Figure 1.--This portrait looks to date from the 1920s. An unidentified boy wears a white summer sailor suit. It is a beautifully hand-colored portrait. The brown knee socks do not seem to goalong with the rest of the outfit. Note the light blue accents and the scarf in a darker shade. The shoulder rank patch in red. The portrait is mounted on heavy cardboard and measures 7" x 9". The studio is not identified. Put your cursor on the image to see a grey-scale version. This provides some clues which can be used to assess color in black and white images.

We see sailor suits done in various colors. The most popular color for sailor suits was of course blue, commonly navy blue, and white. The blue suits were normally done with white accents. Navy blue was the most commion, but there were sailor suits done in ither blue shades. And of course there were white suits for summer wear, mostly with blue accents, including a brighter blue than navy. There might be accents done in different shades of blue. We also see red accents. Some of these blue and white suits were done without contrasting accents. Here we see brighter blue accents which might be called royal blue (figure 1). Note that the sarfe is still navy blue or perhaps black. We know from store catalogs that sailor suits were also done in other colors. There were even pink suits. We notice grey and brown wash suits in the 1920s. These were practical colors for play wear. These colors varied over time. By the 1940s we almost always see blue and white, but boys no longer commonly wore them, epecially after the War.

Blue

The most popular color for sailor suits was of course blue, commonly navy blue, and white. The blue suits were normally done with white accents, especially white stripes. There were some all blue suits. Navy blue was the most common, but there were sailor suits done in other blue shades. These colors varied over time. By the 1940s we almost always see blue and white, but boys no longer commonly wore them, epecially after the War.

Brown

We notice grey and brown wash suits in the 1910-20s. We are not yet sure yet about the 30s. These were practical colors for play wear. White was of course an impossible color for active little boys who wanted to play. The least little bit of dirt showed. This wasnot the case for brown. We believe it was less common to wear these colors when dressing up, but we do note colorized portraits wuth boys wearing brown suits, but they were not as common as portraits with blue and white suits. Like blue, there were different shades of brown. We are not sure how common brown was. We think blue was much more common, bur we do note a number of brown suits. We are not sure if brown was also used for girls' sailor outfits. The same was the case for tunic suits. Unfortunarely there is no way to tell in black and white images.

Grey

We notice grey and brown wash suits in 1910s-20s in mail order catalogs. We notice grey and brown wash suits in the 1920s. These were practical colors for play wear. We are not yet sure about the 30s. These were practical colors for play wear. We believe it was less common to wear these colors when dressing up.

Pink

We know from store catalogs that sailor suits were also done in other colors. There were even pink suits.

Red

There were red sailor suits, but we don't think that there very common. The black and white photography of the day makes it impossiube to know with any certainty. We get some information from mail order catalogs. We think more common than red sailor suits were white sailor blouses with red trim. We belive colorful sailor suits were more common after World War I in the iner-War era, but were still a small minority. We do see some as color began to appear in mail order catalogs and other publications. We note Cecil and Laura Anna Criss wearing red sailor outfits in 1967.

White

And of course there were white suits for summer wear, mostly with blue accents, including a brighter blue than navy. There might be accents done in different shades of blue. We also see red accents. Some of these blue and white suits were done without contrasting accents. Here we see brighter blue accents which might be called royal blue (figure 1). Note that the sarfe is still navy blue or perhaps black. There also were all white suits.

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

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main American sailor suit color page]
[Return to the Main American sailor suit age page]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: 5:32 AM 2/14/2011
Last updated: 1:47 AM 7/5/2018