Figure 1.--These two American boys in about the 1910s have been dressed in identical sailor suits with below the knee bloomer pants and long stockings. Note the bangs on the younger boy. |
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Boys wore sailor suits with many different hair styles. Generally a sailor suit was deemed apropriate only after he had his hair cut short. The cutting of a boy's hair was a major step for the child. Many boys in the late 19th century had long hair, some times worn in ringlet curls. The cutting of a boy's hair was generally left to the mother. Some boys had their hair cut while still in dresses. Other boys continued to wear long hair well after they were breeched, often with fancy Little Lord Fauntletoy party suits. With few exceptions, however, a boy's hair would almost always be cut when he was oufitted for a sailor suit. Even for a sailor dress his hair might be cut. While he may wear bangs or curls, long ringlet curls were not commonly worn with
sailor suits.
We note boys wearing a wide range of hair styles with sailor suits. This was the case essentially because sailor suits wete so popular in so many countries over such a wide streach of time. Most boys wearing sailor suits had short hair. This was the case from the time that sailors suits began to becpme popular in the mid-19th century to the time that began go go out of style in the mid-20th century. Even so we also see boys wearing sailor suits with long hair as well. A good example is an unidentified American boy in the early 20th century.
American boys wore their sailor suits during the late 19th century with many different hair styles. Because the sailor suit was so popular, it was worn with a wide variety of hair styles. As sailor suits were worn by boys from about 5 to 12 for several decades, their hair styles might vary from long ringlet curls to cloes-cropped hair. Boys wore just about every different hair styles with sailor suits. Hair styles are a little complicated and there can be overlasos, such as cropped hair or ringlet curls with bangs.
Most English boys wore sailor suits with short hair cuts. A good example is an unidentified English boy in 1914.
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