Figure 1.-- This unidentified boy has extremely long hair. We wears a print blouse, knee pants, asnd long sdtockings. There was no information associated with this portrait. There is no information associated with the portrait, but we can tell by the oval mount that the portrait was taken in the very early-20th century.

Long hair is an ambiguous hair style and there is a good bit of overlap with other styles. The popularity of long hair jas come anf gone over time as wellm, as the age conventions. What we mean here is styles down to the ears and longer. We note three basic lengths. First there were lengths which covered some are all of the ears. This was very common in the mid-19th century and reappeared after the mid-20th cerntury. Second were lengths from below the ears to the shoulders. These lenhths were less common, but we note many boys with them during the Fauntlertoy era (1885-1905). Here the hair was usually done in ringlet curls. This length was also poular ion the late-20th century (1970s-80s), but not curled. And unlike the earlier appearance of long hair, it was worn by older boys and teenagers. Third was the least common, very long hair grown over thhe shoulders. The boy here is a good example, but this was not very common. While this was a boy's stule, we note it worn by some adult men tio make a flamboyant statement, like calvalry general George Armstrong Custer. These long hair styles during the Fauntelroy era were commonly curled in America, this was less common in Europe.

Uncurled Long Hair

Long hair is an ambiguous hair style and there is a good bit of overlap with other styles. The popularity of long hair jas come anf gone over time as wellm, as the age conventions. What we mean here is styles down to the ears and longer. We note three basic lengths. First there were lengths which covered some are all of the ears. This was very common in the mid-19th century and reappeared after the mid-20th cerntury. Second were lengths from below the ears to the shoulders. These lenhths were less common, but we note many boys with them during the Fauntlertoy era (1885-1905). Here the hair was usually done in ringlet curls. This length was also poular ion the late-20th century (1970s-80s), but not curled. And unlike the earlier appearance of long hair, it was worn by older boys and teenagers. Third was the least common, very long hair grown over thhe shoulders. The boy here is a good example, but this was not very common. While this was a boy's stule, we note it worn by some adult men tio make a flamboyant statement, like calvalry general George Armstrong Custer.

Ringlet Curls

Many images exist of American boys wearing ringlets. The photographic record suggests that ringlets appear to have been more popular in America than any other country. Most of the portraits in the ringlet curls section are of American boys. We note boys weraring ringlet curls as early as the 1850s, but this probably ocurred earlier. Ringlets appear to have become much more common in the 1880s. Many such hair styles were worn in association with the Little Lord Fauntleroy craze which began in 1885. The ringlet style for boys appeared earlier, but after the publication of Mrs. Burnett's book, it was worn by more boys, including some older boys. Many American mothers in the 1870s and early 1880s cut, albeit reluctantly, their boys' hair short even while they were still in dresses. This became somewhat less common after 1885. The ringlet style for boys continued into the 20th century, but by the 1910s was increasingly less common. Another factor which needs to be considered is possible regional differences. We are not going to pursue the ringlet curl fashion in America in detail on this page. This is primarily because the main HBC ringlet curl section is almost all based on American images and information and thus would be redundant to relicate a new American section here. HBC suggests that readwes interested in the American ringlet curl fashion simply go to the main HBC ringlet curl page.

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Created: 9:53 PM 3/31/2010
Last edited: 4:39 AM 9/1/2013