Evaluating the Manufacturing and Retailing Practices of H. J. & D. Nicoll through a c. 1860 Boy’s Suit

Abstract

A boy’s suit of fawn wool sold by H. J. & D. Nicoll of London, dated c. 1860, in the Fashion Museum, Bath, raises a number of issues. Combining the long trousers worn by adolescents with a jacket associated with younger boys, it marks a turning point in age-related dress codes. Mass produced but with hand stitching, it presents evidence of the exploitative practices Nicoll had been charged with in Henry Mayhew’s Morning Chronicle letters in 1850. The prominent labelling of the suit relates to Nicoll’s publicity strategies and to the importance of boys’ clothing for ready-to-wear retailers. A comparison of the suit with other surviving garments and with marketing documents illuminates the way that Nicoll positioned itself within the retail market. The rarity of this survival and the scarcity of information on a high-profile and long-lasting retailer make this an important case study for investigating the origins of the ready-to-wear clothing trade in Britain.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the Pasold Research Fund for supporting the archival research presented in this article. Thanks are due also to Beatrice Behlen (Museum of London), Julie Anne Lambert (John Johnson Collection, the Bodleian Libraries), Noreen Marshall (V&A Museum of Childhood) and Elaine Uttley (The Fashion Museum, Bath) for facilitating access to their collections and for providing information from their files. Thanks also to the anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the first draft and for informing me of the Nicoll men’s garments in the Gallery of Costume, Platt Hall, Manchester.