Figure 1.-- Here we see a father and son feeding the chickers they are raising. The boy wears a dark sailor cap, white sailor suit, and black long stockings. The snap shot was taken in 1909. They lived in Jubilee, but we can't make out the state.

American boys continued to wear sailor suits during the Edwardian period, following the turn of the century. The sailor suit was probably the most popular style for boys in the 1900s and only slightly less so in the 1910s. Younger boys might wear sailor styled tunics while older boys wore sailor blouses with matching pants. Gradually knee pants began to be replaced with knickers and to a lesser extent short pants. The white or light-colored sailor suits became increasingly popular after the turn of the century. Sailor suits were still commonly worn by boys in the early 1920s. Kneepants were still common, but by the mid-1920s were rarely seen. Boys pants styles shifted to knickers. Some boys still wore their sailor suits with long stockings in 1920, but by the middle of the decade boys were mostly wearing kneesocks. As sailor suits began to be worn increasinly by smaller boys in the 1930s, the came to be worn primarily with short pants rather than knickers. As a result, blue wool suits became less commonly worn and white sailor suits became much more common. Sailor suits were less commonly worn to school, except by the youngest boys. American boys after World War II no longer commnly wore sailor suits, but the style has never completely disappeared. Girls still wore a range of sailor dresses. Girls might wear sailor dresses to school. They were normally not a dressy style. And we see some boys wearing sailor suits. There were some play suits for little boys with sailor collars during the 1940s, but these became increasingy rare by the 1950s. Some dressy sailor suits outfits for younger boys were also worn. We do not see them at school or even very commonlky for church. We have so few images that we are not entirely sure just when they were worn and for what occassions.

The 1900s

American boys commonly wore sailor suits in both the 1900s and 1910s, although I think that they were somewhat more common in the 1900s. We mostly see pre-teen boys wearing sailor suits. We see some younger teens wearing sailor suits in the 1890s, but that was less common in the 1900s. There were many different styles in the 1900s as there had been in the 1890s. There were a range of variations on the basic V-front blouse. We see traditionally styled suits that is styles based on the actual uniforms worn by American sailors. There were, however, many suits in the 1900s that did not have traditionally styled blouses. That means blouses that were not done with the classic three-style detailing. Boys tended to wear knee pants sailor suits in the 1900s, but they were also made with long pants. We also see knicker suits by the end of the decade. We are not yet sure how pants type varried during the two decades, but knee pants were most popular in the 1900s. We continue to see American boys wearing sailor suits with long stockings. There seems to be social class aspect to the sailor suit. They were popular with the well-to-do and middle class, less so with the working class. We see that very strikingly in photographs of the boys working in factories and peddeling. We are not sure why that was, perhaps it was just a matter that working-class boys could only afford one suit so it had to be the standard style. The Navy was much in the news during this period. The Navy played a major role in the Spanish American War (1898-99) and Theodore Roosevelt when he became president (1901) he gave considerable emphasis to the Great White Fleet, sending it on international tours.

Figure 2.-- Here we see a little boy wearing rompers and his older brother wear ing a sailor suit. White was a common summer color in the early-20th century. Modern laundry detergents and washing machines were just appearing.

The 1910s

Sailor styles were popular in America during the 1910s, but they seem less popular in America than many European countries, especially France and Germany. Sailor styles were popular in America during the 1910s, but they seem less popular in America than many European countries, especially France and Germany. We see fewer boy and younger boys wearing sailior suits in America, mostly biys under 10 yeras of age--especially by the end iof the decade. We see, however, many girls wearuing sailor outfits, including older girls which probably affected the popularity with the boys. We note boys wearing sailor suits throyghout the 1910s. A good example is an unidentified boy with his sisters in 1913. This is notable because the family appears to be a rural family of modest means. World War I broke out during the 1910s. The War began in 1914, but America did not enter the War until 1917. American entry was largely based on a maritime issue--freedom of the seas. The Germans decided to reintroduce unresstricted submarine warfare. I'm not yet sure how this affected the popularity of sailor suits. Sailor suits were popular in the 1910s, but we do not think there were as popular as in the 1900s. We are unsure about the social-class conventions. We note quite a few family images of boys from affluent or at least comfortable families wearing sailor suits. And by the 1910s we have many family snapshots with homes and other settings in the background so we can make some assessment of social class. In the 19th century we have mostly studio portraits to go on. While we think of sailor suits as primarily an urban middle-class style, we do see them, being worn in rural areas as well. We see many different styles of sailor outfits, including tunic suits, blouses, reefer jackets, and button-on outfits. Sailor blouses were very popular in the 1900s. We see more button-on outfits in the 1910s. Sailor tunics were popular in both decades, but seem to have been most popular in the 1910s. The fact that youngr boys wore button-on suits and tunics probaly contributed to the style increasingly beeing seen as a little boys' style. We tend to see mostly younger boys wearing sailor outfits in school during the 1910s. Sailor styles in the 1910s seem less popular in America than many European countries. We do not note many girls wearing sailor-styled dresses.

Figure 3.--This family backyard snapshot is undated and dificult to date. The boy in the sailor suit and knee socks suggest the early-1920s. His little brother wears tinic suit more associated with the 1910s. Thus this snap shot was probably taken in the late-1910s or early-20s.

The 1920s

American boys in the 1920s still commonly wore sailor suits. The fashion was not as cmmom as during the period before World War I (1914-18), but it continued to be a popular fashion for younger boys. Sailor suits now were increasingly worn for play, but some boys still had dressy suits. The dressy suits seemed more popular for summer than winter wear. They were made in a wide variety of styles and available in many materials. They were both play and dressy outfits. They were generally made in sizes up to about 10 years. Older American boys did not wear sailor suits, although older European boys did. Most of the sailor suits came with kneepants or short pants. Knicker sailor suits were rare, but knicker length bloomer style pants had been worn at the turn of the century. This style had disappeared by the 1920s. A few boys wore sailor suits with long pants--mostly bell bottoms keeping with the sailor fashion. Quite a wide range of materials were used for boys' sailor suits. This was in part some were dressy outfits, but plain suits were becoming popular. Unfortuntely in most instances we can not tell the fabric from a photograph. The white suits the boys here wear could be done in several different fabrics. Period catalogs, however, often do commonly mention the fabric offered. Sailor suits were made in both white and various shades of blue. They were mostly worn with middy blouse and shorts of the same color. A few were worn with white middy blouse and blue shorts, but never blue middy blouse and white shorts. One suit was made in dark khaki (S72). We think this was uniquely American. Wedon't know of any European sailor suits that were done in khaki.

Figure 4.-- Not sure, but this looks a teenage girl and her little brother off to school in the morning. The car shows that the snapshot was taken in the 1930s. The boy's white sailor suit is self-belted--a popular style in the 30s and 40s.

The 1930s

We have some information about sailor suits in the United States, but note that they continued to be adverized for younger boys in mail order catalogs. We also note them in the photographic record. We have also archived some vintage suits. Sailor suits were still worn in the United States during the 1930s. They were, however, decling in popularity. Middy blouses were still commonly worn by girls, but were not nearly as common as they were in the 1920s when they were one of the most popular styles for high school girls. They were less cmmon for boys, but might still be seen by on the younger boys in primary school--especially in the 1930s. While school age boys were less likely to wear them, we note that they were still a popular choice for pre-school boys. Most boys' suits were made in the button-on style both in long and short pants suits. Knicker sailor suits suits were rarely seen.

The 1940s (1940-45)

We have some limited information on sailor suits during the early 1940s. They were still worn, but we think less commonly than the 1930s. Many seem to be long pants suits. We note two unidentified boys visiting their father's ship during the War. We know they were less common in the late-40s after the War, but we stil see younger boys wearing them in the early 40s. Most boys wearing sailor suits were pre-school boys or boys in their first few years of primary school, especially grades 1 and 2. Presumably World War II helped to make sailor suits popular for boys. A good example is the sailor suits worn by Dean Stockwell in the film, "Anchors Away" (1945). We note nboth play suits and dress suits. We see fewer of the soft caps, except for the swabie caps. Even more popular than the suits were the swabby caps, worn by many boys who did not wear the suits.

The 1940s (1945-1950)

American boys after World War II no longer commnly wore sailor suits, but the style has never completely disappeared. Girls still wore a range of sailor dresses. Girls might wear sailor dresses to school. They were normally not a dressy style. And we see some boys wearing sailor suits. There were some play suits for little boys with sailor collars during the 1940s. I had a short pants salor suit at about 5 years of age. I don't recall it, but there are family snapshots.

The 1950s

Sailor suits were becomin increasingly rare by the 1950s. Some dressy sailor suits outfits for younger boys were also worn. We do not see them at school or even very commonlky for church. We have so few images that we are not entirely sure just when they were worn and for what occassions. We think they were a style that boys in some affluent families may have worn for a variety of social occassions. We are mostly talking about pre-school boys, but some younger primary schools occassionaly wore sailor suits. They seem to have been used most commonly as attire for boys at formal weddings. Some of the suits had matching caps, but this does not seem very common. We note both long and short pants suits. Younger boys might wear saddle shoes with these suits.

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Created: 10:33 PM 5/25/2012
Last updated: 4:24 PM 11/12/2017