American Sailor Suits: Individual Suits

Figure 1.--This American boy wears a flat-top sailor cap with his sailor suit along with a decidedly non-regulation plaid bow. He looks to be about 5 years old. The image is undated, but the bow suggests the 1890. HBC is unsure if the younger child is his brother or sister. The studio was located in Naugatuk, Connecticut.

This American boy wears a flat-top sailor cap with his sailor suit along with a decidedly non-regulation plaid bow. Also notice that the bows hides what seems to be a large white collar--unusual with a sailor suit. He looks to be about 5 years old. The image is undated, but the bow suggests the 1890. HBC is unsure if the younger child is his brother or sister. Notice the smocking on the child's dress or smock and the unusual lacy shoulders. The studio was located in Naugatuk, Connecticut.

Chronology

The image is undated. Wearing a large floppy bow with a sailor suit suggests the 1880s, but the sailor suit itself looks more modern so the image was probably taken in the 1890s. We believe that almost certainly it was taken before 1900.

Identity

The boys in the portrait are unidentified. They are so imacualetly turned out that they look to be from an affluent family. The ringlets are a further indication of that. The child in the sailor suit is of course a boy. We are unsure about the child in the dress or smock.

Age

The children look to be about 3 and 5 years old.

Location

The studio was located in Naugatuk, Connecticut.

Sailor Outfit

Cap

The sailor cap is a style worn by British and American boys wore a kind of flat topped sailor hat. The top extended out slightly over the top of the cap. This style was being worn by the American Navy in the Civil war (1861-65) and continued wearing it into World War I (1914-18). Boys were wearing this style cap by the 1870s, perhaps earlier. They continuing wearing it into the 1910s, but I have not noted it being worn into the 1920s. These caps were mostly black or blue. Unlike the wide-brimmed sailor hat, this sailor cap appears to have only been worn by boys. These caps were normally worn by boys up to about 10 years of age, but this differed somewhay by country and chronolgically. The caps had streamers. The streamer of this boy's cap seems to appear to the left, although it is difficult to tell if this is a streamer or ringlet.

Collar

The boy seems to be wearing a shirt or blouse beneath his middy blouse. At least the top of a large white collar, possibly an Eton collar, can clearly be seen above his floppy bow.

Bow

A middy blouse is normally worn with a modest silk scarve. This boy's mother has added a large floppy plaid bow. Large bows like this were popular in the 1880s and 90s, but not normally worn with sailor suits.

Buttons

The boy has 5 buttons running down his sleeve to his cuff of his middy blouse. This is rather unusual, HBC has not noted it before.

Middy blouse

The boy's middy blouse is a dark color, presumably navy blue. There is no white detailong eother on the collar or cuffs.

Knee pants

The boy's knee pants appear to have the normal three decorative buttons. They seem to taper as they approach the knee.

Stockings

The boy is wearing very bulky long black stockings.

Footwear

The boy's button shoes seem to have 7 buttons.

Smock

The younger child wears a very somber dress, perhaps a smock. It is enlivened only by white lace worl at the shoulders. We are unsure as to the child's gender.

Hair Styles

The boy's ringlet curls or are they braids reach below his shoulders.