Figure 1.--This is 1901 cabinent card portrait of Raymond and Earl Davis wearing USS Maine sailor caps with their sailor-styled Fauntleroy suits. The portrait was taken by G.W. Lumbard in Syracuse Nebraska. The boys were 3 and 4 years old. |
Many 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. Probably the wide-brimmed sailor hat is most associated with the Fauntleroy suit. There were, however many oher cap styles worn with the Fauntleroy suit. This includes headwear styles not often associated with Fauntleroy suits, including many cap styles. 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. Sailor caps seem to have been especially common headwear with Fauntleroy suits. The boy here wears the saucer style of sailor cap based on the style actually worn by sailors at the time. We also notice boys wearing soft sailor caps. In addition to sailor caps we note peaked caps, pill-box type caps, tams, and many others.
We do not see many boys weariing Fauntleroy suits with berets. The Fauntleroy suit was particularly popular in America and we do not see many American boys wearing berets in the 19th century. At the time the beret was largely resricted to France and northern Spain. We do see some American boys wearing berets with the Fauntleroy styled outfits that a few boys wore in the 1920s and 30s.
The fez was not a major cap style in America, especially for boys. It was more of an indoor cap style worn by well-to-do men worn in their studies with smoking jackets. We do, however, see a few boys wearing them, often with Fauntleroy suits or Fauntleroy blouses. There was no headwear especially made for the Fauntleroy suit. The wide-brimmes sailor hat is probably the headwear most associated with the Fauntleroy suit, but only some of the boys wearing Funtleroy suits wore these hats. As best we can tell, mothers chose just just about every type of headwear except baby bonnets for their boys to wear with Fauntleroy suits. We are not sure just why that was, but it is clearly evident from the photogrphic record. We don't think there wa any other suit type woen with such a diverse vsriety of headwear. Fezes were notv a common chouce, but we do see a few examples in the photographic record. The boy here looks to be wearing a collar-buttoning suit with froging. His outfit only has Fauntleroy touches. We see a large white collar we think with lace edging. There is akso a ribbon bow. Other boys wearing fezes wore actual Funtleroy suits with cut-away jackets.
We notice some boys wearing jaunty flat caps with Fauntleroy sxuit. The dlat cap of course was to become a major style for boys in the early 20th century. It was not, however, nearly as common in the 1880s and 90s. Nor was it seen as an important style of boys headwear. The flat cap does not look quite right for the Fauntleroy to modern eyes because we see the Fauntleroy suit as vera very formal outfit and the flat cap as a casual style, but remember that may not be how 19th century mothers may have viewed it. This was not one of the more important types of headwear worn with Fauntleroy suits, but we do see a number of examples in the photographic record. What we do not know if these caps were bought specifically to wear with the boy's Fauntleroy suit or was just one of the caps the boy had.
We notice a few boys wearing what we would call jockey caps with Fauntleroy suits. Somehow it does not look quite right because a jockey cap looks like a casual cap and the Fauntleroy suit looks so formal, but apparently in did not jar the fashion sence of late-19th century American mothers. These caps migjht be donme in bright colors like jockies wore. Some look rather like British school caps, but with two bills (peaks). There were also bows on the top which was the case with actual jockey caps as well. Some were done in circles like we have seen at British schools, but we think jockey colors were the primary inspiration. The actual colors are hard to identify given the black and white photography, bur we think that at least some were done in bright colors. Jockey caps were not a major type of headwear worn with Fauntleroy suits, but we see a number of examples. We think this was mostly in the early phase of the fAuntleroy craze (1885-95), but this needs to be confirmed. Several of the examples we have are from the Midwest and other areas away from the fashionable northeastern urban centers.
One of several headwear styles that do not seem to fit in with the Fauntlkeroy image is the mortar board or academic cap. Unlike most of the more unusual caps that seem to have been worn just because they were fashionable styles, this was not a cap that American boys commonly wore. We haveno idea why so many mothers chose motar boards for their sons to wear with Faintleroy suits. Perhaps readers will have some ideas here. The only connection we can make with boys is that in England this was a kind of uniform headwear at some schools, we think mostly prep schools. We do not see this, however, at American schools. This was not one of the most common headwear styles, but we see quite a few examples in the ohitographic record. We believe this was only the case here in America. A good example is Montana boy John Young in the 1890s.
Nothing illusdtrated how Fauntleroy headwaers was enornously varied than the peaked caps sonm boys wore. We see two types of peaked caps being worn with Fautleroy suits. One tyoe was a peeaked military cap, the other was what we now know as a British school cap. The primary peaked military cap was what we believed was maeant to be a sailor cao. We might toiday capm ot an admiral's cap. It oays a passing resembkancve to a German school cap. We do not know what it swa called at the time. We do not notice American boys searing these caps until ther Fauntleroy craze began. There was another militay peaked cap style. It was the Civil War kepi, but we do no see many. We do see a few. The English-style peaked cap is not a style we normally associate with fancy Fauntleroy suits. This in in part because so many different hats and caps were worn with Fauntleroy duits. The peaked cap in Britin was a school style, Ameriuca ir became a style worn by boys from affluent homes wore when dressing up. Although this wa not a convedntion yghat was yey estanlihed ijn gthe 19gth centuru. We note, hiwever quite a few boys wearing these caps with Fauntleroy suits. This seems to have been most common in the 1880s and 90s. This is when we first see the caps in America. They appeared earlier in Britain. This the conventions for wearing them were not yet very firm. We see boys of a wide age range wearing these caps, wider than the better known wide-brimmed sailor hat and sailor caps. We are not entirely sure why these caps were chosen. They seem somewhat odd to our modern eye, mixing a rather plain style with the fussy Fauntleroy suits, perhaps the greatest extent of sartorial overkill for boys.
we pill-box caps in England, a military style. It was, however, a rate English style that did not appeal to Americans. We do not see merican boys wearing this style to any extent and have not yet found a Fauntleroy example.
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Sailor caps seem to have been especially common headwear with Fauntleroy suits. The boy here wears the saucer style of sailor cap based on the style actually worn by sailors at the time. We also notice boys wearing soft sailor caps. These were the two main sailor caps at the time. They would have been seen as a little more informal than the wide-brimmed sailor hat. These caps were probably mor common for somewhat older boys. It is mostly te daek caps we note being worn with Fauntleroy suits. I am not entirely sure whu sailor styles were so common with Fauntleroy suits. I supose this primarily reflects the population of th sailor style.
We see a few boys wearing cottish style caps with Fauntlerpy suits. Queen Victoria popularized Scottish styles in Britain and this fashion spread to America. There are two styles of Scottish headwear, commonly called bonnets, Balmorals and Glengarries. We mostly see the Balmorals being worn with Fauntleroy suits. Glengarries were not unknown. we see them being worn with kilt suits which were popular during the Fauntleroy era. For some reason, however, the Glengarries were not very common with Fauntleroy suits. We do se Balmorals in the photogrphic record. This was not one of the more common choices, but we do see several examples in the photographic record. We think the use of Scottish headwear was just a matte of using the headwear styles popular at the time. There was no definitive association with yhr Fautleroy style.
We see some portraits of boys wearing tams with Fauntkeroy suits. The tams varied in color. Commonly they were chosen to match the color of the suit. We notice varuoys sizes, some quite large. They came with and without tassles. Most seem to have been worn in the 1880s and 90s. Generally they were worn with younger children. This was not one of the most common headwear styles, but we do not several boys wearing tams. I believe it was astyle also orn by girls, but the tassle was usually worn just by boys.
We see quite a few boys wearing yachting captain's caps. This is not a style normally associated with Fauntleroy suits, but it was one of maby styles worn with them. This was usually worn with short hair styles, but we even note boys wearing these caps with ringlet curls. A good example is an unidentified Wilmington, Deleware boy.
In addition to sailor caps we note many other caps being worn with Fauntleroy suits. Many seem rather incongrous pairings, but apprently not in the contemporary eye. We note peaked caps, pill-box type caps, tams, and many others.
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