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Ernest Shepard, the renowned illustrator of children's books, was born
in 1879. His brother Cyril appears to be a couple years older. Ernest as a boy of
about 7 years of age had as a party suit a Little Lord Fauntleroy velvet
suit. It was worn with a modest lace collar which appears to have been
sewn on his jacket rather than part of a blouse.
Shepard'd book Drawn from Memory shows many of the outfits
he worn as a boy up to about 7 years of age. Much of the book in fact is
set about 1886 when Ernest was about 7 years old. The text and the
delightful drawings, some done as a child, convey a great deal of
information about boys' clothes during the 1880s.
Much of Shepard's book deals with the time
when he was about 6 or 7 years old which would be about 1885-86, just when
Mrs Benett published Little Lord Fauntleroy.
I'm not sure if Ernest's mother followed boys fashioned trends closely, or
if she choose a velvet suit and lace collar even before the Fauntleroy
craze. It is not known, for example, if Enest's older brother Cyril also
wore a Fauntleroy suit when he was Ernest's age. The book provides no
insights and Cyril except as a todler is always pictured in a Norfolk or
other jacket and rather uncomfortable looking Eton collar.
Ernest appears to have worn a rather plain Fauntleroy suit His jacket is a quite large front buttoning garment, completely covering any blouse or jacket he might be wearing. Many early Fauntleroy suits had very small cut-away jackets to better display the elaborate blouses and lace collars that the boys wore with them. We are not sure if this is a English style in the first years after the publication of Mrs. Benett's book or if Ernest was simply wear a velvet suit before the popularity of the book generated the demand for large lace collars, fancy blouses and big bows.
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Ernest clearly did not wear a fancy blouse with his Fauntleroy jacket. In fact, his lace collar appears to have been a very modest one. This was in England and a very early bpart of he Fauntleoy era. Quite different than the very large lace collars,
often covering even the shoulders that were worn as part of the
Fauntleroy craze in America. Even so, the lace collar he wore with his Fauntleroy
is the only article of clothing he specifically mentions that he
didn't like. He indicated that he was very
sensative about having to wear it.
Ernest wore a very small bow with his Fauntleroy suit. This was quite
different from the large bows that were becoming fashionable. One
available photograph shows him with a small ribbon-like bow instead
of thw large bows often worn with Fauntleroy suits.
I have no information on the color of Ernest's Fauntleroy suit. Black
seems to be the most likely, but a lot of suits were also made in various
shades of dark velvet. The black and white photography of the day provide
few clues, but published advertisements do mention other colors,
including dark blue, burgandy, and green.
Ernest's Fauntleroy suit had knee pants and was worn with long dark stockings. The drawings in fact suggest he also wore his sailor suit with knee pants and long black stockings. Except when he was a little boy in dresses, the boys always wore long, dark (probably black) stockings.
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Shepard unfortunately provides us no details as to what he thought about his Fauntleroy suit. We do know he was teased about his lace collar. In fact, it was a boy in kilt that teased him. While Ernest and his brother wore dresses as little boys, they do not appear to have worn kilts. While he does not specifically say he never wore kilts, given the thrust of the text--he almost certainly would have mentioned it. The only mention of kilts made by Shepard is the boy wearing a kilt that teased him about his Fauntleroy and lace collar at a party. The two were both smitten by the same littke girl at the party. Ernest didn't take kindly to the comments, especially because he didn't think much of the otherbboy's outfit. Thev two of them faced off and had at each other in the middle of the party. Glasses were broken and Ernest was scolded, for some reason more than the other boy. Ernest spent the rest of the afternoon sulking in a corner watching his adversary dancing with the young lady. He eventually went home in disgrace.
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We are not sure how long Ernest wore his Fauntleroy suit. Presumaby he would have also gotten a Norfolk jacket that about he same age that Cyril got his. That would mean that Ernest continued to wear his Fauntleroy party suit until 8 or 9 years of age. Funtleroy suits were widely wirn in England. The only other country wheev Funtleroy suis were more common was America. And the Dauntleroygarments were even more extreme in America, esopcially the elaborate collars anf floppy bows.
