Figure 1.--Here is a British boy that appeared on many pre-World War I postcards. You would assume that he must have been a professional model. Image courtesy of the MD collection.

Age of course is an imprtant factor in hair styling. Some styles are especially associated with childhood. These styles have varied over time and among countries. One imprtant factor is school. As long as a boy was at home, mother could style his hair rather much as she desired. This was especially true in the 19th century and early 20th century. Thus boys before they began school at about age 6 might have elaborate long hair styles, sometimes even curls and bows. Their hair was cut short, however, when they began school or they would be teased by the other boys. Thus we see images of English boys up to about age 6 with longish hair. The boys in the popular sentimental post cards at the time often had long hair. The image here is agood example (figure 1). We are less sure just how common this was with the average British boy. Certainly less common than is suggested by the postcards. Another important age was 8 years. This was the age that many affluent parents sent their boys off to boarding school. Many until this age were school at home or at private dame schools wear teasing was not a great problem. Thus until after World War I you might see boys of 6 and 7 years of age with longer hair styles. If a boy was tutored at hime, then he might have elaborate hair styles even longer. While no so obvious today, there are still age-appropriate hair styles for boys. Perhaps the most popular is bangs.

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Created: 4:32 PM 9/12/04
Last edited: 4:32 PM 9/12/04