Buster Brown suits were popular for younger children in the early 20th
Century. Toddlers at that time often
wore dresses or
smocks. One of
their first boyish suits was often a Buster Brown suit. It was a
smocklike suit, but the smock was short, showing bloomer pants worn
above the knee with long stockings. Most Buster Brown suits wore worn
with a broad white collar, large floppy bow, and broad-brimmed
sailor hat.
hese suits were worn
by boys
from about 5 to 8 years of age, but some motheres dressed older boys
in them for a few additional years.
Buster Brown suits are modeled on the outfits worn by the boy in a
popular comic strip which appeared in the early 1900s. The strip
originally appeared in the Sunday comic pages during the
Spring of 1902 and ran until the 1920's. Movies, comic books,
hardcover books, etc., were all spinoffs ultimately from the 1904
licensing at the St. Louis World's Fair. The shoes are still being
made! There are LOTS of Buster Brown collectibles--a listing of some of the books
is in the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide that you can read at most
bookstores.
Also associate with the suits were longish hair, either
curls or Dutch
Boy bangs. The Buster Brown in the comic strip was pictured
wearing longish Dutch boy bangs.
My Favorite Links
Stan Lehr remembers his Buster Brown suits
More on Buster Brown suits
Information on many styles of boys' clothing
