Figure 1.--This boy wears slightly curled hair woth a Tam and plaid dress. The photograph was probably taken about 1890. Click on the image for a full view.
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Figure 1.--This boy wears slightly curled hair woth a Tam and plaid dress. The photograph was probably taken about 1890. Click on the image for a full view. |
American boys in the 19th Century worn long hair with many different
types of clothes. They werewas not just worn with
Fautleroy suits. Many of the boys not yet breeched and still in
dresses also wore their hair long. The pattern was quite varied. Some American mothers allowed their boys to get their hair done cut while still in dresses. The long
hair was worn in many styles, curled, waved, and straight. American
mothers seemed to have preferred ringlet curls. Styles varied
from coutry to country. French mothers appear, for example, were more
prone to keep their boys' hair long while still in dresses, sometimes even adding hair bows.
American mothers during the Fauntleroy craze of the late 19th Century appear to have especially liked long sausage curls to go with the velvet suits and lace collars. Not all boys in Fauntleroy suits had ringlet curls, but many did. Ringlets were also worn by boys still in dresses as
well as other outfits. The ringlets varied greatlty. Many were tightly curled, other boys wore long hair with ringlets formed only near the shoulder.
Figure 2.--This boy wears long shoulder-length waived hair with front bangs and a classic Fauntleroy suit in a photograph taken about 1890. Notice how this boy's mother has carefully arranged the hair so it showed to best advantage in the photograph. |
Some boys had their long hair styled in a kind of wave rather than
ringlets. This was not a common style, but some available images show
that it did exist. Often boys with this style had front bangs. The
boys were mostly still in dresses or wearing Fauntleroy suits, but some
wore other clothes as well. Boys with long waived hair were younger boys up to 5 or 6 years of age.
More common than the long waived hair was straight that was worn
uncurled.
Usually the hair was worn with front bangs. The most common length
for ringlet curls was to the shoulders, but boys with long straight
hair often wore it well below the shoulder.
The boys with long straight hair were often not the youngest boys
as their hair was still natuarally short and often curly. The long
straight hair was normally worn by boys from about 4 to 8 years old.
Most were mostly still in dresses, often Fauntleroy dresses, or wearing Fauntleroy suits, but some wore other clothes as well.
Figure 3.--Note this boy's (H. Christie) long tresses which have not been curled. His mother has kept him in a dress with elaborate work on the skirt and a very wide, lacey Fauntleroy collar. The picture was taken in the late 1880s. Notice the size of the lace collar. |
Some mothers added hair bows to the younger boys wearing long straight hair. This was more common in France, but also occurred in America.
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