Figure 1.-- This cabinet card shows the three Lundorman children (Gesina, Jaus, Sauder) and a cousin, John Kamegieter. (The hand writing is a little unclear.) The portrait is undated, but the stule of yhe cabibet csrd suggedsts the early-1900s. John is the younger boy in the kilt suit sirtting on the arm of the chair. This is a good examople as to how only very young boys were wearing kilt uits by the 1900s. He looks to be about 2 years old, but the only slightky older boy wears a knee pants Fauntleroy suit. The stufio is A.D. Frantz in Ackley, Iowa.
The 1900s decade was the last decade we still see kilt suits, but not very many of them. Fauntleroy styling wa also declining, but persisted a bit longer. The photographic record shows that kilt suits were still worn after the turn of the century in the 1900s, but not nearly as commonly and only by increasingly younger boys. We are not sue why such an important fashion disappeared so quickly, but appears to be part of the widespread change from the convention of dressing younger boys in skirted garments. This is a trend that became noticeable in the mod-1890s. It was just more notieable at the turn of the 20th century. It is unclear just what prompted this, but it is a development that was also observeable in Europe. We still see them being offered in catalogs. They were not as common, but they were such a well eastablished fashion that they persisted for a short time. Most of the examples we have found are from the very early-1900s. In many cases we seem families in the lower-middle class clinging to the style, less aware of the latest fashion trends. A good example is the Carol family in rural Texas during 1901. Both boys were wearing kilt suits with Fauntleroy touches. The age conventions changed slightly over time. Only quite young boys for the most part wore kilt suits in the 1900s with a few exceptions.
