|
Some boys wore their Fauntleroy suits with long hair. American mothers commonly did the long hair in ringlets. This is the hair style most associated with Fauntleroy suits. That does not mean most boys wearing Fauntleroy suits wore ringlets curls. The photographed record suggests that it was not. Based on available photographs, we would estimate that ringkets were worn by less than 10 percent of the boys wearing Fauntleroy suits, even proper Fauntleroy suits and not just suits with some elements of Fauntleroy styling. Because of the illustrations done for Mrs. Burnett's book, however, a strong association developed with long hair and Fauntleroy suits. The ringlets were a kind of loving addition by fawning American mothers. These longer styles were longer than common at mid-century, in some cases worn to shouldr length. American boys with long hair generally had in done in ringlet curls. This was much less common in Europe. Many boys had their curls cut when they were breeched. Some boys such as some of the boys wearing Fauntleroy suits had their curls cut later. We have developed some information on age trends.
Some boys wore their Fauntleroy suits with long hair. American mothers commonly did the long hair in ringlets. This wasnot the case in Europe. We see boys with long uncurled hair in Europe. We do see ringlets, but not very commonly. Uncurled hair was more common. We see more englih boys with ringlets than elsewhere in Europe, but even in England many boys with log hair did not have it curled. In conteast, in America, uncurled long hair was rate. Mostly boys with long hair during the Funeroy era had their hair curled.
ngletcurl in America is the hair style most associated with Fauntleroy suits. That does not mean most American boys wearing Fauntleroy suits wore ringlets curls. The photographed record suggests that it was not. Based on available photographs, we would estimate that ringlets were worn by less than 10 percent of the boys wearing Fauntleroy suits, even he younger boys wearin proper Fauntleroy suits and not just suits with some elements of Fauntleroy styling. Because of the illustrations done for Mrs. Burnett's book, however, a strong association developed with long hair and Fauntleroy suits. The ringlets were a kind of loving addition by fawning American mothers.
These longer styles were longer than common at mid-century, in some cases worn to shouldr length. American boys with long hair generally had in done in ringlet curls. We not only note various types of Fauntleroy suits, but various hair styles. Ringlets curls done in various ways were common in America. Less so in Europe. Some ringlet curls were very basic with plains bangs fronts. Other ringlet curls hair do were much more complicated with very long curls, hair bws, and curls on the crown as well. These were usually American hair styles. Often these fancy hair styles were combined with very fancy Fauntleroy suits.
Perhaps the style most associated with ringlet cirls is the Fauntleroy suit. Large numbers of American boys wore their fancy Fauntleroy suits with ringlet curls. This included both actual formal Little Lord Fauntleroy suits and a variery of other suits with Fauntleroy styling. Despite the association, however, most boys who wore Fauntleoy suits did not have the added indiginy to bear of also wearng ringlets. Based on the available photographic record, HBC estimates thar the number of boys wearing ringlets with Fauntleroy suits was 10-20 percent with the percentage falling for the older boys.
Many boys had their curls cut when they were breeched. This varied somewhat. Sometimes boys had their curls cur before breeching Others after nreeching. This varied from family to family. The Fauntleroy changed the dynamic. The Fauntleroy craze proved so popular that many mothers seems to have decided to breech their sons earlier than they might haveotherwise. And this also mean that fewer mothers cut their sons' curls before or even at the sane time as breeching. Rather they wanted long hair tht could be curled and worn with Fauntleroy outfits. Here we are not talking avout most boys, but we are taling about a substantial number of boys which is why we begin to see more boys with long hair with the onset of the Fauntleroy era.
Age affected both when a boy's curls were cut as well as the age of wearing Fauntleroy suits. Most boys had their curls cut at about age 3-4 years. Social class factors were involved here. Working-class boys were likely to have their curls cut earlier if they had them at all. Thus the great majority of photographic portraits of boys wearing fancy hair styles were pre-school boys, about 3-4 years old. The age range for Fauntleroy suits was similar, but a little different. Fauntleroy suits were quite popular for boys throughh ages 4-5 years. Boys did not wear Faumtleroy suits to school when they began at age 6 years. Some boys did not attend school or might have a Fauntleroy suit for best wear. And we see a range of school age boys wuth fAuntleroy elemets, the numbers werearin Fauntleroy suits was much smaller. Both hair styles and clothing was lagely at the mother whim if the family was affluent enough to endulge in fashionable dress andthe rising affluence of the United states meant that many mothers were. And as relatively few middle-class women of any means worked, they had a good deal of time on their hands. These trends meant that most boys above the age of 4 years wore Fauntleroy suits with short hair. And the older they git the more likely rhey were to have short hair and the less likely to wear Fauntleroy suits. This leads to a complication. After age 6 years, Fauntleroy suits were less and less common. Any the same mothers who insisted that older boys wear Fauntleroy suits wee probanly the same to whom ringlet curls appealed. Thus boys older boys wearing Fauntleroy suits were probably more likely than the average boy to wear ringlet curls. Another complication is the children of well to do families who were raised and schooled at home with a tutor . These boys had less contact with other boys outsude the family. They as a result might wear Fauntleroy suits and curls beyonf the age of other boys.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Fauntleroy related pages:
[Return to the Main U.S. ringlet curl clothing page]
[Return to the Main U.S. Fauntleroy style page]
[Return to the Main U.S. Fauntleroy hair e page]
[Return to the Classic Fauntleroy page]
[Return to the Main Fauntleroy blouse page]
[Fauntleroy dresses]
[Lace collars]
[Vivian Burnett]
[Fauntleroy patterns]
[Classic materials]
[Classic hair styles]
[Individual classic suits]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing other related pages:
[Dresses]
[Breeching]
[Kilts]
[Smocks]
[Pinafores]
[Sailor Hats]
[Blouses]
[Ring Bearers]
[Long hair]
[Ringlet curls]
[Hair bows]
[Bangs]
[Collars]
[Bows]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
