Figure 1.--This undated photo of the tree Bavarian princes with their mother in fancy satin suits. The portrait was probably taken about 1911. Note the sashes. We are not sure about the color of the suits. We might guess light blue, but we are not sure.

Several portraits of Prince Luitpold and Prince Albrecht show the boys wearing fancy outfits at different ages. They might be called Fautleroy suits, although they were not made with the classic cut-away jackets. They had collar-buttoning jackets. The outfits changed somewhat as the boys got older. The primary difference was in the pants. The boys while very young wore skirts. As younger boys they wore long short pants with white socks. At an older age they wore below the knee knicker-length pants with buckles and long stockings. The outfits were worn with with open lace collars and matching lace at the cuffs. They alsio had fancy sashes. There were both light and dark outfits. The light outfits looked like satin. We are not sure what color. The dark outfits look like velvet. They could be black, but we are not positive about that. They are not precisely Fauntleroy suits, but are fancy suits. We are not sure just when the boys wore these suits. The images we have found are family portraits and thus do not indicate just where the boys wore these outfits or how commonly. Some portraits are outside and do not look like particularly formal situations. The youngest boy wears a skirt outfit. His older brother wears similar outfits, but with short pants and a waist sash and knickers without a sash. They look about 7-11 yeas old. Most of the images show the boys wearing what look to us like very formal clothing. We notice a few images of the boys more informally dressed, but mostly they were photograph in formal Clothing. The boys seemed to have worn these suits up to about age 13-14 years. As Luitpold tragically died at this time. He does not seem to hve graduated to more mature looking dsuits.

Fancy Suits

Several portraits of Prince Luitpold and Prince Albrecht show the boys wearing fancy outfits at different ages. They are not precisely Fauntleroy suits, but are fancy suits. They might be called Fautleroy suits, although they were not made with the classic cut-away jackets. They had collar-buttoning jackets. The outfits changed somewhat as the boys got older. The jackets seem very similar. The primary difference was in the pants. The boys while very young wore skirts. As younger boys they wore long short pants with white socks. At an older age they wore below the knee knicker-length pants with buckles and long stockings. The outfits were worn with with open lace collars and matching lace at the cuffs. They also had fancy sashes, although these were not always worn. .

Color

There were both light and dark outfits. The light outfits looked like satin. We are not sure what color. The dark outfits look like velvet. They could be black, but we are not positive about that. They were presumably worn seasonslly. The light colors in warm weather amnd the heavier weight, dark-colored suits in cooler weather.

Usage

We are not sure just when the boys wore these suits. They look very formal. The images we have found are family portraits and thus do not indicate just where the boys wore these outfits or how commonly. Some portraits are outside and do not look like particularly formal situations. The photograph here, however, looks like a family scene as it outside and not a formal event (Figure 1). Even so, the boys were probably dressed up for the portrait. The tall glass vase suggests to us that this was a carefully posed portrait and not a family snap shot. The youngest boy on his mother's lap wears a skirt outfit. His older brother wears similar outfits, but with short pants and a waist sash and knickers without a sash. They look about 7-11 yeas old. Most of the images show the boys wearing what look to us like very formal clothing. We notice a few images of the boys more informally dressed, but mostly they were photograph in formal Clothing.

Ages

The portrait here shows the wide age range iver which these suits were worn. The boys seemed to have worn these suits up to about age 13-14 years. As Luitpold tragically died at this time. He does not seem to hve graduated to more mature looking dsuits.

Created: 2:31 AM 2/19/2008
Last updated: 3:49 AM 1/4/2010