Figure 1.--This American boy and his father were photographed in Morristown, New Jersey, probably about 1905. The boy wears short ringlets. We are unsure if this wa a fashion style or relects his age and the fact that his fair hair grew slowly. Image courtesy of the RG collection.

Several factors other than fashion appear to have affected the length of a boy's ringlet curls. We believe that ringlet length was primarily a question of a boys' age. A little boy could not have long ringlets. By the time a boy was 5 or 6, a boy was old enough to have ringlets falling down to his shoulder and longer. I do not think a older boy ever had his curls trimmed so they didn't get to long, but I could be wrong about this. We have no contemporary sources describing this, but our sources of informtion are limited. Another possible factor is the type of hair. One source reports that the hair of children with blond or fair hair grows slower than children wih darker hair. We have not yet confirmed this to be a fact, but believe it is. Thus some of the images of boys with short ringlets may be fair hair boys whose hair grow slowly, rather than a fashionable style that the mother had selected. There may have been other facors involved.

Age

HBC believes that ringlet length was primarily a question of a boys' age. A little boy could not have long ringlets. By the time a boy was 5 or 6, a boy was old enough to have ringlets falling down to his shoulder and longer. I do not think a older boy ever had his curls trimmed so they didn't get to long, but I could be wrong about this. We have no contemporary sources describing this, but our sources of informtion are limited.

Hair Type

Another possible factor is the type of hair. One source reports that the hair of children with blond or fair hair grows slower than children wih darker hair. We have not yet confirmed this to be a fact, but believe it is. Thus some of the images of boys with short ringlets may be fair hair boys whose hair grow slowly, rather than a fashionable style that the mother had selected.

Other Factors

There my have been other factors involved. At this time ageand hair type appear to have been the most ignifican factors.

Reader Comments

HBC readers have a variety of comments about the image seen here on this page.

A French reader tlls us, "I was a blond boy hair with blue eyes. My children also had fair hair and blue eyes. I believe that the hair of light complexioned children grows as fast as that of dark hair children. The main difference is at that at birth, fair haired babies have practically no hair. A blond boy of 3 years old, however, can have quite long hair. I believe that the little boy with his father on this page.had had his hair cur, otherwise it would have been longer."

Another European reader writes, "The adorable little boy seen here seesm nore like a boy fom Continental Europe. Perhaps this boy and his father were recent European immigrants and the child's family was from Germant, the Netherlands, France, or other country." Here HBC does not think this is likely. We believe that ringlet curls were less common in Europe than in America at this time. Hair bows were popular in France, but ringlets less so and actually there were relatively few immigrants from France. Also new imigrants were mostly very poor. This father looks like a very prosperous gentleman.

A French reader writes, "The simple bow in the hair was quite common in France during the early 20th century. In my period during the 1940s, hair bows for boys were no longer common. Instead of a a bow, very little boys might have a hair slide (barrette ) in our hair. Sometimes a baby boy or toddler could have a little white bow in his hair, but it was not nearly as common as it once was."

Another reader comments, "The impression I get from this image is that the man was a very good father. Note how the little boy has put his feet on his father's leg in such an inormal way. This is rare in these old photographs. Also note how the boy's little arms are around his father'neck. This certainly shows the affection between the two. I am sure he loved the father adored his son."

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Italain glossary] [Satellite sites] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: January 18, 2003
Last edited: January 19, 2003