don't see any clothes now that have the sailor suit flap collar. I remember having more than one outfit with a sailor collar.
What made such a big piece of fabric part of the sailor uniform, given there was a fair amount of fabric needed to make one?
I didn't find out why they are so big - but did find out about the shape: "The first collars were not cut square but were round and closely resembled items that were fashionable ashore. The three rows of white tape were probably added for ornament at first, surviving records mention some discussion about whether there should be two rows or three. The more familiar square collar developed as it was easier for the men to cut and sew themselves than the round variety."
The colour has its own history - the uniform became navy in colour in the mid 1700s because Indigo based dyes offered a reasonable degree of colour fastness to sunlight and that's when Indigo came to the UK.
And my own familiarity with them as children's clothing has a distinct beginning. Sailor suits became fashionable for children when Queen Victoria had a sailor suit made for her four-year-old son Albert Edward - it was copied immediately and was worn by boys and girls in many countries. It became a fashionable ladies style. During the late 1800s, yachting suits became fashionable and the nautical style took hold. In the 1920s middy blouses became popular. It became associated with active wear and sports clothing. In Japan and the Philippines, sailor suits are common in girls' schools today.
Here's a 1920s page from a Sears catalog - with the Admiral Brand blouse.
