Figure 1.--Here we see an unidentified American boy who looks to be about 3-4 years old. He wears a white dress with a big colored bow made from an unusual diaphonous material. It is difficult to see much detail, so we are not sure aboy the type od dress. The photographic record suggests that wearing big bows with dresses was not all that common, but we so see some unbreeched boys with these big bows. The studio was opposdie the opera house (the script is difficult to read==perhaps McAaddeau) in Paducha, Kentucky.

We do not see girls commonly wearing neck bows with dresses. This of cours was for a time seen as the height of fashion for boys. This may be a useful gender indicator, but this needs to be confirmed. We notice boys wearing a range of collars and neckwear. This included floppy bows. We see boys wearing floppy bows with dresses. This does not seem as common as was the case for boys wearing Fauntleroy blouses and suits. Our initial assessment is that these large bows were even less common with girls wearing dresses. This also still needs to be confirmed. This could be a useful gender indicator, but this needs to be confirmed. We are not yet certain about other neckwear worn with dresses. We note bows tied in different ways. A factor here is that many dresses did not have collars and neckwear was primarily worn with collars.

Created: 11:11 PM 8/16/2010
Last updated: 1:28 AM 8/17/2010