A sailor suit is a

uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...

traditionally worn by enlisted seamen in a

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

or other governmental sea services. It later developed into a popular clothing style for children, especially as dress clothes.

Origins and history

In the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

, the sailor suit, also called naval rig, is known as Number One dress and is worn by

able rate Able seaman is a military rank used in naval forces. Royal Navy In 1653 the Royal Navy introduced a new pay scale as part of reforms following defeat in the Battle of Dungeness the previous year. Included in these reforms were, for the fir ...

s and

leading hand Leading seaman is a junior non-commissioned rank or rate in navies, particularly those of the Commonwealth. When it is used by NATO nations, leading seaman has the rank code of OR-4. It is often equivalent to the army and air force rank of co ...

s. It is primarily ceremonial, although it dates from the old working rig of Royal Navy sailors which has continuously evolved since its first introduction in 1857. Versions have been adopted by many navies from around the world. The flap collar is perhaps the most recognizable item of the sailor suit. It is often considered lucky to touch a sailor's collar. The bell-bottomed trousers were designed so that they could be rolled up easily when scrubbing the decks.

As children's clothing

Sailor Suit - Oxford St Sydney - John Hubert Newman

In 1846, the four-year-old

Albert Edward, Prince of Wales Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

was given a scaled-down version of the uniform worn by ratings on the Royal Yacht. He wore his miniature sailor suit during a cruise off the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

that September, delighting his mother and the public. Popular engravings, including the famous portrait done by Winterhalter, spread the idea, and by the 1870s the sailor suit had become a fashionable dress for both boys and girls in many countries. Some Western cartoon and comic characters use a sailor suit as their trademarks; examples include Popeye, Donald Duck, and Fiddler Pig. Sailor suits have been worn by the members of the

Vienna Boys' Choir The Vienna Boys' Choir (german: Wiener Sängerknaben) is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other count ...

on their international tours. A female version of the sailor suit, the

sailor dress A sailor dress is a child's or woman's dress that follows the styling of the sailor suit, particularly the bodice and collar treatment. A sailor-collared blouse is called a middy blouse ("middy" derives from "midshipman"). In early 20th-century Ame ...

, was popularly known in early 20th century America as a ''Peter Thomson dress'' after a naval tailor with outlets in New York and Philadelphia.

Asian school uniforms

Many schools in some Asian countries, including Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand, have adopted sailor outfits as a school uniform.

Japan

Sailor suits are especially common in Japanese girls' schools, known as

sailor fuku The Japanese school uniform is modeled in appearance similar to that of the European-style naval uniforms. It was first used in Japan in the late 19th century, replacing the traditional kimono. Today, school uniforms are common in many of the ...

by the Japanese. They are so common that the image of the outfit has evolved to be strongly associated with youth and female adolescence in popular culture. As a result, sailor uniforms are seen very frequently in Japanese dramas, movies, anime, manga, music videos and concert performances of pop teen idol groups.

Philippines

Just like in Japan, sailor uniforms are also common in Philippine schools, particularly in high schools. Most public schools adopted the sailor uniform as the official uniform for the girls and some of them adopted with derivatives.

References

External links

National Maritime Museum
{{Authority control 19th-century fashion Children's clothing Sailing Suits (clothing) Uniforms Maritime culture