Figure 1.--This boy wears a Fauntleroy styled kilt suit. It was a practical choice for a boy in that after breeching he could comtinue wearing it by simply replacing the kilt with kneepants. Note the petticoats or pantalettes at the kilt hem. Also notice that this was a light-colored suit, but we are not sure as to just what color. |
The kilts of these suits varied. They were really skirts, but
generally referred to as kilts, presumably being a term more
approprite for a boy. Some were Scottish plaid. Unlike
kilt suits, which used generally muted plaids, the plaids worn with
Fauntleroy kilts could be, but were not necearily, much brighter plaids than worn with kilt suits. Other of these Fauntleroy kilts were clearly designs vaguly similar to plaid. Many were solid colors, almost always matching the jackets. White the plaid kilts were not worn with matching jackets, the solid color suits almost always did match. They also were almost always dark colors. I'm not sure about just what color
American boys began wearing kilt suits commonly in the 1870s. These suits with Fauntleroy styling, however, became especially common in the mid-1880s with the publication of Mrs. Burnett's book, Little Lord Fauntleroy. They were commonly worn in the 1890s, but declined in popularity after the turn of the century.
The kilts worn as part of a Fauntleroy kilt suit varied. They were really skirts, but generally referred to as kilts, presumably being a term more approprite for a boy. There were two major types, plaid and solid colored kilts.
Some kilt suits were made with Scottish plaid material. Unlike
kilt suits, which used generally muted plaids, the plaids worn with
Fauntleroy kilts could be, but were not necearily, much brighter plaids than worn with kilt suits. Other of these Fauntleroy kilts were clearly designs vaguly similar to plaid.
Many Fauntleroy kilts were solid colored suits, almost always matching the jackets. White the plaid kilts were not worn with matching jackets, the solid color suits almost always did match. They also were almost always dark colors. I'm not sure about just what colors in which Fauntleroy kilts suits were made. They appear to have been mostly black and other dark colors. HBC has noted, however some light-colored Fauntleroy suit kilt. The black and white photography of the day, however, offers few clues as to the actual color.
Styles of the kilt skirt varied substantialy. The primary variations were the pleating and front pannel.
Proper Highland kilts were made with extensive pleats. While the available images are not always clear enough to determine the pleating, it appears that the kilt skirts for Fauntleroy kilt suits were often made with few pleats. Cost may be a factor here as heavily pleated garments required much more material than unpleated garments.
Many Fauntleroy kilt suit had large unpleated front pannels. HBC believes that many of these kilts were pleated in the back. As most studio portraits of the day were taken fron the front, HBC can not confirm the back treatment at this time.
The kilts with kilt suits were usually worn beloe knee level. The length suggest by fashion experts was just below the knee. Some boys, however, wore their kilts well below the knee, in some cases at nid-calf level. HBC sdoes not believe that this was a fashion statement, but rather the tendency of mothers to buy or order larger sizes so the boy could wear then even as he got olde and needed larger sizes.
Most boys wore Fauntleroy kilts with short hair. This suggests that most boys had their curls cut before breeching. Sopme mothers breeched their boys before cutting his curls, but cutting the curls first appears to have been the most common procedure. The number of available images of boys' hair styles with Fauntleroy kilts suggest that about 10 percent of boys may have worn long curls with this garment.
Boys wore Fauntleroy kilts with a variety of different garments, including headerar, long stockings, pantalettes, and petticoats.
HBC has observed boys wearing Fauntleroy suits and Fauntleroy kilt suits primjarilt\y wearing broad-brimmed sailor hats and floppy tam o'shanters. In fact most of the available images show the boys without their headwear. Amost certainly boys had headwear as at the time, headwear was almost always worn wheb going out, especially when formally dressed. The boys generally removed their hats for portraits, in part because mothers often wanted their hair to show in the photographs. Besides the more common headwear, HBC has noted a varierty of other caps and hats. One such cap was a brimless pill-box type cap that adults sdometiomes wore with smoking jackets.
Fauntleroy kilt suits appeared as pantalettes were becoming less fashionable. They were inintially worn to be seen, but this was no longer fashionable in the 1880s. Some boys may have worn them, but as they were not worn to be seen, this is difficult to determine.
Some boys wore petticoats with their kilt suits. This is difficult to quatify. However, on many available photographs, white petticoats or pantalettes can be seen peaking out at the hem of the kilt.
The kilts with kilt suits were almost worn with long stockings. HBC has not noted American boys wearing anything but long stockings with kilt suits, but the asame may not be true of European boys. HBC has reviewed large numbers of photographs and boys virtually always wear kilt suits with long stockings. This is quite different than the case of Highland kilts which were worn with knee socks. The long stockings worn were also almost always dark stockings, although I am not sure about the colors.
Fauntleroy Related Pages:
[Return to the Main Fauntleroy kilt suit page]
[Edwardian Fauntleroy suits]
[Final Fauntleroy period]
[Fauntleroy dresses]
[Lace collars]
[Vivian Burnett]
[Fauntleroy patterns]
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[Kilts]
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[Pinafores]
[Sailor Hats]
[Blouses]
[Ring Bearers]
[Long hair]
[Ringklet curls]
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[Bangs]
[Collars]
[Bows]
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