Figure 1.--This cabinet card shows an unidentified English boy with bhis trusty pooch. The boy looks to be about 5 years old. He wears a Fauntleroy suit with a larfe ruffled collar and ringlet curls. He has a large wide-brimmed hat which was common for both Fauntleroy suits and sailor suits. Notice the chin strap. The portrait is undated, but the mount suggests the 1900s decade. The studio is W.G. Wheately in Burgess Hill.

We see English boys of all ages wearing hats. For some eson, headwear was much more common in earloer period than modern timmes for both boys and girls. Tri-corner hats were popular in yhe 18th century. This deprnded, howseverr, on the chronology. Boys commonly wore hats in the 19th century, especiall younger boys. We do not yet have a lot of information on the early-19th century, our general assessment is that hats were not commpn, but we do not yet have suffient imagery to make any valid assessment. We know much more about the second half of the century thanks to the advent of photography. We note large-brimmed hats becoming very popular for younger boys in the late-19th century. After the turn of the 20th centrury, we see 19th cenyury trends persisting until after World War I into the 1910s. By the 1920s we see far fewr boys wearing hats, especilly younger boys. The one haty style that persisted was the boater, but this was largely a style for boys from affluent families. giels continued wering hats, but rarely boys. the school cap became the standard style for school ahe boys and hats rather rater. this persisted until ininto the the 1950s. after mid-century, headwear og ny kind began going out of style.

Created: 2:56 AM 6/27/2022
Last updated: 2:56 AM 6/27/2022