Figure 1.--This CDV shows a younger boy wearing what looks like a heavily embroidered velvet tunic suit. We think the boy has white pantalettes rather than matching knee pants. It is a bit difficult to make out the garments. The studio was J. Perkin in Bath. It is undated, but looks like the 1870s to us. The diagonal detailing was popular in the 70s.

We have noted various types of trousers worn by English boys with tunics and this varied over time. The photographic record shows boys wearing pantalettes, long pants, bloomer knickers, and knee pants being worn with tunics. Unfortunately the photographic record is incomplete. Like other Europeans countrues, the number of Daguerreotypes and other early formats are very limited (1840s-50s). We do not see any number of images until the 1960s. Thus our ability to assess trends such as the type of trousers is very limited during the early- and mid-19th century. We are just beginning to develop information on the reltive populatity of these types. The popularity of these different types of trousers has varied over time, although we are just beginning to develop chronologicl informtion. We note mostly pantalettes and long trousers being worn in the early and mid-19th century. Younger boys wore the pantalettes. We also believe that social class was a factor. It is a little difficult to ork this out as our English archive is still limited. Bloomer knickers seem common at the turn of the 20th century. We also notice English boys wearing open leg shorts. A good example is an English boy in 1916. This was near the end of the popularity of tunics in Englamd. They are much less common in the 1920s.

Image Problem

There are a few paintings available showing boys wearingb tunics, but the number is limited. Photography provides many more images and because of cost factors, a wider spectrum of the population. Unfortunately the photographic record is incomplete. Like other Europeans countrues, the number of Daguerreotypes and other early formats are very limited (1840s-50s). We do not see any number of images until the 1960s. Thus our ability to assess trends such as the type of trousers is very limited during the early- and mid-19th century.

Chronology

We have noted various types of trousers worn by English boys with tunics and this varied over time. The popularity of these different types of trousers has varied over time, although we are just beginning to develop chronologiacl informtion. We note mostly pantalettes and long trousers being worn in the early and mid-19th century. We see boys wearing tunics with shortenened-length pants beginning at mid-century. The boy here wears what looks like bloomer knickers or pantalettes (it is a bit difficult to tell) in the 1870s (figure 1). Bloomer knickers seem common at the turn of the 20th century. We also notice English boys wearing open leg shorts. A good example is an English boy in 1916. This was near the end of the popularity of tunics in England. They are much less common after World War I in the 1920s.

Suit

We are not entirely sure how tunics were sold. Some were clealy sold as suits because the color and material of the tunic and pants matched as well as detailing. Mant tunics suits were very plain, but some had detailing which was repeated on yhe pants. But this was not always the case. Even if the pants did not match the tunic, it does not mean that they were not sold together. We do not see marthing jackets and pants being commonly worn together with suits until the 1860s. The same may be the case for tunics. But it meant that any pants could be worn with tunics. And of course with pantalettes,. We see white pantlettes being worn with tunics, but were probbly sold separately and not as a suit.

Specific Types

English boys wore tunics with various kinds of pants. It is not always clear what boys were wearing with their tunics, but tunics were such a common garment there are lots of examples showing the various kinds of pants worn with tunics. This depended somewhat on the length if the tunic. Some tunics were worn well below the knees. The photographic record shows boys wearing pantalettes, long pants, bloomer knickers, and knee pants being worn with tunics. We are just beginning to develop information on the relative populatity and time line of these different types of pants. Very little infirmation is available before the invention of photography and then only in the 1860s when large numbers of images become available. Younger boys wore the tunics with pantalettes. We see mostly white pantalettes. They were both plain and fancy pantalettes. A good example is the boy in a painting of an idealized Victorian family by Rebecca Solomon showing him wearing a maroon velvet tunic with lacy pantalettes in the early-1850s. We begin to see bloomer knickers after mid-century. we also see straight-leg knee pants made out of the same material as the tunic rather than the lighter pantalette fabric. Our English archive is more limited than our American archive. Thus we are just beginnung to address this topic.

Other Factors

We also believe that social class was a factor in both the selection of tunics and the type of pants worn.. It is a little difficult to work this out yet as our English archive is still limited.

Created: 2:26 AM 7/14/2011
Last updated: 9:49 PM 10/29/2020