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A Fauntleroy suit was essentily a jacket, especially a cut away, jacket worn with a fancy blouse and kneepants. Several other garments, however were associated with Fauntleroy outfits. American boys wore Fauntleroy suits with a variety of headwear. The most common was the wide-brimmed sailor hat. Other head gear was worn, but was not nearly as popular as in Europe. The classic Fauntleroy suit of the mid-1880s was worn with a lace collar. After the turn of the 20th century, ruffled collars became more common. The large collar the boy here wears is a good example of this (figure 1). Some boys wore pin on lace collars rather than a fancy blouse. The classic Fauntleroy jacket was a cut-away velvet jacket, but there were other styles. One of the most destinctive elements of the American Fauntleroy suit was that it was worn with large, carefully tied bows. Most boys wore large bows to match the large collars. Almost all Fauntleroy suits, except for kilt suits, were worn with kneepants. Unlike England. knicker Fauntleroy suits were rare. American boys normally wore Fauntleroy suits with long black stockings. There were some exceptions here as not all Fauntleroy suits were black. There were also chronological changes especially after the turn of the 20 century. The boy here, gor example does mot look to be wearing black stockings, but it is difficilt to tell for sure (figure 1). Also note that they look to be expensive stockings--the material fits tightly and has a kind of sheen. They may even be silk. The American Fauntleroy suit was often worn with heavy high top shoes that looked like boots. The patent leather pumps and buckle shoes worn in England were much less common in America.
American boys wore Fauntleroy suits with a variety of headwear. Here the fact that the cap was not commonly worn by the boy for photographic studio portraits. This limits the number of vailable images. The most common, or at least the hat most associated with the Fauntleroy suit was the wide-brimmed sailor hat. That is the headwear often used innillustrations. It is not as common in the actual potographic redord. Many other styles of head gear were worn with the Fauntleroy suit depending on the mother's fashion sence. We in fact note quite a range of headwear styles in the photographic record. This includes headwear styles not often associated with Fauntleroy suits. There seems to have been more different headwear styles worn in America than Europe. but this could simply be a reflection of our greater archive of American images. We note some familiar styles as well as styles that we are unsure about the proper term. In addition to broad-brimmed sailor caps we note peaked caps, pill-boc type caps, tams, and many others.
The classic Fauntleroy suit of the mid-1880s was worn with blouses that had lace collars. The blouse was a very important part of the Fauntleroy style. After the turn of tghe 20th century, ruffled collars became more common. The Fauntleroy blouse that the boy here wears is a good example of this (figure 1). Note that you almost can not see the jacket. Some boys wore pin-on lace collars rather than a fancy blouse. It is not always easy to tell if the collar and cuffs are actually part of the blouse or not. Fauntleroy blouses or trim items like collars and cuffs were not always worn with actual Fauntleroy suits. Rather they might be worn with regular sack suits, giving the impression of a Fauntleroy suit. Because the Fauntleroy suit was especially popular in America, the Fauntleroy blouse was also an especially popular American style.
One of the most destinctive elements of the American Fauntleroy suit was that it was often worn with large, carefully tied bows. These bows were also by
European boys, but we see them more commonly in America. Fauntleroy suits were commonly worn both with and without these bows. Many American boys wwere outfitted with large bows to match the large collars that were also commonly worn with Fauntleroy suits. But the large collars were also commonly worn without these boys. Here it was up to the mother's preferences. I do not know if there were social class or other factors associated with the choice. As far as I can tell it was entirely random. We see a wude variety of different bows. There are both solid collored and patterned bows worn. Plaid seemd to have been very popular. The one thing we can't tell is the color because of the black and white photography of the day. The bows were not just worn with Fauntleroy suits. We also see older boys wearing them with sack or regular suits. Often boys when they first got sack suits wore them with floppy bows for a tear or two before beginning to wear more mature neckwear.
A variety of jackets could be worn as part of a Fauntleroy suit, rather complicating our discussion of Fauntleroy jackets. Some were specificically designed to be a Fauntleroy suit. Others jackets were made to look like Fauntleroy suits by adding the fancy trim. Thus actually identifying a Fauntleroy suit and jacket is a little complicated. The variety of jackets used somewhat expanded the ages at which Fauntleroy outfits were worn. We note Fauntleroy outfits with two types of jackets, both small open jackets and collar buttoning jackets. The classic Fauntleroy jacket was a small cut-away velvet jacket. There were other small open front jackets, but not done in the cit=away style. These open-front jackets were made to be worn as Fauntleroy suits. They were designed to expose the fancy blouse work to maximum advantage. We also note collar-buttoning jackets worn as Fauntleroy outfits. We also note boys wearing sack suit jackets with Fauntleroy trim added. Ant jacket could be worn and made to look like Fauntleroy outfits by adding a fancy blouse or pin-on collar. Many of these jackets could be worn with other collars for an entirely different look.
Almost all American Fauntleroy suits, except for kilt suits, were worn with kneepants. I do not entirely understand the dichotomy. Unlike England. knicker Fauntleroy suits were rare. I think this basically was a reflection of the relative popularity of knee pants and knickers in America and Britain, at least for fancy outfits. The Fautleroy suit knee pants were generally knee length. In the 1880s we still see many boys wearing lobger cut knee pants, but the Fauntleroy knee pants were almost always cut at knee level.
American boys sometimes wore sashes of various desriptions with their Fauntleroy suits. This was an optional item, but some times worn with formal outfits. It was presumably worn because Cedric in the original Little Lord Fauntleroy drawings was pictured with a sash. They were done in different styles and sizes. They were used to add both formality and color to the outfit. I'm not sure about the color, but know some were red. A good example is an unidentified Nebraska boy about 1890.
American bpys normally wore Fauntleroy suits with long black stockings. There were some exceptions here as not all Fauntleroy suits were black. There were also chronological changes especially after the turn of the 20 century. The boy here, gor example does mot look to be wearing black stockings, but it is difficilt to tell for sure (figure 1). Also note that they look to be expensive stockings--the material fits tightly and has a kind of sheen. They may even be silk.
The American Fauntleroy suit was often worn with heavy high top shoes that looked like boots. The patent leather pumps and buckle shoes worn in England were much less common in America.
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