American Boys' Hair: Factors



Figure 1.-- Ringlet curls were a rather complicated style, equiring time to both create ans maintain. It was well-to-do mothers that had the time on gheir hands to do the rignlets or the money to pay servants to assist. Mothers had a great deal of lee-way in the 19th century as to both hair and clothing styles for their children. This Philadelphia boy's hair is unusual in that the ringlets are carefully done, but his front bangs are rather unkempt.

A range of factors affected hair stles, including fashion, social class, health as well as other factors. Both bowl cuts and ringlet curls had definite social classs connotations. Low income families did not have the money for barbers so the bowl cut was an easy sollution. Ringlet curls were a rather complicated style, equiring time to both create ans maintain. It was well-to-do mothers that had the time on gheir hands to do the rignlets or the money to pay servants to assist. Mothers had a great deal of lee-way in the 19th century as to both hair and clothing styles for their children. Such matters were considered more of family matter than is the case with modern families. And family traditions could be very important. Social class tended to become a less important factgor as America became a more middle-class country with widely shared aflluence. The popular media which emerged in the 20th also help to standardize styles to the extent that mothers hsd less disgression in the 20th century than they did in the 19th century.






HBC






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Created: 4:49 PM 10/29/2006
Last edited: 4:49 PM 10/29/2006