Figure 1.-- This American boy wears a tunic suit has destinctive diagonal styling. It is a suit as the knee pants match the tunic. The CDV portrait is undated, but was probably taken in the late-1860s. The portrait was taken in Frankford, Pennsylvania. Note the brss buttons. Click on the image for more information about this boy and his tunic suit.

We notice tunics with diagonal styling during the 1870s. They seem to have appeared in the mid-1860s. A good example is Tom K. Khristie in 1867. These diagonal-styled tunics seem even more 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 belt is often employed. Buttons were often used in the detailing. These were tunic suis with matching pants, commonly knee pants. Thet seem to be commonly cut rather short, giving the appearance of an un-tucked shirt. 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.

Created: 6:25 AM 9/28/2008
Last edited: 1:34 AM 11/27/2008