Figure 1.--Here two unidentified boys wear idehtical knee pants suits. They look to be about 8-12 years of age. The only difference between their outfits is the large ruffked Fauntkeroy collar that mother has added tobthe younger boy's outfit. The portrait is undatedm but was sureklyv taken in thr 1890s. The dealer said about 1896, but we donnot see how such a precise year can be arrived at. The length of the knee pants do suggest the later -1890s. The studio was O'Neil in New Bedford, Massachusettes.

In the period before mass media, there were substantial differences from family to family. Thus it was up to mother to create her own approach to this. The mother decided such matters for the younger children. And mothers could have very different attitudes about such matters. Some mothers wanted to keep their sons like little boys while other mothers were quite willing to dress their sons in the styles for older boys. Father would have more say for the older boys. They also had varied attitudes, but not as varied as mothers. Any mothers had a reat deal to work wih during the 1890s. This was the peak of the Fauntleroy era. There was a vurtual arms race of fancy dressing wagged bybmothers durung the decade. Motherscused theie boys to demonstrate family affuence as the American indudtrial economy raced ahead. Huge ruffeled and lace collars as well as floppy bows were oopular. There were proper Fauntleroy suits as wll as regular suits to which Fauntleroy trim could be added. We also notice cllar-buttoning jackets for younger boys and lael jacket sack suits for older boys. The boys on the previous page are a good example. Here boys wear identical knee opants suits, but the younger boy wears arge ruffekled collar for age grading (figure 1). Knee pants had become standard by the 1890s and actually became knee-length garments. The length of the knee pants were not used fir age grading. Thus was more a function of cganging styles. They were less useful for age grading, at least for school-age boys. They were used for age grading teenagers.

Created: 2:02 AM 6/17/2013
Last updated: 2:02 AM 6/17/2013