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Hair bows are generally associated with girls. Some boys have also had their hair done up in bows. This was mostly very young boys, but we notice a few older boys wearing them as well. The boys involved were mostly the boys who had not yet been breeched and still wearing dresses in the 19th century. We do have mich evidence of this in the early-19th cetury because photography had not yet been invented. We know much more fter the invention of photography (1839), especialy after the appeance of the CDV which meant a massive increase in the number of images produced (1860s). In many of the cases that I know of they were boys still in dresses that had not yet had their hair cut to short boyish length. We notice more images of boys with hairbows in the late 19h century as Fauntleroy syuling and ringlet curls became stylish for boys. This meant that rather than be confined to very young boys, we begin to see some older boys wearing hair bows. This even included school age boys, but these boys would have been educated at home. We have only limited written information on this style. Much of what I know comes from paintings or photographic images.
HBC knows of no study detailing the chronology of hair bows for boys. HBC can only theorize at this time that the hair bows followed the sam basic chronology as long hair for boys as they were worn with long hair and the popularity of hairbows for girls. Men and boys in the 18th century had worn bows on their pigtails. This disappeared in the early 19th century as both boys and men adopted shorter hair styles. Boys generally wore short hair in the first half of the 19th century. Longer hair styles began to become more common in the late 1860s and 70s. It is likely that mothers at the same time began adding hair bows. This continued into the 20th century, becoming less common in thr 1910s and was little seen by the 1920s.
Boys were done up in hairbows while wearing a wide range of clothes. It was not just the boys still in dresses, but this of course was te most common. We believe that in the early-and mid-19th century that boys with hair bows were mostly very young boys who had not yet been breeched and still wearing dresses. Our information, however, is still very limited about the early-19th century. . There was no photography which s our major source of information. The photographic record reveals that the boys with hair bows by the late-19th centuyry were not just boys still in long hair and dressses. Images exist of boys in tunics, Fauntleroy suits, sailor suits, even boylish-looking knicker suits. So it is cleat that just like curls, some boys wore hair bows after they were breeched, in some cases several years after breeching. Bows in Fauntleroy suits sometimes wore hairbows. This is in part because long ringlet curls became an important part of the Fauntleroy look preferred by many mothers. Boys in short hair could not wear hair bows. Thus boys in Fauntleroy suits often had the needed curls. In addition, a hair bow does not seem to be an unsual addition to a boy in a velvet Fauntleroy suit, lace collar, and ringlet curls. Boys in kilts might also wear hairbows. The kilts, of course, are the kilt suits commonly worn by younger boys. Usually it was older boys wearing dress Highland who had their curls cut. Many mothers saw the Higland kilt as an outfir for older boys. The kilt suits that were so popular in America, however, were often worn by boys still in curls. Mothers saw the kilt suit as a convenient bridge for boys who they or their husbands felt might be to old for dresses, but yet quite not old enough for trousers. Boys wearing tunics at the turn of the century might wear long hair. This was a popular style in both France and America, although only a small number of boys wore hairbows with tunics. In America most boys wore hairbows with ringlets while in France curling hair was less common. Hairbows were most commonly worn with sailor tunics and were less common with Russian tunics or Buster Brown suits. We had initially thought that boys old enough for sailor suits and other plain suits would probably be considered to old for hairbows. But in fact there are a lot of American images showing boys in sailor suits wearing ringlet curls, including some with hairbows. I think this may in part be due to the popularity of the sailor suit and the number of boys that were wearing them.
There do not seem to have been different types of hair bows for boys. They seem to be all pretty similar, basically a simple, unobrusive ribbon. The ribbon might be narrow or meiu. Some mothers, however, believed in the larger style bow like the girls wore--but this was relatively rare. The largest bows were reserved for the girls. In most images it is dfficult to make out enogh of the detail to ascertain the type of the bow.
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Hair bows were worn with several different hair styles. This varied somewhat by country. American boys often, but not always wore their hair bows with ringlet curls. Frebnch boys appear t have worn them with long uncurled hair, the bow being used to keep the hair in place. While longer hair styles were more common with hair bows, not all were worn with long shoulder length hair. They were almosy always worn with hair os at least over-the-ears styles. Hair bows were most common with shoulder-length hair, but they were worn with shorter length styles as well.
Boys like girls wore their hair bows in several positions. Boys appear to have worn bows on top of their hair, but more commonly at the side to help keep their hair, curled or uncurled in place. The great majority of images show boys with rather small hair bows dicretely tied at the side. The boys, however, do not seem to have worn the bows tied at the back. HBC has been unable to find comtemporary fashion guidance on this subject. It just appears to be something doting mothers did on their own initative. Thus information on the placement of these bows comes solely from the photographic record.
Notably many of the available images of boys in hair bows show the hair parted on the left and held out of their faces with a small bow on the side near the back of the head. The vast majority of the boys' hair bow are the single side bows. Girls also wore side bows, but not nearly as commonly as the boys. Girls were much more likely to wear top or back bows than the boys.
A less common style for boys hair bows were twin bow on each side of the boy's head. This was done when the boy had particularly long hair which might hang at the back. I dodn't know if the hair was ever done
in pony tails. The twin bows probably were used with ringlet curls. Almost all of the available images of boys in hair bows show single bows. There are, however, a few available of boys in twin bows. The onlu ones I have noted are American images. I am not sure if twin bows were worn by bows in other countries.
While it was not the most common position, we note some boys wore hair bows on top their heads. This is tricky to judge as wear does the top of the head end and the side begin. HBC has decided to define top as placement at or near the crown of the boy's head. We do not know just why this was. Perhaps it was because it was so common for girls to wear their hair bows on top of their had. We have no written accounts decribing this convention, only what we have noted from the available images.
HBC has not noted boys wearing hair bows at the back of their heads. Of course that does not mean that it did not occur. Even if it did, it certainy was not very common.
Interestingly, one place that the bows were not normally placed was on the ringlets themselves. This is interestng in that in the 18th century it was common for boys and nen to wear small bows on their queus. The boys in the 19th century that wore hairbows, however, almost never wore them on the ringlets, but rather on the top or side of the head. We have only noted a few photographs of boys with bows on their ringlets. These boys also had bows on their heads as well.
The bows worn by boys were usually squite small, basically only a narrow ribbon. Sizes did vary. Some were so small that they are hard to detect in photographs. Others are larger and clearly visible. Boys' bows, however, never reached anway near the size of girls' ribbons. They were primarily ribbons tied in the child's hair, in contrast to the much larger bows stylishly tied into very smart bows that the girls wore. The smaller bows of the oys could not be tied in such destinctive bows.
I am not sure if the color of boys' hair bows differed from those for the girls. As for the girls, white bows seem to have been a particularly popular color. Colored bows were a lot less common. Perhaps colored bow were coordinated with a child's dress, but this seems less common once a boy was breeched, as there
is less diversity in boys's suits than in dresses. In the available formal photographs, at least in the late 19th and early 20th Century, the white bows were by far the most common. HBC's hair bpw expert reports, "I wish there was someway to tell the color of bows in the old photographs. Several of the French ones from Renoir are red. The one worn with the stripped sailor suit
appears to be white. I guess pastel color such as blue or pink would probably show up as white on b/w photos. Too bad color photography wasn't invented in the 19th century."
Hair bows were tied in several different styled knots. HBC does not yet have adequate deails on the different knots, but hope to add some information here as I acquire more information. There appear to have been differences in the hairbow knots for boys and those for girls. Girls' hair bows are often quite large. Wide ribbon is tied in large bows. The hair bows for boys often used more narrow ribbon and much smaller and less elaborately tied bow knots. There is clearly much more divesity in the bows for girls than those for boys. The knots are normally tied up with a lock of the boy's hair, but given the knots are usually on top of the head, it is not usually clear just how this is done.
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Hair bows were generally worn by younger boys. Most of the available images are of boys 5 years of age or less. A good example is an unidentified American boy about 1900. He looks to be about 3 years old. The cut off point appears to ber about 5 or 6 when a boys curls were cut and he began to go to school. Some older boys did wear them, especially if they were schooled at home. It was, however, much less common for older boys to wear them. Almost all of the available images come from the photographic record in the second half of the 19 and very erly 20th century. Unfortunately little is known about the prevalence of hair bows and the ages at which they were worn during the first half of the 19th century, primarily because photography had not yet been developed. .
Hair bows were sometimes used to diferentiate the dress of the younger children. Mothers in the 19th century often liked to dress their children identically or at least coordinate the outfits. This coordinated family style has been a consistent trend, although varying in popularity over time. Some mothers still like to do this. While younger brothers might be dressed alike, 19th century mothers would tend to make minor alterations, depending on a child's age. Thus younger boys might waer the same suit as their older brother, but with big ruffled collar or large floppy bow. Often the clothes might be idetical, but the younger boy might have longer hair--even ringlets. Although rarer, a hair bow might even be added.
Most of the portraits available of boys with hair bows were taken from the front as a normal portrait would be taken. Thus it is not always apparent how the hair was done at the back. Click here to see some back views.
Boys with ringlet curls, actually have much longer hair than is apparent. The act of curling it had the affect of making it look shorter. The first time this ocurred to a HBC contributor was when photos of the same boy in different hair styles became available. The photos and available details are of a Virginia boy--Randal. One thing that struck HBC was how much shorter his hair appeared when curled into ringlets. Some of the images we have of boys with over the shoulder ringlet curls must have very long hair, perhaps in some case
waist length.
Hair bows appar to have been most common on the Continent. I am aware of relatively few photographs in Britain and the United States of boys weraing hairbows. The practice on the continent, especially France seems much more widespread. Note that in the wealth of
photographs of American and British boys in Fauntleroy suits and Fauntleroy dresses, even the ones still in
curls, I know of none with the addes indignity of girlish hair ribbons. Clothing and hair styles in Belgiun, especilly the Waloon or French speaking areas, were quite similar to those in France. I'm less sure about Flanders where Dutch or German influences were also important. Despite the cultural divide, French fashions appear to have been more important in Flanders than either the Netherlands or Germany. I have so far found no information on England. While not nearly as prevalent as in France, the photographic record does show that some English boys did also wear hair bows. I have not yet been able to assess the prevalence and characteristics of this custom in England as I currently have access to relatively few images. I believe this is in part because as an Amerivan I primarily have access to American images. I do not know of any English researcher to address this topic yet. Most of the available images of boys wearing hair bows suggest the practice occurred primarily on the Continent, especially in France. French boys did not wear ringlet curls to the same extent that American boys did, but their mothers more commonly added bows to their sons uncurled hair. The fashion appears to have been used to contrl a boys' hair. I do not know, however, how common it was for a boy to wear them. He may not have normally worn then during the day and they may have just been added for specoal ocassions. We have little information on Germany. The practice may have been less common in Germany than elsewhere, but I believe that the fashion did exist. I have little information on Italy so far. It appears that Italian mothers were particularly enamored of leaving their sons in long hair. Some mothers curled the long hair of their boys, but curling may not have been as popular as in the United States. Unfortunately, HBC has virtually no information on how common this fashion was in Italy. Hair bows for boys were not just a French fashion. Dag Hammarskjold, the future United Nations Secretary General, was dressed in dressed as a little boy in Sweden. Even after he started wearing Faitleroy and other fancy suits he wore long hair with elaborate sausage curls and hair bows. Note the difference with the French boys above who wear long, but uncurled hair. HBC is, however, not at all sure about how common this fashion was in Sweden. Available inf ormation suggests that American mothers were less likely to use hair bows on their boys with long hair. This does not mean, however, that American and British boys never wore hair bows. As noted above there were some mothers who thought the
style was attractive. In fact, there is a surprising number of 19th Century photographic images showing that quite a number of American mothers were enamored with this fashion. While the overall percentage of
American boys with long hair wearing hair bows is small, it is not inconsequential.
Hair bows are most commonly associated with girls. Many family portraits show girls wearing hair bows. We note, however, some family portraits in which the boy's hair was done in hair bows and the girls hair was not. This approach was particularly common in the late 19th century. A good example is the Powell family in 1886. Another option was to use a different type or size of hair bow for the girl.
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The modern reader proably is somewhat taken back with the idea of a boy wearing long hair and bows. One observer cautions that it is probably wrong to
make to big a thing out of boys wearing hair bows. Such matters are culturally based. What might be entirely common and accepted might be thought of as rediculous
or even scandelous in another country or in a different time. American boys growing up during the 1950s-60s in "T"shirts,
jeans, and Keds would have been aghast if they moved to England and had to wear caps,
blazers,
short pants,
kneesocks, and
sandals.
Of course English parents and school masters would have been agast at the American outfits. Likewise, long hair and bows seems to have been quite accepted by French boys and their parents. Jean Renoir mentions his long hair several times in his biography of his father, but never once mentions hair bows, which we know he worn as a boy. Obviously, this was
the fashion. I think the problem with curls is that they were associated, as
were dresses, with being a baby. In Simone Behavior book (sp.. and I don't remember the title) she remarks (about French boys) that they often cried when they had to wear pants and have their curls cut, because they would now be expected to act like boys and no longer receive the attention and adoration of little children and girls. Girls and babies were sheltered. Young boys of 5 - 7 were thrown out into the cold cruel world of men.
HBC has archived quite a few portraits of boys wearing hair bows. Oftn they are in various clothing garment sections rather than in the actual hair bow section. Some are in the ringket curl section. If we know the individuals nae we often archive the image in the biography section. Most of these images we have not yet linked here. We hope to eventually link mant of these images to the page here. Many of the images are unidentified. Some of the boys are identified. A good example is an American boy George Dewey Howell, probably in the 1890s. For the most part, even with the identified images we have very little information about the individuals and families other than can be deduced from the image.
Some of the hairbow images are very difficult to interpret. The hairbows and long hair make the children look much like girls to us. Often the clothing or props are anbiguous. Have a look at these difficult hairbow images and let me know if you have any insights.
Nadar, Nigel Gosling, Alfred A Knope, New York, 1976.
Renoir, Harry M. Abrams, Inc, P ublishers, New York, 1985.
Renoir, Elizabeth Elias Kaufman, Ottenheimer Publishers, Inc, USA, 1980.
Dag Hammarskjold, Nicholas Gillett, Heron Books, 1970.
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