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The best known Fauntleroy garment was of course the velvet suit, but many other Fauntleroy-styled garments were made to suit the discerning mother of the day. The classic Fauntleroy suit was the velvet cut-away jacket worn with knee pants or bloomer knickers. Faunteleroy suits were done in other jacket styles, but the small cut-away jacket to show off the fancy blouse was the classic style. Most American boys wore knee pants suits. Knicker suits were popular in Europe. Not all Fauntleroy suits had all of the items, but some were important to the Fauntleroy look. The large, fancy Fauntleroy collar was especially important. Some of the items were worn with other suits to given them a Fauntleroy look. As popular as the Fauntleroy suit wss, many more boys seem to have worn suits with Fauntleroy eklements suchbas a fancy blouse than actual Fauntleroy suits. And of course, some items worn with Fauntkleroy suits such as knee pants were wideky worn at te time with many other suit types. Other garments include bows, sashes, hosiery, and footwear.
The headwear most associated with a boy's best party Fauntleroy suit was the wide-brimmed sailor hat. Other headgear was worn, especially for less formal occasions. The tam was a particularly popular choice. In fact there was no specific headwear made for a Fauntleroy suit, in contrast to sailor outfits. We have seen boys wearing a wide range of headwear with Fauntlroy suit. Hats were the most common, but caps were worn as well.
Mrs. Burnett's book described a boy's suit with kneepants. Some mothers with boys not yet breeched were so enamored with the Fauntleroy style that they wanted their boys to wear a Fauntleroy suit. Many did nmot believe, however, that their boys were ready to breech. Thus the Fauntleroy dress was born. It was a dress with the characteristivc Fauntleroy styling.
The kilt for many boys was a partial step toward the coveted staus of wearing kneepants. For fawning mothers the kilt appealed as it was almost like a dress. It also had the advantage that at the properpont, the kilt could be repaced with kneepants, but the rest of the outfit, jacket and blouse could continue to be worn.
The classic Fauntleroy suit was the garment, of course, which is most identified with the Faintleroy sytle. The suit described by Mrs, Burnett was a black velvet suit worn with lace trim, a red sash and long stockings. It reality she did not describe the now famous suit in great detail. Soon many variants of this basic suit appeared. It appeared in many different colors. Some variants, especially for summer wear were not even velvet. Some suits had ruffled rather than lace collars. One of the most significant additions were often huge bows to complement the white collars. Many boys did not have actual Fauntleroy suits, but rather a plainer suit made to look like a Fauntleroy suit with a large collar and perhaps a floppy bow.
One of the characteristic element of the classic Fauntleroy suit was a large fancy white collar. This was a very impotant part of the Fauntleroy look. The classic Fauntleroy suit was velvet and often quite small to best show off a Fauntleroy blouse with a huge collar, frilkled front, and matching wrist trim. The collar was done with lace with elaborate ruffles, often with lace worked in the ruffles. Fauntleroy suits were also made with collar-buttoning suits. Some mothers would also use these items even if they could bot afford an expensive velvet suit. This allowed mothers of a range of income levels to use the Fauntleroy look. The Fauntleroy look was so popular that many mothers wanted to use it even after a boy had grown out of his Fauntleroy suit. Here rather than a Fauntleroy blouse, oin-on collars might be used. Again matching wrist cuff trim was common. These Fauntleroy blouses and pin-on Fauntleroy trim were also worn with other suits than Fauntleroy suits. Mothers would commonly add this trim to more mature suits for the first few years a boy night wear them. A family with boys of different ages might use these trim items as a form of age grading.
American boys wore their lace collars with large carefully tied bows of different colors and materials. These bow were less characteristic of Englih and French Fauntleroy suits.
A silk or satin waist sashes might be added to a Fauntleroy suit for a formal occasion. Cedric in the book wears a red sash which helped add a splash of color to a black suit. Other colors might be worn with colored Fauntleroy suits.
Classic Fauntleroy suits were worn with long dark stockings. Bkack was the most popular choice, but some colored suits were worn with colored stockings, like the suits usually in a dark shade. After the turn of the 20th Centunry, Fauntleroy suits were also worn with white stockings and socks.
The early Fauntleroy outfits were usually worn with high top shoes, often looking like boots. As the 20th Century approached, low cut shoes became more popular. Stap shoes and buckle shoes were two popular choices.
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