Figure 1.--This American boy wore a bright red bow with his black Fauntleroy suit about 1890. We think this was more common than suggested by the photographic record, in part because red often shows up as black. |
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Red was a color often used to add a splash of bright color to an otherwise colorless outfits. Boys in much of the the 19th century did not tend to wear colofull clothing. Although the skeleton suits of the late 18th and early 19th centuries might be worn in a bright red, the Fauntleroy suit was commonly worn in a dark shade of velvet or other materials for less expensive suits. The best example here was the Fauntleroy suit which was often black or other dark colors. We think this was more common than suggested by the photographic record, in part because red often shows up as black. Other boys' suits were commonly dark, muted colors. We believe red bows were a particularly popular choice for black Fauntleroy suits, but we can not yet conform this. We are less sure how common red bows were with other outfits.
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