The sailor suit as an item of children's dress was based on uniform worn by ratings in the British Navy: the first sailor suit for a child is generally acknowledged to be that made for Queen Victoria's eldest son, Prince Albert Edward, to wear on a Royal visit to Ireland in 1846. The fashion took a while to become established, but turned into a classic of childrenswear, and was still in use (although tending to be for best) in the 1920s. It survives as a choice for pageboys at weddings, and there is an example in the collections at the V&A Museum of Childhood dating from the 1980s.

Other names included the Jack Tar suit and the Man-o'-war suit, the latter claimed by its manufacturers, Redfern of Cowes, to be "accurately correct to the most minute detail, and...suitable for either sex" (Myra's Journal, 01/08/1883). As can be seen in this pamphlet, Rowe, one of the leading manufacturers of sailor suits, also offered correct accessories, including lanyard and Bo'swain's pipe (whistle), the "regulation Senet Hat", and the sleeve badges of various naval ranks (although most sailor suits show the anchor and cable of the Leading Seaman).