
A sailor suit is a
uniform
A uniform is a variety of costume worn by members of an organization while usually participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency serv ...
that originated in the United Kingdom, traditionally worn by
enlisted seamen in a
navy
A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
or other governmental sea services. It later developed into a popular clothing style for children, especially as
dress clothes and
school uniform
A school uniform is a uniform worn by students primarily for a school or otherwise an educational institution. They are common in primary school, primary and secondary schools in various countries and are generally widespread in Africa, Asia, O ...
s.
Origins and history
In the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
, the sailor suit, also called naval rig, is known as Number One dress and is worn by
able rates and
leading hands. 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
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 and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910.
The second child ...
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 are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
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
girl
A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. While the term ''girl'' has other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.com, "Girl"'' Retrieved January 2, 2008. '' daughter'' or '' girlfriend'' regardless of age ...
s in many countries. Some Western cartoon and comic characters use a sailor suit as their trademarks; examples include
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.[Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. Donald is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit, sailor shirt and cap with ...](_blank)
, and
Fiddler Pig. Sailor suits have been worn by the members of the
Vienna Boys' Choir on their international tours.
A female version of the sailor suit, the
sailor dress, was popularly known in early 20th century America as a ''Peter Thomson dress'' after a naval tailor with outlets in New York and Philadelphia.
File:Edward VII (1841 – 1910).jpg, Prince Albert Edward (the future Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...
) in a sailor suit, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter
Franz Xaver Winterhalter (20 April 1805 – 8 July 1873) was a German painter and lithography, lithographer, known for his flattering portraits of royalty and upper-class society in the mid-19th century. His name has become associated with fashio ...
, 1846
File:Sailor Suit - Oxford St Sydney - John Hubert Newman.jpg, Photograph of a boy on Oxford Street, Sydney, Australia, wearing a sailor suit, with a sennit straw hat at his feet
Asian school uniforms
Many schools in some
Asian countries and regions, including
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
,
,North Korea,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
,
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, and
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, have adopted sailor outfits as a school uniform.
Japan
Sailor suits are especially common in Japanese girls' schools, known as
sailor fuku 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.
See also
*
Marinière
*
Sailor dress
*
Telnyashka
*
Uniforms of the Royal Navy
*
Uniforms of the United States Navy
The uniforms of the United States Navy include dress uniforms, daily service uniforms, working uniforms, and uniforms for special situations, which have varied throughout the history of the navy. For simplicity in this article, ''officers'' refe ...
References
External links
National Maritime Museum
{{Authority control
19th-century fashion
Children's clothing
Maritime culture
Sailing
Suits (clothing)
Uniforms