Figure 1.--This unidentified Boston boy was photographed wearing a classic sailor blouse with a 'V' front collar and back flap. Notice Note the anchor decoration. By the 1880s we begin to see these nautical details on dickies used with larger 'V'-front collars. The 'V'front dioes not dominate the front, but rather a Rugby (partial front buttoning) is the dominate element. It is a early example of the 'V' frint style. Also notice that the 'V' collar seems darker than the blouse itself. And the boys' pants do not mtch the blouse. This is a CDV portrait taken at the Jas W. [name indestinct] Turner studio. The portrait is undated, but the pose and CDV format suggest the 1870s, akthough the late-60s is possible.

We note American boys wearing variously styled sailor suits in 1870s portraits. The most notable aspect of 1870s sailor suits was the wide variety of the styling. Boys sailor suits styled just like naval uniforms from this period are not all that common, but we see some. And the standard iconic "V"-front collars were not yet standard. We see some sailor suits done with regular collars or very small V-fronts. We see sailor blouses done with the "V" fronts, but many had regular collars with pointed tips like the boy on the previous page. Here we see some of the classic elements of the sailor suit emerging (figure 1). Note the 'V' front sailor collar. It was not the dominant feature, but it is an early clear example of the style. The common thread which all the diferent blouses sailor suits was the use of striped detailing. We see some sailor suits done with regular collars. Note that actual uniforms worn by sailors were not always "V"-front blouses. We see a lot of stripes, even with non-V-collar fronts. There were stripes everywhere. Sailor suits did not always have matching pants, although this was becoming more common in the 1870s. We note pants with the blouse detailing continued on the pants. And the V-collar blouses we do see have large dicky areas or in the case here actually covered (figure 1). The overall impact is the V-front collar often is not the dominant feature of the blouse. In addition there are often dtylistic addituins such as multiple bows or even double collars. rare.

Other Related Pages:
[Sailor suits] [Kilts] [Smocks] [Pinafores] [Sailor Hats] [Blouses]
[Ring Bearers] [Long hair] [Ringlet curls] [Hair bows] [Bangs] [Collars] [Bows]

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to clothing styles]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: 10:24 PM 8/7/2011
Last updated: 12:54 PM 1/8/2018