Figure 1.--Note the long ringlet curls on this older American boy which his mother has lovingly laid on his lace collar so they would be clearly visible. One wonders what this boy thought of his curls and to what extent he discussed them with his mother.

It was of course the parents that decided the hair styles of children. And in the 19th century parental roles were very different. The father was the primary wage earner and worked outside the home. Even in rural America, it was the father and the older mmal children who did most of the field work. As America industrialized and urbanized, the father worked further from hom and was away from the home for longer periods. It was the mother who was the mainstay of the home. In rural America she might keep a small garden and chickens around the home, but her main responsibility was the family home, cooking, cleaning, washing, spinning, nd of course caring for the younger children. It was the mother who made most of the decesions about the younger children, including how they were dressed and their hair styles. Fathers for the modt part allowed the mother to make the decesions for the younger children. This varied from family to family, but in most families, fathers defered to the mother concerning the younger children. As the children began to grow up, fathers began to play a greater role in their lives. Of course this is less true today (but has not totally disappeared, but this convention was pronounced in the 19th century. Mothers who kept their sons in ringlet had to decide on the style and how to maintain it. Eventually she faced several major decisions. Themost traumatic, of course, was when to cut their son's hair. Mothers as we have seen abovedecided on a wide range of ages, from about 4 years old to in some cases 11-12 years.Another major decision was whether his curls should be cut before or after breeching. Hereagain mother's decided on many different answers. Many had their boy's hair cut before hewas breeched as is demonstrated by many period photographs with boys with short hair wearngdresses and kilt suits. Many other photographs, however, testify to the mothers who kepttheir sons in curls while still in dresses. This is somewhat more difficult to determine because the gender of many children is not readily apparent. Some basic guidelines, however, areavailable to help determine a child's gender even when wearing dresses and long ringlet curls.

Figure 2.--Not all mothers believed in long hair for their sons. Some mothers cut their sons' hair short while the boys were still in dresses and several years before breeching.

Parental Responsibilities

It was of course the parents that decided the hair styles of children. And in the 19th century parental roles were very different. The father was the primary wage earner and worked outside the home. Even in rural America, it was the father and the older mmal children who did most of the field work. As America industrialized and urbanized, the father worked further from hom and was away from the home for longer periods. It was the mother who was the mainstay of the home. In rural America she might keep a small garden and chickens around the home, but her main responsibility was the family home, cooking, cleaning, washing, spinning, nd of course caring for the younger children. It was the mother who made most of the decesions about the younger children, including how they were dressed and their hair styles. Fathers for the modt part allowed the mother to make the decesions for the younger children. This varied from family to family, but in most families, fathers defered to the mother concerning the younger children. As the children began to grow up, fathers began to play a greater role in their lives. Of course this is less true today (but has not totally disappeared, but this convention was pronounced in the 19th century. This is a major part of the reason we see boys in the 19th century wearing dresses and ringlet curls.

Style

Mothers who curled their soms hair developed different styles. Creative mothers, themselves, however, developed many differet styles. Some mothers curled their sons' hair into long, think curls. Other mothers preferred a larger number of more slender curls. Other variations included the number of curls and many other factors like bangs and the treatment of the part and the rest the boys' hair. Plase note that we have little actual information on the different types of ringle curls. I have compiled this information based on an analysis of available images. If any HBC visitors have any historical information or insights, I'd be very interested in it. Unkike boys' clothing and fashion which were discussed in womens fashion magazines, styles for curling boys' hair do not seem to have been discussed in such detail. The styling of women's hair, however, was discussed in great detail. Givemn the interest of women in hair styling, this must have been an issue discussed in women's fashions magazines. Probably there were many articles advising women on hair styling. Probably women just used the prevalent styles for themselves and girls for their sons. The information in fashion magazines was presumably used my mothers in styling their sons' hair, even though there may have been little information, specifically about ringlet curls for boys.

Figure 3.--This American boy wears elaborate ringlet curls, but a rather plain bow and boyish suit. He wears his ringlets with bangs. Click on the image for a full view. His mother clearly thought that his curls should be kept well after breeching.

Maintenance

The question of maintenance introduces a factor of social class. Curling a boys' hair required considerable effort and attention. Less affluent mothers who might also have kept their sons in dresses, probably did not have the time or energu to curl their sons' hair. Thus a boy in long ringlets was likely to be a reflection of a prposperous houshold, often where the mother had at least part-time help, perhaps a permanent staff. Maintenance pribably became an increasing problem as a boy got older, cajoling him to cooperate in the nightly ritual of putting his bair in curling papers. Presumably special attention was given to curling a boys hair on special occasions. It is possible that on many ays a boy might have not had his hair curled at night, but in preparation for church, parties, weddings, visitors, or other special occasions that great attention was given to the curling process. Hopefully some of the female visitors to HBC will advise us on the process involved.

Figure 4.--The boy's name here was Michael. He is younger than several of the boys pictured here, but still has already been breeched.

Age to Cut

Any mother who styled her son's hair in ringlet curls faced the eventual decision of eventually when to cut the curls. Most boys had their hair cut at about 5 or 6 years of age. A major factor here seems to have been when boys began school which was normally about 6 years of age. And this became increasingly important as the public school system became more established. Some doting mothers, however, put off the day until the boy was much older, until 7 or 8 years. Although less common some boys wore curls until 10 or 11 years. I am not sure just how mothers made this decision. Certainly how they were raised and when their brother hair was cut was a factor. They must have discussed the question with their mother and sisters. The styles worn by the sons of friends must have also been a factor. With older boys, their husband probably had something to say. It would be interesting to know just what a mother was thinking about as she made the decision to cut her son's curls. Probably she thought about how sweet, and innocent he looked in long ringlet curls. But perhaps the greatest consideration was the feeling that she was losing her beloved boy to the adult world. It seems likely that many of these feelings may not have been clearly articulated. They would more likely have been unarticulated feelings. There are probably some published accounts, perhaps including published letters, of mothers writing to family and friends discussing the issue of when to cut their son's precious curls. Of course another factor to be consuidered is fashion. With the great growth in popularity of ringlet curls as a result of the Fauntleroy craze, affected age conventions. Hopefully we can eventually add such information to hBC.

Figure 5.--European mothers also curled their sons hair. Some would add little stylistic features, such as a hairbow. This Swedish boy is Dag Hammarskjold, the future United Nations Secretary General. It is likely that he had no say in how he was outfitted.

Before or After Breeching

Another major decision for the 19th and early 20th Century mother was wheter to cut their son's hair before or after breeching. It is likely that almost all mothers who decided to style their sons' hair in ringlet curls also kept him in dresses. At about 5 years of age the question of cutting the boys' curls and breeching arose. Some mothers simply put both questions off for a few years. Others decided to either brrech their sons and cut his curls at the same time, or more commonly to cut the curls or breech him first. There does not seem to have been any accepted convention as to whether a boy should be breeched before his curls were cut or after.
Before breeching: Some mothers had their boy's hair cut before hewas breeched as is demonstrated by many period photographs with boys with short hair wearng dresses and kilt suits. Breeched boys with curls commonly ranged any where from 4 to 10 years of age. Some boys were kept in curls even at 10 or 13 years of age, but the number is far fewer than the younger boys.
After breechingMany other photographs, however, testify to the mothers who kept their sons in curls while still in dresses. This is somewhat more difficult to determine becausethe gender of many children is not readily apparent. Some basic guidelines, however, areavailable to help determine a child's gender even when wearing dresses and long ringlet curls.

Figure 6.--Conventions varied from family to family, but curtting the curls often came before breeching. While older boys in Fauntleroy suits might wear ringlet curls, the older boys wearing dresses generally had shorter hair.

Conventions

We not sure that the conventions for breeching and ringlet curls were written down. This may explain the great diversity in the ways boys were dressed. I believe the topics must hsve been addressed in the poliferation of ladies magazines that appeared in the 19th Century. They advised wives and mothers on virtual everying from how to prepare pickles to forming box pleats in skirts and dresses. Hair styling was one of the great range of topics addrssed. It is of course one of the topics of greatest interest to women. Children's hair styling is a different msatter. The conventions as far as I can determine were for all younger boys to wear dresses. While in dresses some of the boys had their hair cut. Other boys were kept in curls before breeching. Others wore curls even after breeching. Sometimes several years after breeching. One interesting conventiopn was that while some older boys were kept in dresses, in some cases until 9-11 years of age, these older boys generally had their curls cut. Most boys still in curls at that age wore Littlr Lord Fauntleroy or sailor suits. The boys in dresses though almosy always had short hair.

Country Trends

We believe the same basic decessions were confronted by parents throughout Europe and North America. We know most about the trends in America because our American archive is more extensive. Also the Fauntleroy Craze and the popularity of doing boys' hair in ringlets was more pronounced in America than any other country. We suspect the same basic pattern prevailed in other countries as well. American women, however, seemed particularly determined.

Figure 7.--Note this Canadian boy's (H. Christie) long tresses were not curled. American mothers in the 1880s who decided to let theeir sons' hair grow, often curled it. This was not always the case in other countries.

Making the Decision

The mother in the Victoria and Edwardian family generally made most decisions associated with raising small children. They were the ones that decided how the boys were dressed and how their hair was styled. I do not believe the father generally was greatly involved in the decuisions concerning the child at the younger ages. As the child grew older the father became more involved. This was particularly true as the question of the child's education arose. But the mother probably continued to be the primary decision maker on questions of clothes and hair. It is likely that the boy himself had little say in such questions. Contemporary accounts suggest that many boys at the time would have not thought about questioning their mothers, especially younger boys. As they got older, certainly the boys would have expressed their opinions, usually requesting that their air be cut. Some mothers may have acced to their wishes. Others had very strong ideas about how boys should be dressed and their hair styled. Some boys may have asked their fathers to intercede. Some fathers probably declined, thinking such matters were the province of their wives. Other fathers intervened if their wives delayed cutting a child's curls beyond what the father considered appropriate--but this varied greatlty from family to family. Some families may have approached the decissions about cutting a boys'curls in a more cooperative manner. Mothers and fathers may have discussed the issues. Some available accounts suggest that fathers expressed their opinion on such matters, but generally acceded to their wives, especially when their sons were younger. As children approaced 5 or 6 years of age, probably the fathr became more involved in the question how the boys were dressed and their hair styled. The question in the 19th Century was not as simple as it might have seemed. Many 19th Century adults, even in the late 19th Century, wore long hair. Luminaries like Buffalo Bill or General George Armstrong Custer, for example, were well known for their long hair. While some adults had long hair, boys' hair, however, was generally short after their was cut as small boys. Some boys who lost their fathers at an early age were probably most proned to have theur breeching delayed and be kept in curls the longest. They did not have a father they could ask to intercede on their behalf. Some if they were lucky may have had uncles that they could approach to intercede for them.

Figure 8.--Although unusual for the 1900s, noted American author Thomas Wolfe's mother insisted on long ringlet curls, even after he had started school. He hated it and pleaded to have his curls cut. Mercifully an Uncle took him at 8 years of age to the barber for a hair cut.

Rite of Passage

It was always a major rite of passage for a boy to finally have his curls cut and allowed to wear more closely cropped hair. While long hair for boys in the 1960s became very fashionable, it was certainly never curled. In previous years, however, long hair, even uncurrled long hair, was generally perceived as girlish. As a result, many a boy looked for ward with great relish to have his locks trimmed. For many a doting mother, however, it was often a trying experience bringing forth gushing tears and the site of herdarling sons flowing curls falling to the floor. Many mothers would save the clipped curls as keepsakes. Franklin Roosevelt's mother, for example, kept her son's curls in a trunk with his baby dresses and other keepsakes as long as she lived. Some mothers saved only a lock or two some mothers saved them all. In some cases the cutting of a boys' curls was imortalized by a photographic portrait.

Cutting Curls

One of the most significant day of a boy's life in the late 19th and early 20th century was the day he was allowed to have his curls cut. Mothers of the day differed on whether it was preferable to cut a boy's curls before or after breeching. Some thought it was more important to breech a boy first while others though cutting his curls more important. Other mothers both breeched and cut a boys curls at the same time.

Who Did the Cutting

We are not sure just who did the cutting. The work of curling the boys hair was as far as we cam tell entirely done by the nother or female household help in the home. Just who finally cut the curls is an open question. We have virtually no information addressing this tgopic. As mother was primarily responsible for the younger children, it seems likely that in some cases it was mother who actually cut the boy's curls. But this was a wrenching decesion for many mothers who were lothe to accept that their little boys were growing up. Thus in some homes it fell to father tgo do the cutting. We are not entirely sure how this was decided. It must have been a matter of discussion between the molther or father. Some of this discussion was probably in private. Some may have been done with the child present. Presumably the boy may have been allowed to pipe up himself on the topic. Often a decesion was mutually reached. In some cases, mothers were adament on the subject of cutting a boys curls. Some boys who has determined mothers like Elizabeth Barret Browning or who lost their fathers likev Thomas Wolf might have particularely difficult times. We think thst often it was the father who dud the curring, bith with or without mother's approval Some fathers actually wirlded the susors. Some may have taken the boy to the barber shop. To this dat, the bsrber shop is a male enclave. It is usuaslly the father who takes the boy there.

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Created: November 24, 1998
Last edited: 7:54 PM 9/12/2010