonAmruca by tyhe rens of millions. And most motably, the prosperous working-class dresses similarly to the middle class.
By the 1870s we begin to see fewer boys wearing dresses. But that does not mean fewer boys were wearing skirted garments becuse many boys who earlier might have worn dresses werre now wearing kilt suits. And beyondd the todler age, mosr of tyhe noys wearing skirted garments in he 1870s were wearing kilt suits.
The styling seems to have been primarily lapel sack suit jackers with skirt-kilts. The jackets were especially designed for kilt suits. This often mean that the jacket was cut off in the fronr amd did not fall as low as a stanfard jacket. This mean that the kilt skirt was better displayed. We do see some boys wearing cut-away jackets. And their are also collar-buttoning jackets (figure 1). Collar buttoning jackets were still popular in the 1870s, but not as common for kilt suits as the other options. This had been a popular suit jacket style for boys in the 1860s. These jackets were done in the same material as the kilt-skirt. We do not note many of the cut-away jackets being worn with kilt suits during the decade. The cut-away jacket with pants was a very popular outfit for boys in the 1860s. There was a major change in suits during the 1860s. The popular trend was for suits to have matching jackets and pants. This was not the case in the 1850s. This trend for matching suits continued in the 1860s. And it caried over to kilt suits where the trend was for the jacket to match the kilt skirt. In addition to using the same material, the jackets and kilt skirts were coordinated through matching detailing like embroidery or even frogging.
We have not yet aerchived many examples of 1870s kilt suits showing boys with headwear. We are not sure what to call the caphere (figure 1). It is not one of the Scottish caps (bonnets) or sailor styles, two of the most popular headwear styles worn with kilt suits. Could it be an American attempt at a Balmoral? We note kilt suits being worn with both striped and dark long stockings. This was a major difference with Highland kilts which were almost always worn with knee socks. Highland kilts for reasons we do not fully understand were not nearly as popular as kilt suits. The color pattern of the long stockings can help date undated images. We see white and striped long stockings in the 1870s. Black long stockings were not as common in the 1870s as they would become in subsequent decades.
We see a range of fabrics being chosen for kilt suits. Plaid was just one such fabric. We see many plaid suits, but plaid was not as not as common as we had assumed it would be. In fact we see many kilt suits during the 70s that had no pattern at all. A see both bold and muted plaids. This of course was because of the connction between kilts and plaid. Our inintial assessment is that muted muted plaid material becgan to become popular for kilt suits as the decade progressed. We cannot yet substantiate this as so few portaits wer have found are darted. The outfits were not always done in plaid, but it is the pattern we see most commonly, Not all kilt suits were done with plaid fabric as we see here (figure 1). It was the most common pattern, but hardly universal. Often the only kilt element in the skirts worn with kilt suits was the plaid fabric. And unlike the Highland kilt which only used plaid for the kilt. For kilt suits plaid mighty be used for both the jacket and kilt skirt. nd we see some very bright plaids.
Few American mothers had any idea what a kilt was when the idea of a kilt suit began to gell in the mid-19th century. They knew it was a kirted garment and some got the idea that it shold be plaid. But beyond that we do not see many kilt features in early kilt suits. A good example is the matching outfits that the Luce brothers were wearing, we think about 1870. These garments might more accurately be called skirt suits, but at the time would have been still called kilt suits. We see note kilt fearures appearing as the kilt suit became an inceasingly etablished fashion for younger boys.
The fact that we find them from many relatively small towns and rural areas suggests that the kilt suit appeared fairly early in the decade and had time to spread around the country. While mot portraits were undated, the popular CDV and cabinet card formats usually indicated the name of the studio and location, so we have a good idea of how widely adopted the various styles of the day, like kilts suits, were adopted.
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