Figure 1.--This is Edward and Lawrencer. They were 5 and 7 years old in 1902. The portrait was taken in September so these may have been school outfits. We begin to see more traditional stripped outfits in the 1910s.

American boys commonly wore sailor suits in both the 1900s and 1910s, although I think that they were somewhat more common in the 1900s. There were many sifferent styles in the 1900s as there had been in the 1890s. By the 1910s we note a trend toward more traditional styling, that is styles based on the actual uniforms worn by American sailors. Boys tended to wear knee pants sailoir syits, but they were also made with long pants. We are not yet sure how pants type varried during the two decades. 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. World War I broke out during the 1910s. The War began in 1914, but America did not enter the War until 1917. I'm not yet sure how this affected the popularity of sailor suits. 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.

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. There were many different styles in the 1900s as there had been in the 1890s. 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 notdone 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 contginue to see American boys wearing sailor suits with long stockings. 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 internationzl tours.

The 1910s

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 largebased 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 190ss. 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 populsar in America than many European countries..

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Created: 6:46 AM 3/19/2007
Last updated: 5:53 AM 2/8/2018