Figure 1.--This unidentified American boy has the classic page/Dutch boy bangs that appeared in the mid-1910s. The portrait is undated, but was probably taken in the early-1920s. Notice the straigt cut front bangs and the sculptured side hair over the tip of the ears. The boy looks to be about 6 years old. Sailor suits were commonly worn with these cuts.

A popular American hair style in the early-20th century was page/Dutch-boy bangs. with hair at the side down to or even over the ears. We do not see these cuts very commonly in the 19th century, although we do see see a few. We can not always identify gender with the children wering these styles in the 19th century. We are not sure what they were called. They seem to be mostlty done with short hair, both the fron bangs and the side hair. The somewhat similar bowl cuts were much more common. We suddently see substantial numbers of these cuts in the 1910s-20s. A good example here is Floyd Van Horne about 1915. One source suggests that the tyle was popularized for boys by by silent film child star Jackie Coogan. We see quite a number of boys this age with similar hair syles. Some times the hair was fuller. The style had declined in popularity by the 1930s, at least for boys. It had vecome atandard or firls. Rarely do we see classof girlsithout some sporting this style. And some school portraits seem to show virtually a class full of little Scouts. An unidentified school in the 1930s is a good example. The page boy style made a fashion come back (1950s). It became the height of fashion for women. And we see some boys with with very short bangs. President Kennedy's young son John-John also had a fashion impact for younger boys. The Beatles introduced it for boys and teenagers (1960s). And the hair at the side got longer as long hair styles became increasingly common. We notice this style reappearing for boys during the 1970s as long hair became stylish. We see some boys in the 70s and 80s with very full page/Dutch boy bangs with hair covering the ears, but not ging much below it. The cut was very similar to some of the styles girls and younger women were wearing, rather like the style popularized by Dorthy Hamlin when she was skating.

The 19th Century

We do not see these cuts very commonly in the 19th century, although we do see see a few. We can not always identify gender with the children wering these styles in the 19th century. We are not sure what they were called. They seem to be mostlty done with short hair, both the front bangs and the side hair. The somewhat similar bowl cuts were much more common. We hope to develop this in more detil as HBC expands.

The 20th Century

The popularity of Dutch boy bangs varied substantially during the 20th century with two widely separated peaks of popularity. There were also stylistic differences over time dealing especially with the treatment and lngth of the side hair. We also see differences in the geomeric shaping. Some cuts especilly in the 1910s-20s had very shhrp angles. Other had mor rounded angles. We suddently see substantial numbers of these cuts in the 1910s-20s. The decade styles are a little difficult to differentite because modt of the imges we have found are not dated. A good example here is Floyd Van Horne about 1915. One source suggests that the tyle was popularized for boys by by silent film child star Jackie Coogan. We see quite a number of boys this age with similar hair syles. Some times the hair was fuller. The style had declined in popularity by the 1930s, at least for boys. It had vecome atandard or firls. Rarely do we see classof girlsithout some sporting this style. And some school portraits seem to show virtually a class full of little Scouts. An unidentified school in the 1930s is a good example. The page boy style made a fashion come back (1950s). It became the height of fashion for women. And we see some boys with with very short bangs. President Kennedy's young son John-John also had a fashion impact for younger boys. The Beatles introduced it for boys and teenagers (1960s). And the hair at the side got longer as long hair styles became increasingly common. We notice this style reappearing for boys during the 1970s as long hair became stylish. We see some boys in the 70s and 80s with very full page/Dutch boy bangs with hair covering the ears, but not going much below it. They were also called Prince Valliant cuts, probably because of the comic strip and older boys did not like their cut referred to as a Dutch boy bangs. The cut was very similar to some of the styles girls and younger women were wearing, rather like the style popularized by Dorthy Hamlin when she was skating.

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Created: 9:03 PM 12/31/2015
Last edited: 7:57 PM 7/9/2016