Little Lord Fauntleroy Blouses Worn with Kilts/Skirts


Figure 1.--This wonderfull portrait of an American boy was taken during 1897 in Summit, NJ. His name was Russell Emerson Cain. He was born in 1892 and was 5 years old. The image was provided by his granddaughter Barbara Couchon. He wears a Fauntleroy blouse with a checkered bow. His kilt skirt was probably part of a kilt suit. For information about the boy, click on the image.

The same style of Fauntleroy blouse could be worn by boys wearing either kilt/skirts or kneepants. Boys commonly wore Fauntleroy blouses with their kilt suits. The kilt suit had a jacket, and often a vest, to go with the kilt skirt. Boys might wear the blouse with just the kilt skirt. We are not positive about the conventions here, but believe this was especially common during the summer. The blouse worn with the kilt suit, however, was precisely the same as the worn worn with a Fauntleroy suit. Thus when a boy was breeched he could continue wearing the same blouse. We know that these Fauntleroy blouses with kilt suits were commonly worn by American boys. We are less sure to what extent they were worn by boys in other countries. Boys appear to have worn Fauntleroy blouses with kilt skirts through about age 5-6 years of age. This was esentially the same age at which the full kilt suits were worn. Again we have few setails on the conventions involved.

Utility

The same style of Fauntleroy blouse could be worn by boys wearing either kilt/skirts or kneepants. The blouse worn with the kilt suit, however, was precisely the same as the worn worn with a Fauntleroy suit. Thus when a boy was breeched he could continue wearing the same blouse.

Styles

HBC, as noted above, does mot believe there were any special styles to be worn with kilt skirts. There were a wide variety of Fauntleroy blouses available. Most had large collars, but there were many differences. There was an especially wide variation in the trim, with some blouses literally enveloping the boy in ruffles and lace trim. One would think that somewhat fancier jackets might be worn when the boy was wearing just the kilt skirt. With both a Fauntleroy jacket or especially a kilt suit jacket, the blouse was covered up and thus it seems less important to wear a fancy style. (Fauntleroy jackets were small and cut so that the blouse could be seen. Kilt suit jackets, in contrast, covered up all but the collar.)

Kilt Suits

Kilt suits were very popular for younger boys in the late 19th century. Boys commonly wore Fauntleroy blouses with their kilt suits. The kilt suit was rather a plain garment and a Fauntleroy blouse gave it a dressy touch. The kilt suit had a jacket, and often a vest, to go with the kilt skirt. The jackets varied. Some kilt suits had the small bolero-style jackets that were made for Fauntleroy suits. These small jackets were especially designed to show off fancy blouses. This was only one style of kilt suit jackets, but like Fauntleroy suits they were often matched with the Fauntleroy blouse. A good example is Bert Dodge, an American boy in the 1880s.

Seasonal Wear

Boys might wear the blouse with just the kilt skirt. We are not positive about the conventions here, but believe this was especially common during the summer.

Sashes

A HBC reader reports, "I think I see a sash on the kilt outfit. It is almost as if the skirt or trousers had the same accessories added to it. I would not have guessed it." HBC notes that a sash was a common addition to a dress Little Lord Fauntleroy suit. Sashes may have also been added to blouse and kilt skirt outfits, but HBC does not believe this was very common. In this case HBC believes that the whitish areas on the left side of the kilt were probably blemishes on the image. Our HBC reader replied, "I also see a fringe at the bottom of what I thought was a sash. Are you certain it is just white blemishes? This is the left side of the skirt as you face the picture." HBC is asuredly NOT certain, which is one reason why we incourage reader comments that help to bring out costume details that we often miss.

Pleats

A HBC reader also reports that the kilt skirt appears to be pleated. HBC notes that a well made kilt was heavily pleated. This kilt skirt looks to have folds in, but they do not really look like pleats to us. In fact kilt suits often had kilt skirts that were not heavily pleated like a proper Scottish kilt. Irish kilts are also pleated, but often not as heavily pleared as a well-made Scottish pleat. For comparitive puposes, see kilt pleats.

Seasonality

HBC believes that wearing a kilyt skirt without the matching jacket was largely a summer fashion when it would have been too warm for a jacket and vest. A HBC reader believes that "... the large checked bow makes him think the picture was taken during the warmer months. I am uncertain why I think that." While HBC does think that this is a summer outfit, at this time we have no information on the seasonality of bows or patterns.

Nationality

We know that these Fauntleroy blouses with kilt suits were commonly worn by American boys. We are less sure to what extent they were worn by boys in other countries.

Ages

Boys appear to have worn Fauntleroy blouses with kilt skirts through about age 5-6 years of age. This was esentially the same age at which the full kilt suits were worn. Again we have few details on the conventions involved. Available information indicate that kilt suits were made in sizes up to 8 years at the peak of their popularity. Available photograph images generally show boys up to about 6 or 7 years of age wearing them. We have noted that boys just wearing their blouses with the kilt/skirt are usually only up to 5 or 6 years of age. We are not sure if the convention was for younger boys to wear their kilt skirt without the jacket or if this is just a reflection of the limited number of images we have available.






HBC






Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Fauntleroy pages:
[Return to the Main Fauntleroy blouse page]
[Return to the Main blouse page]
[Fauntleroy dresses] [Fauntleroy blouses] [Fauntleroy movies [Lace collars] [Collar bows]
[Vivian Benett] [Fauntleroy patterns] [Literary characters: Cedric Erol]



Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site other related pages:
[Dresses] [Kilts] [Smocks] [Pinafores] [Velvet] [Sailor Hats] [Blouses]
[Ring Bearers] [Long hair] [Ringlet curls] [Bangs [Main bow page] [Sashes] [Hair bows]
[Lace collars] [Ruffled collars]



Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Cloth and textiles] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Topics]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]




Created: July 19, 2001
Last updated: 7:39 PM 4/20/2007