Boys' Marlowe Suits
On page four of the November, 1947 Camp Leo News,
and also in the back of the 1948 Camp Leo catalog, is an advertisement
reproduced from the former prestigious New York clothier, De Pinna, then
The Marlowe Suit seems like a step up from
the now-vanished Rugby Suit, which was itself a rung up the sartorial
maturity ladder from the American little-boy's Eton Suit. The Eton outfit
for younger boys had a collarless jacket and short pants, while the Rugby
suit, seen in contemporary Sears and Wards catalogs, had a collared jacket
with shorts. One would expect a Junior Longie Suit to be the next step,
but, perhaps for the "Young Elite" the Marlowe was an intermediate phase.
Whether there ever was a Marlowe School in the U.K. (akin to the real
Eaton and Rugby Public [i.e. exclusive private] Schools) is not presently
known. (Note: HBC knows of no Public school in England named Marlowe
School.) The copy phrase, "...available once again...." suggests, however,
a British import, reappearing after World War II. Its Pre-war American market was now considerably
shrunken, save for such highly specialized consumers as the Camp Leo boys.
That the "Marlowe Suit" or its equivalent, was mandatory for group travel,
is shown in a photo in the Camp Leo News for October, 1948. Three named
boys, about 12 years in age, are seen leaning against a lamp post in
Quebec City. They, and a number of other campers, were present for the
ordination of Father Vincent Sarmiento, formerly Brother Vinnie, a popular
camp councilor. (The Catholic French connections suggests a French
Canadian connection.) Each wears a school-cap with emblem, white shirt and
dark necktie, dark suit coats and darker shorts with matching knee socks.
The picture title is "Three Of A Kind." That some parents might want their sons similarly
attired, is evidenced in the November, 1948 "Questions and Answers"
column, sandwiched between queries about what sort of weed killer the camp
uses, and just what "First Honors" constituted in the Camp Leo award
pantheon. Commentary: The Wards and Sears catalogs
for this period offer a few Rugby suits, with collared jacket and shorts,
only to ages 8 or 9. So it is unlikely that Macy's or Gimbels would have
larger sizes. It is quite curious that the man who founded the
St. James School in Berlin Connecticut (1954-1978) Leonard Francis
(1918-1992) picked up some of his educational philosophies (and school
uniform ideas) while a Sea Bee convalescent in an New Zealand hospital
(1943-44). As you can see by the items I will send he was much influenced
by the New Zealand scene (and may even have been married there briefly)
leading to the "Marlow Suit" uniform mentioned earlier. The list of "class shops" enumerated by Francis
shows his determination to keep his lads in bare knees at any cost, both
to the parents' purses and to the wearers' discomfiture. One parent
reported that Francis explained the distinctive dress was to aid in
"keeping an eye on the kids" especially during group outings of up to 50
active boys. However, bright colored jackets and/or caps could have
accomplished the same result with equal if not greater facility. On
another occasion, he explained that shorts were cheaper than long trousers
for the boys. This is most suspect, as it is material and workmanship
which govern a garment's final cost. From this aspect, blue jeans, which
Francis hated with a passion, should have been the economic choice for St.
James' uniform! In sum, then, Francis evidenced either an affectation for
British (and perhaps New Zealand) Traditions, an obsession with his own
boyhood attire, or an authoritarian bent. The Marlowe suit appears to have been created in England. It was then used at some American private schools. A HBC contributor tells me that he has heard of the Marlowe suit, but can't recall any specific details.
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