*** United States boys clothes: neckwear types floppy bows size








United States Boys' Floppy Bows: Sizes

floppy bow sizes
Figure 1.--This unidentified boy wears a kilt suit with a very small bow and fancy lace collar. The photographer was D. Hinkle, Germantown, Pennsylvania. The portrait is undated, but we would guess the 1870s--primarily because of the small bow. Both age and chronology were key factors deterining the size of bows Click on the image tp see the boy's entire outfit.

Floppy bows came in all kinds of sizes. Some were so small that they look more like bow ties. Others were so large that they they also seem to engulf the boy. This varied primarily chronolhically. Age was another important factor. Bows in the 1870s were relatively small. We note larger bows in the 1880s. They could be enormous in the 1890s. The floppy bow was an important part of the Little Lord Fauntleroy costume, but was worn with many other outfits as well. The floppy bow declined somewhat in size during the 1900s when they rapidly went out of style. Size conventions varied from family to family. Here it was all up to mother. She could buy as long a length of material as she wanted to make the bows. We don't know much about this, but assume a millenary or department store had all kinds of colors and patterens of bow material in different widths. It must have been a very colorgul section of the store. I'm nor sure what the widths were. Age was another factor. Younger boys seem to have the largest bows, but of course small-sized children make the bows look larger.

Chronology

We see some large bows in the early-19th century, but that was before photograpy. So we have very few images. We think this may have been more of a Eurioean style for young men. Large floppy boww we see for American bows were primarily seen during the late 19th century (1880s-90s). We see mostly smaller bows (1900s decade).

Ages

Flopp bows varied greatly in size. We see some enormous bows. There also were smal bow. The most common bows were a medium size, although by modern standards these would have be seen as very large sizes. This was during the Fauntleroy Craze (1885-1905). These really large boys were mosly worn as part of Fauntleroys suits. And for some reason the younger the boy often, the larger the bow. Some of the bows of youngr boys seem almost to engulfed the bow. This was not always the case, but it ws very common. The effect was commonly only intensified by thekarge collars won as part of the Fauntleroy style. Older boys tended to wear smaller bows. This was not nly in relstive, but actul sizes. These large bows were also worn with Buster Brown suits, but Fauntleroy suit bows were more common.

Dimensions

Floppy bows came in all different sizes. The huge floppy bows worn with Fauntleroy blouses and suits are probably the best rememberd floppy bows. These large bows are perhaps the most remarkable boy garments in American fashion history. These bows in fact came in many different sizes. The large bows wre just part of the story. Some were so small that they look more like bow ties. Others were so large that they they also seem to engulf the boy. This was especially the case with the smaller boys wearing them. And of course there were many bows in between these two extremes. Its somewhat difficult to size these bows in numerical terms. When using the photographic record it is easier to assess the bows in relative terms, thsat is the size in terms of the bows wearing them. Some floppy bows did not even cover the collar. Others streached from shoulder to shoulder and even beyond.

Gender

It was primarily boys who wore floppy bows in the late-19th century. We see some girls wearing neck nows them, but not nearly as commonly as the boys or bows as large as the ones worn by boys in the photographic record. What is particularly notable it was boys who wore the really large floppy bows so popular in the late-19th century. Some boys were literally engulfed by huge bows and ruffled collars. You do not see similar bows for girls. Neckwear for girls was not unknoiwn, but not huge floppy bows. We are not entirely sure why this gender difference existed. Presumably it was simply an elaboration of the estsanlisdhed convetiin of male neckwear. Girls wore a variety of bows, inxluding hair bows, shoulder bows, back waist bows, shoe bows and other decorative bows. The neck bows, however, especially the large bows, seem primarily for the boys.

Factors

There were two primarily factors affecting the size of these bows--chronology and age. Social class may have been another factor. The size as besr we can tell varied primarily chronologically. Age was another important factor. Bows in the 1870s were relatively small. We still see some small bows in the early-80s. A good example is Eddie Wilson, a New York boy in 1882. We note larger bows in the 1880s, especially by the mid-1880s. They could be enormous in the 1890s. The floppy bow was an important part of the Little Lord Fauntleroy costume and many were emnense. Not all boys wore floppy bows with Fauntleroy suits, but many did. nd he bows worn with Fauntleroy suits tended to be very large. The floppy bow was worn with many other outfits as well. The floppy bow declined somewhat in size during the 1900s when they rapidly went out of style. Size conventions varied from family to family. Here it was all up to mother. She could buy as long a length of material as she wanted to make the bows. We don't know much about this, but assume a millenary or department store had all kinds of colors and patterens of bow material in different widths. It must have been a very colorgul section of the store. I'm nor sure what the widths were. Age was another factor. Younger boys seem to have the largest bows, but of course small-sized children make the bows look larger. It wasn't just the little bows that wore the large bows, but because of their small size it was most noiceable with them.







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Created: 11:09 PM 12/22/2007
Last updated: 11:37 PM 3/27/2024