Figure 1.--This English boy wears a pin-on detachable lace collar. His name was Claude Bolton Wylde. He was photographed in Liverpool during September 1887. He looks to be about 6 years old. Claude wears a rather plain blouse, but the lace collar seems rather elaborate. It is one of the more elaborate such collars that we have noted,. Even so the jacket is worn open soi the blouse can be seen. Note that the jacket is only buttoned at the collar. The large number of buttons weere decorative. Note that there are buttons on both sides, rather than button holes on one side. I'm not sure what color the suit was, but it may have been black.
HBC is unsure has to how widely worn lace collars were in England. We note a boy in an idealized Victorian family wearing a lace collar with a tunic during the early 1850s. Fancy velvet suits were worn by boys in the 1870s, perhaps earlier. It is known that the Fauntleroy craze swept England in the 1880s and 1890, making the fashion more popular than ever for boys. Fauntleroy suits and styling was not as common as in America, but more popular than anyone else in Europe. And many boys wore lace collars as part of Fauntleroy suits. HBC is unsure, however, as to how many of the boys dressed in Fauntleroy suits actually had lace collars. There were some diifferences in style among American and English Fauntleroy suits. English boys wore Fauntleroy blouses with attached collars as well as detachable lace collars. We do not yet know if there were significant differences between the lace collars worn in American and England. We notice quite a number of English boys with lace collars. A good example is a well-to-do boy wearing a velvet dress about 1895. The collars seem rather similar to American lace collars if a bit more elaborate. We have just begun to assess English lace collars and the outfits worn with them. This was often an item which could be sewn on for a dressy effect or esily removed by pulling out a few stitches. We do note that English girls continue to wear lace collrs during the Funtleroy Craze, in America we see mothers tending to reserve lace collars for boys during this period. A good example is the girls dresses at a London school in the 1890s.
HBC is unsure has to how widely worn lace collars were in England. And we see group portraits that show quite a number of children wearing large collars, many of which appear to have some lace. The lace collar was most prevalent with women, but in the 19th century children from families in comfortavke curcumsrancs wore them, especilly girls. This was mostly younger boys not yet breeched, but duing the Fauntleroy era in the lzte-19th century we also see quite a number of boys with lace collrs because of the Fauntleroy craze. Group portraits of course are more useful in demostrating prevalence than single portraits. We hope to expand this section a we expand our English archive. We have just begun to assess English lace collars and the outfits worn with them.
Types
There were two types of lace collars. The detachable lace collar was often an item which could be sewn on for a dressy effect or esily removed by pulling out a few stitches. There were also attached lace collrs, pzrt of a blouse. The attached collars wre more commonly ruffled collrs. Large lace collrs were more likly to be detachable than attachd. This English boy wears a pin-on detachable lace collar. His name was Claude Bolton Wylde. He looks to be about 6 years old (figure 1).
We see huge numbers of American boys wearing fancy collars as part of the Fauntleroy craze, far more than English boys. The American collars were different than the Engkish collars. The Ameriva collars were largely the sa,r shape, a rectangle with a back flap. nd they were mostly ruffled, not lace collars. Sone had klace edaging, but lace collars were a rekatively small proprtion of the collars. Many of the fancy English collars were actual lace collars. And they were done in countless different shapes and designs. True lace is prouced by habd and can not be mass produced. This is why it is so expensive. V Not obly are there counless different designs. Therevare many varied geomertric shapes. Some were rcoh=gbizanle shapes like flowers. this was less common for boys, but we see some. We see cicles, ovals, scrolls, quarter moons, surf like wavess, rays, triangles, and much more. We see many were repeatable geometric salpes. Some werevdine as chockers, but most wwere actual collars. Unlike the rtlled collars they did mot have bacl flaps. Most had largely dound contours aroind the neck. And theuy werevfinisged as starrs, circkes, ovals, fans, sharp points, icycles, and much more. They were ofren sold as Belgian or Venitain lace becuse both areas had a reputation for high quality.
Chronology
We note a boy in an idealized Victorian family wearing a small lace collar with a tunic (early-1850s). Fancy velvet suits were worn by boys in the 1870s, perhaps earlier. It is known that the Fauntleroy craze swept England in the 1880s and 1890, making the fashion more popular than ever for boys. We norice a Surbitin boys with just a hint of lave on his collar (late-880s). The boy here with an elaborate lace collr was photograpjed at about the same time (figure 1).
Fauntleroy Suits
Many boys wore lace collars as part of Fauntleroy suits. HBC is unsure, however, as to how many of the boys dressed in Fauntleroy suits actually had lace collars. There were some diifferences in style among American and English Fauntleroy suits. English boys wore Fauntleroy blouses with attached collars as well as detachable lace collars. We do not yet know if there were significant differences between the lace collars worn in American and England. We notice quite a number of English boys with lace collars and more stylistic variety. A good example is a well-to-do boy wearing a velvet dress about 1895. The collars seem rather similar to American lace collars if a bit more elaborate.
Gender
We do note that English girls continue to wear lace collrs during the Funtleroy Craze, in America we see mothers tending to reserve lace collars for boys during this period. A good example is the girls dresses at a London school in the 1890s.
