Figure 1.--Here is a stylishly dressed American boy with his mother. The portrait is undated, but we know it was taken in the early-20th century because it has a CYKO stamp box. This and the clothing depicted suggest to us that it was taken around 1910. You know it was one that the mother must have cherished.

Girls continued to have mostly center parts in the 20th century. There were a few period when center parts were a stylish fashion for boys. We note center parts were fashionable for boys. We notice quite a few boys with center parts in the early-20th century. A good many are undated, but we know from themount styles or the fact that they were dome as postcards that they date to the early-20th century. A good example is an unidentified Chicago boy in 1907. He looks to be about 10-11 years old. We notice a sceond period of center parts in the late-20th century. We are still working on the precise chronology. We are not sure how common this was in other countries, but we see many American boys at the time with center parts. It was not the most common style, but we do see quite a number of images in the photogrphic record. A good example is the Hubbard brothers in 1917. It is side parts, however, that are the dominant trend. Right parts are much less common. Generally speakingover time the center part was primarily a girl's style. This was probably because it was away of separating hair for a variety of long hair styles. There were times though that we note boys with center parts. Boys with ringlet curls often had center parts, although it was usually covered with front bangs so not so obvious. We see older boys with center parts around the turn-of-the 20th century. Here we note this as a teenage more than a younger boy style. The early-20th century was one of these periods. The age range seems to be about 10-18 years of age, but we are also working on the ages to be more precise about this. We also note some boys with center parts in the 1990s.

Gender Trends

Girls continued to have mostly center parts in the 20th century. This continued the convention widely followed in the 19th century. And it was a very valuable indicator of gender in the 19h century. The center part for girls has been fairly consistent over time. We believe ha this developed as a practical matter. When working with long gair, it was helpful to divide the hair at the center. This was less important for boys with mostly short length hair. We are not sure though to what extent center parts varied over time, but we are working in it. We believe the center parts became some what less common as the 20 center progressed, at least prominent center parts in girls' hair styling. Center parts bcme less important as a gender indicator because bots nd girls clothing conventions becme more stndardized and it is for the most part easy to determine gender.

Decade Trends

Center parts for boys were much more variable over time, There were a few period when center parts were a stylish fashion for boys. We note center parts were fashionable for boys. We notice quite a few boys with center parts in the early-20th century. A good many are undated, but we know from the mount styles or the fact that they were done as postcards that they date to the early-20th century. The center part for boys seems mosdt common un the 1900s. A good example is an unidentified Chicago boy in 1907. He looks to be about 10-11 years old. We notice a sceond period of center parts in the late-20th century. We are still working on the precise chronology. We are not sure how common this was in other countries, but we see many American boys at the time with center parts. It was not the most common style, but we do see quite a number of images in the photogrphic record. A good example is the Hubbard brothers in 1917. It is side parts, however, that are the dominant trend. Right parts are much less common. Generally speakingover time the center part was primarily a girl's style. This was probably because it was away of separating hair for a variety of long hair styles. There were times though that we note boys with center parts. Boys with ringlet curls often had center parts, although it was usually covered with front bangs so not so obvious. We see older boys with center parts around the turn-of-the 20th century. Here we note this as a teenage more than a younger boy style. The early-20th century was one of these periods. The age range seems to be about 10-18 years of age, but we are also working on the ages to be more precise about this. We also note some boys with center parts in the 1990s.

Age Trends

We are just beginning to work out the age trends of center parts. Our initial assessment is that We have geneally noted older boys and teenagers with center parts, but we have noted some younger boys as well. We note significant chronological and gender trends, but we cannot yet ascertain age trends if any. Our preliminary assessment is that boys enter parts were primarily for younger boys whose mothers were doing the combing and style-concious teenagers, but we do not yet have any definitive assessment. We note some images in which mother seems to have just tried out a center part for the portrait. Hopefully we can deal with this topic more effectively as we archive more images and expand this section. Reader insights are welcome.

Created: 12:13 PM 10/14/2012
Last updated: 7:13 PM 7/9/2017