Figure 1.-- This cabinet card portrait shows unidentified American brother and sister, although they do not look very similar. It is undated, but was probably taken was taken in the late-1890s. The girl's puffed sleeve dress suggests the portrait was taken about 1895. The mount style seems more like the early-20th century, perhaps about 1905 so the late-1890s seems a reasonable guess. hey look to be about 8-10 years of age. The boys looks to be wearing an open jacket sailor suit, a dressy style. Mother has added a huge Fauntleroy collar and floppy bow to give the outfit a Fauntleroy look.

We see boys in many countries wearing clothes with Fantleroy styling. For the most part this mirrored the popularity of the Fauntleroy suit itself. Fauntleroy styles was most common in the United States, but we see boys wearing clothes with Fauntleroy styling in England, France, and many other mostly Western European countries. The most common approach was to use Fauntleroy collars and floppy bows on standard suits and sailor suits. We also see boys wearing large collared Fauntleroy blouses. This extended Fauntleroy styling to a much wider age group than the mostly younger boys wearing actual Fauntleroy suits. In America you see even younger teens wearing Fauntleroy blouses. And this was not just boys with doting mothers. Fauntleroy blouses were an important item in mail order catalogs meaning they were a mass market item. We do not see such wide-scale usage in any other country. This all varied from country to country. It seems much less common in Germny and Russia, for example, than many other countries. Some countries are more difficult to assess because we have only a limited archive.

America

Fauntleroy styles was most common in the United States. Proper Fauntlrroy suits wer mostly wotn by pre-school boys. We see, however, older boys wearing a variety of outfits with Fauntleroy garments or Fauntleroy trim. he most common approach was to use Fauntleroy collars and floppy bows on standard suits and sailor suits. We also see boys wearing large collared Fauntleroy blouses. This extended Fauntleroy styling to a much wider age group than the mostly younger boys wearing actual Fauntleroy suits. In America you see even younger teens wearing Fauntleroy blouses. And this was not just boys with doting mothers. Fauntleroy blouses were an important item in mail order catalogs meaning they were a mass market item. We do not see such wide-scale usage in any other country.

England

France

Germany

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HBC

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Created: 1:41 AM 3/11/2017
Last updated: 1:41 AM 3/11/2017