Figure 1.--This American boy pictured with his sister wears a dark blue sailor suit with an all white sailor collar. His middy blouse has a chief rank and white wrist cuffs. He appears to be wearing above the knee knickers which have a button closure at the hem. Note that he and his sister appear to be wearing similar strap shoes, although the cross bar or strap is slightly different. |
The sailor suit is one of the most popular boys' outfit of all time. While the middy blouses worn with sailor suits have been fairly standard over time, the pants worn have vaired substantially. After the turn of the 20th century, short pants began to replace kneepants for sailor suits. This was less true in America where some boys wore knickers with their sailor suits. The short pants sailor suits in America were primarily worn by younger boys. This was also true in England where boys stopped wearing sailor suits once they began their prep school at about 8 years of age. On the Continent, however, older boys continued wearing sailor suits, even short pants sailor suits through the 1930s.
After the turn of the 20th century, short pants began to replace kneepants for sailor suits. Short panrs were worn in the late 19th century, but they did not become commonly worn by boys until after they were adopted by Lord Baden Powell for the uniform of the new Boy Scout movement in the 1900s. The popularity of short pants, however, greatly varied from country to country. Both kneepants and short pants were worn by boys in the 1910s, but by the 1920s short pants became the dominate style of pants worn by boys with sailor suits. Even uin America where knickers were also worn with sailor suits, short pants by the 1920s had become more common. Fron the beginning of the appearance of sailor suits as a boys' outfit in the mid-19th cerntury, some boys wore then with long pants. This continued to be the case in the 1920s, but short pants were the most common pants. This continued into the 1930s and 40s, although sailior suits began to be worn by increasingly younger boys.
The short pants sailor sduits appear to have been mostly white or light colored suits. This may have been that this was more of a summer style, although in the 1920s-40s, many boys, especially European boys wore short pants suits during the winter as well as the summer.
The short pants sailor suits were normally made out of lighter materials such as linnen or cotton materials, but this is a topic HBC has not yet pursued in detail.
The sailor suit was a popular style for boys throughout Europe and North America America for boys of all social classes. The middy blouse styles worn were fairly standard from country to country. There were, however, substantial difference among different countries in the type of pants worn with middy blouses. While there were differences among European countries, it was America that diverged the most from European standards.
Figure 2.--This American boy was photographed in 1921. He wears a short pants sailor suit with dark kneesocks. Click on the image for a view of the entire goat cart. |
American boys had mostly worn their sailor suits with kneepants. Some boys in the late 1910s and eraly 1920s wore knicker sailor suits. In the 1920s short oanrs became increasingly common for sailor suits. This occurred as sailor suits became more of a style for younger boys. American boys older than about 10 years stopped wearing sailor suits.
This was also true in England where boys stopped wearing sailor suits once they began their prep school at about 8 years of age.
On the Continent, however, older boys continued wearing sailor suits, even short pants sailor suits through the 1930s.
Stockings worn with sailor suits varied greatly from country to country. American boys wore kneepants sailor suits in the 19th century were mostly worn with long stockings. Younger boys might wear short socks, but they did not generally wear sailor suits. After the turn of the century, noys increasingly wore sailor suits with three-quarter length stockings. Whule kneesocks became more common in the 1920s, some boys still wore long stockings, especially during the winter. European boys commonly wore saiolor suits with three-quarter ,length stockings even in the 19th century. Long stockings were also worn, byt rthree-quarter length stockings were more common.
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