Figure 1.-This unidentified boy and his baby sibling are shown in a cabinent card portrait, we think in the 1900s. The boy wears a classic Fauntleroy blouse with a ruffled collar and cutout lace trim along with a white floppy bow. The collar extends over the boy's shoulder. While difficult to see, there is a back falp, athough it is not a geometric rectangle like a sailor collar. The collar styling is repeated in the front and cuff trim. Hr looks to be about 6 yerars old. Notice the boy's ring. The studio was McKinstry in South Mancheste.

We see Many boys wearing blouses in the 1900s. The two most popular styles were sailor and Fauntleroy blouses. The sailor blouuses could vary. The V-front style was nearly universal. And the two or three stripe detailing was becoming increasingly prevalent. We also see large numbers of boys wearin Faunrleroy blouses. The Fauntleroy blouses of the 1900s varied in many ways. We see fancy blouses with large ruffled collars, some trimmed with lace. We see some fancy blouses with lace trim done in linen or even silk. The were commonly worn by younger boys. The ruffled varried. Some were more palin while others were highly ruffled. Almost always the lace trim was cutout lace. The fancy trim was located in three area, including the collar, down the front in a pannel, and around the buttons, and the sleeve wrist cuffs. Normally the styling was coordinated. These three areas varied in style and shape. The collars varied in size and shape. The larger collars extended over the shoulders. Normally the collar front was rounded and the back was done as a back flap like a sailor blouse. The shape of the back flap on these Fauntleroy blouses was not always rectangular like a sailor blouse. The one here seems more like an oval (figure 1). Also notice the length of the cuffs. They extend almost to the boy's elbow. There are many example in the photographic record of boys weaing these blouses. A good example is the boys in the Johnson family in Illinois wearing large ruffled collars and floppy bows in 1907. Lace collars were more varied, but we see fewer lace collars among the fancy collars in the 1900s. We akso see less elegant Fauntleroy vessels donr in mmore cordinatry cotton fabric. This style of Fauntlreoy blouses were worns worn by older boys.

Created: 5:37 PM 4/22/2019
Last updated: 1:28 AM 9/26/2019