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The tunic was a very basic garment. Except for the sleeves, it could not be more simple. Even so, we note tunics done in a wide range of differet styles. Much of the styling is commonly associate with the neck area. There were decoration and detailing in other aeas such as the sleeves, but the basic sgyling is largely determined by the collartreatment. This has varied over the wide chronological period in which tunics were worn. We know a great deal about the stylkes worn after the apperance of the CDV, about1860, but much less about the tunicvs worn earlier in the 19h century. we notice everal prominent styles, including Buster Brown, Fauntleroy, Russian blouses, sailor, vestee, and other styles. This is a little difficult to assess because in period catalogs the style of the tunic is often not indicated. A problem here is that the detailing and decoration can visually vewealm the basic style. While we Some of the styles are simple to identify, especially sailor and Fantlery tunics. Other styles are more complicated to identify. know a good deal about the styles worn in the late-19th and early-20th cntury, we know much less about the tunics worn earlier. As far as we can tell, there is little or not mention of styles in the tunics worn in the early-19th century. And catalogs were not common. We do notice what look like what might be called shirt tunics in Dags.
The Buster Brown suits appear to have been destinctively American.
We notice tunics with diagonal styling during the 1870s. They seem to have appeared in the late-1860s, but are quite common in the 70s. They were many different styles of these tunics, but the main theme is a basic diagonal cut across the front of the tunic. There seems o be a military influence. A styalized waist beklt is often employed. Buttons were often used in the detailing. These were tunic suis with matching pants, commonly knee pants. These tunics seem quite common and they are commonly represented in the photographic record. One thing we are not sure about is as a result of th black-and-white photography of the day is the color of these tunics. We also note this basic diagonal styling in Europe. We assume it was in fact a European import. American parents still commonly got basic fashion clues from Europe.
We note some sailor tunics thar mixed sailor styling with double-breasted styling. We have noted a few exmples. It was a dressy style, not done for play tunics. One examole is Louis Mortimer in 1908. We think it was more of a winter than a summer style.
There were no specific Fauntleroy tunic suits. One reason for this is at the height of the Fauntletoy Craze, the tunic had largely gone out of style. Then in the last few years, at the turn-of-the- 20th century, tunics suddenly became a major fashion item for younger boys. We are not yet sure just why this happened, but it is clear from the photographic record and period catalogs that suddenly boys began wearing tunic suits. And in the spirit of the day, some mothers began adding Fauntleroy trim to them. A good examople is the tunic suit worn by Ivan Eugene Perry in 1906-07. We see relatively few of these Fauntleroy tunics because just as the tunic became a major fashion item, the Fauntleroy Craze was ending.
The Russian blouse tunic was another popular style. It seems to have appeared anout the turn-of-the 20th century. We are not sure why this style all of a sudden became popular. This seems to have been style more popular in Europe, but we see quite a few in America as well. A good example is Wisconsin boy,m 5-year old Dayton Sizer Jr.. Mother has added a diagonal ellement with flower embroidery. Another example is Illinois boy, 5-year old Hewlett Lindsley in 1910.
The sailor style was the most popular style of tunic in the United States. Some tunics like the one
seen here does not seem to fit into any specific style, but is in fact a fancy sailor tunic. Sailor collars had the prominent "V" front and back flap and were very popular. Many had other features of sailor styling. Other sailor tunics only had the basic "V" feature. There were substantial variations in the styling of the sailor tunics. Some were done with traditional styling or some resemlance to it. We also note sailor tunics done with elaborate lace and ruffle trim. These tunics were of course dressy garments reserved for special occassions. They wee often made in larger sizes than the other tunic styles. Russian blouse tunic did no have collars. Buster Brown tunics had a wide white collar. Many tunics had prominent belts. They were oramental without any real purpose.
We do notice what look like what might be called shirt tunics in Dags. This means they were worn in the 1849s and 50s. We are not sure about the 1830s, but rarely see them in the 60s. They were often done in bright patterns like plaids. They were cut like shirts, buttoning up the front, but almost always worn with belts.
We note some boys with tunic suits that look somewhat like vests (waistciats in Brit English). They had V-fronts, but without sailor styling or suit jacket lapels. We will call them vestee suits for want of a better term. We have no idea what they were called at the time. The younger brother here wears a vestee tunic (figure 1). A good example is an unidentified boy, we think in the 1910s. They were worn with dickies like sailor styled tunics.
We see some tunics That are a little difficult to assess, primarily because of the way that the boy is posed, so that we can not clearly see the tunic. Sometimes is is the quality of the images. Other times the now or neckwear cover up the tunics. More commonly, however, it is that we do not get a good look at the tunic. We archive the iamges here, hoping that readers may have some insights.
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