The photo on the left shows a boy who could well be our John. His clothing differs just slightly. His hair is done in a side-parting, his collar is a stiff on with rounded corners and he wears buttoned high-top shoes.

Das Foto links zeigt einen Jungen, der praktisch unser John sein könnte. Seine Kleidung unterscheidet sich nur ein bißchen. Er hat einen Seitenscheitel, einen steifen Kragen mit abgerundeten Ecken und Knüpfstiefel.

More about possible clothing for John:

Underwear: Boys John's age often wore waist union suits (they were made for children as old as thirteen), but boys twelve years old and older might alternatively have held up their knickerbocker trousers with a belt or suspenders in which case they would not have needed waist buttons on their underwear. John could have worn an ordinary union suit without reinforcement straps over the shoulders and have opted for a separate skeleton waist (or garter waist) for the hose supporters.

Suit Jackets: Both single-breasted, double breasted, and Norfolk styles (from 8 to 16 years of age) were popular. The suit shown is navy blue with a flat-weave.
Boys also wore suits with pattern weaves, but for boys from solid middle-class families it was very common also to have an conservative navy-blue suit for dress-up wear.
Blue probably would have been the most common colour for a formal occassion. Some other colors like a dark brown might have been more common at school.

Suit Trousers: In the United States knickerbocker trousers were being referred to as just knickers for short. Knickers had become popular in the 1910s and boys John's age would probably have had a knickers suit. Knickes had a strap and buckle closure at the knee. Straight-leg Knee pants had not disapeared, but knicker suits were much more common now. Knickers more and more replaced knee pants for older boys.

Neckwear: For ordinary school days John wore shirts with a soft collar and neck tie. For special occassions an Eton collar was a fitting choice.

Collar: Earlier the collars could be quite large, but by the mid-1910s the collar size was declining. Boys John's age were also wearing shirt waists, especially for special occassions. They were worn with detachable collars. Eton collars were still worn in the 1910s, althouh they were not as common as in the 1900s. For ordinary school days John wore shirts with a soft collar an neck tie. For special occassions he wore an Eton collar. The Eton collar had a button hole in front and in back to hold it into place. Without the rear button the starched collars would ride up and expose the neckband of the shirt. The back collar button with the Eton style detachable collar would be hidden. The button goes through the first layer but not the folded over part of the collar. When there was only one layer of collar, a necktie would usually cover the back button (as well as the front button).

Hair style: Center-parts were a popular hair style.

Hat: John wears a flat cap. John might have worn a boater during the summer, but flat caps were the most popular boy's headwear. Boys John's age or just a touch older might begin wearing adult styles.

Stockings/Socks: Boys began wearing knee socks in the 1910s, but long stockings were much more common, especially black long stockings.

Shoes: A popular choice for boys John's age were high-top shoes.

Mehr über mögliche Kleidung für John:

Unterwäsche: Jungen in John's Alter trugen oft Waist Union Suits (Hemdhosen, an die Strümpfe und Hose geknöpft werden konnten). Sie wurden von Kinder bis zu dreizehn Jahren genutzt. Eine Alternative für Knaben ab zwölf waren Gürtel und Hosenträger. Eine weitere Möglichkeit für John wäre ein einfacher Union Suit mit Skeleton- oder Garter Waist (Gurtsysteme um Strümpfe und Hose zu halten) gewesen.

Jacket: Beliebt waren Ein- und Zweireiher sowie der Norfolk-Stil für Acht- bis Sechzehnjährige. Es wurden Anzüge aus einfachem oder gemustertem Stoff getragen. In einer Mittelschicht-Familie war es üblich einen schlichten blauen Anzug für besondere Gelegenheiten bereit zu haben. Eine Farbe wie braun wäre wahrscheinlich eher zur Schule getragen worden.

Hosen: In den U.S.A. wurden Knickerbocker-Hosen (Pumphosen) verkürzt Knickers genannt. Knickers wurden in den 1910ern beliebt. So war es nicht ungewöhnlich, wenn ein Knabe in John's Alter einen Knickers Anzug bekam. Die Knickers wurden am Bein mit einer Schnalle geschlossen. Hosen mit gradem Bein waren nicht verschwunden, aber Knickers wurden nun häufiger getragen. Knickers ersetzten mehr und mehr Kniehosen für ältere Jungen.

Kravatten/Fliegen: Im Alltag trug John Hemden mit einem weichen Kragen mit Kravatte. Für besondere Gelegenheiten legte er einen steifen Eton-Kragen an.

Frisur: Mittelscheitel waren ein beliebter Haarschnitt für Knaben.

Hut: John hat eine Flat Cap (flache Schirmmütze). Im Sommer hätte er auch einen Boater (flacher Strohhut) tragen können, aber Flat Caps waren beliebter. Knaben in John's Alter oder etwas älter begannen auch die Hüte der Erwachsenen zu tragen.

Strümpfe/Socken: In den 1910ern begannen Knaben Kniestrümpfe zu tragen, aber lange Strümpfe waren wesentlich üblicher, besonders schwarze.

Schuhe: Eine beliebte Wahl waren Schnürstiefel aus Leder.