Figure 1.--This cabinet card portrait is identified as Mrs. Bett's children. The boys' first names are not given, but they look to be about 3-8 years of age. We see three boys dressed identically in white knee pants suits with dark lapels. We have not seen suits quite like this before. The fancy blouses give their outfits a Fauntleroy look and it was during the Fauntleroy craze. They all wear dark long stiokings. The cabinet card is undated, but looks to be the 1890s. The very early-1900s is possible, but the mount style suggests the 1890s. The studio was Chas. E. Smith, Evanston, Illinois.

This cabinet card portrait is identified as Mrs. Bett's children. The boys' first names are not given, but they look to be about 3-8 years of age. We see three boys dressed identically in white knee pants suits. They are presumably wummer suits, the dark long stockinfs were common even during the summer. Motice the detinctive dark lapels. All the boys have floppy bows, although not as large as some we have seen at the time. The bows are different and the younger boy's jacket seems a bit different, here we do not see dark lapels. That seems strange, to go to all the trouble to dress the boys identically, but to do the lapels differetly. We have not seen suits quite like this before, especially the dark lapels. Actually, Fauntleroy suits were often done wihout lapels of any kind. A reader writes, "The suits almost looks like satin lapels on a version of a dress suit with modified tails. The outfits may have been for a wedding or some other special occasion." The fancy blouses give their outfits a Fauntleroy look and it was during the Fauntleroy craze. We suspect that these suits would have had to be specilly ordered. So they could well be for a special event. The boys all wear dark long stockings. They all have short hair and bangs. The cabinet card is undated, but looks to be the 1890s. The very early-1900s is possible, but the mount style suggests the 1890s. The studio was Chas. E. Smith, Evanston, Illinois.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Topics]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: 7:28 AM 2/18/2014
Last edited: 7:28 AM 2/18/2014