Figure 1.--This unidentified boy wears a large floppy bow. He looks to be about 9-10 years old. The portrait is undated, but the clothing and mount style suggest it was taken about 1900-05. The studio was Wint in Allentown, Pennsylvanhia.

Most of our work on boys' collar bows has involved American boys because most of our images are American. As far as we can tell, the fashion was especially popular in America. Large numbers of images show American boys wearing large floppy bows in the late-19th century. Here it was strongly associated with the Fauntleroy style. Large collar bows, however, were worn with many other types of suits, even sailor suits. They were also worn with blouses during the summer by boys who did not wear jackets. We see them worn with the sack suits older boys wore. This included younger teenagers. Many boys dressed up and did not wear bows or other neck wear. This was particularly common in the mid-19th century. A good example here is the Wallis brothers in 1852. Many other boys did wear neckwear and by the 1880s this was often floppy bows. The floppy bow was the most popular tyoe of neckwear for American boys during during the 1880s through the 1900s. A major factor, of course, was Mrs. Burnett and her Little Lord Fauntleroy story that she published (1885). We see boys in other countries wearing them as well, but nowhere were floppy bows as popular as in America. It is a little difficult to estimate, but we woukd say that well over half of the children in studio portraits were photographed wearing floppy bows. Not all of these boys wore huge floppy bowsm but it was a very popular style, at least with the mothers. And it was a destinctly boy's style.

Created: 6:12 AM 7/10/2011
Last updated: 6:12 AM 7/10/2011