Figure 1.--"This portrait of an American brother and sister is unidentified. Note that it is the boy who wears the bow. This was a common convenctioin in the late 19th century. The portrait is also undated, but we would guess the early 1880s. We do know thast the portyrait was taken by L.W. Zuver in Parkers Landing, Pennsylvania.

Floppy bows were widely worn by boys in the late 19th century. Boys wore floppy bows in a range of sizes. The late 19th Century saw collar bows reach the peak of their popularity. In the 1880s the sizes of the bows often increased and a greater variety of colors and even patterns became fashionable. The larger bows worn in the 1880s appear to be a direct result of the Fautleroy craze which swept the nation. A good example is an unidentified American boy in the 1890s. The growing sizes of the bows was in part due to the large size of the lace collars worn with the increasingly popular Fauntleroy suits. The bright bows added a bit of color to the Fauntleroy or other dark-colored suits. Apparently many mothers felt that a small stringy bow would look out of place with a large lace collar. We note floppy bows with other types of clollars such as Eton collars. A good example here is an unidentified American boy in the 1890s. Boys' collars grew larger and larger as fawning mothers waged a veritable arms race to see who could put the largest collar, often lace collar, on their sons. Along with the large collars went larger and larger bows. Not all boys wore bows with their collars, but most did.

Popularity

Floppy bows were widely worn by boys in the late 19th century. Boys wore floppy bows in a range of sizes. The late 19th Century saw collar bows reach the peak of their popularity.

Decade Trends

Boys did not commonly wear bows in the mid-19th century. The most common neckwear was the stock--often black. Neckwear trends changed significantkly in the 1870s. We see some boys wearing them in the 1870s. They were, however, of modest size. In the 1880s the sizes of the bows often increased and a greater variety of colors and even patterns became fashionable. The larger bows worn in the 1880s appear to be a direct result of the Fautleroy craze which swept the nation. We see boys, however, wearing floppy bows with all sorts of outfits. They were populsar with Fauntleroy suits, but were also wrn with kiklt suits and sack suits as well. A good example is Martin Allister Wambold, an American boy in 1886. We see the bows getting larger and larger. This apears to be largely a finction of the size of the clarr which also got larger and larger. Another example is an unidentified American boy in the 1890s. A good example here is an unidentified American boy in the 1890s.

Collars

The growing sizes of the bows was in part due to the large size of the lace collars worn with the increasingly popular Fauntleroy suits.

Colors

The bright bows added a bit of color to the Fauntleroy or other dark-colored suits.

Bow Sizes

Apparently many mothers felt that a small stringy bow would look out of place with a large lace collar. Boys' collars grew larger and larger as fawning mothers waged a veritable arms race to see who could put the largest collar, often lace collar, on their sons. Along with the large collars went larger and larger bows.

Bow Styles

We note floppy bows with other types of clollars such as Eton collars.

Option

Not all boys wore bows with their collars. We see a number of portraits where the boys did not wear bows. Most boys, however, did wear floppy bows when dressing up. They are very common in the phtographic record.

Created: 8:53 PM 12/30/2004
Last updated: 2:17 AM 9/10/2007