Figure 1.--This postcard back snapshot was done with an oval format. It shows a brother and sister dressed up in white for a special event in 1917. Notice the girl's hairbow and the boy's floppy bow. As was common in the 1910s, it is a relatively modest bow. We are not sure about the color of the boy's floppy bow. The color intensity suggests that it was neither red or black. The children look to be about 6-8 years old.

We still see American boys wearing floppy bows in the 1910s. They were clearly declining in popularity, but quite a number of younger American boys still wore floppy bows in the 1910s. We now do not see many teenagers, even younger teenagers, wearing these bows. Floppy bows were clearly much less common by the 1910s, but they were still worn by younger boys to some extent when dressing up. This was especially true early in the decade. A good example is an unidentified boy who looks to be about 7-years old. We see fewer boys by the end of the decade. We also no longer see the huge bows we once saw. A major change was the suits which were worn with floppy bows. Fauntleroy suits were no longer a major style. Nor do we see the blouses wuth large collars. We see boys wearing regular suits with floppy bows. A good example is Floyd Van Horne about 1915. We also see floppy bpws worn with blouses, but not the fancy blouses with large collars. An example is an unidentified boy, probably about 1915. Another good example is the the Nethery boys. Floppy bows continued to decline in popularity during the 1910s. We see smaller and simplier bows and younger boys wearing them.

Created: 6:30 PM 4/25/2011
Last updated: 6:30 PM 4/25/2011