Figure 1.--The most common location for boys' hair parts was at the side, but there were variations on how far down the side of the head the part was made. This is an American boy sabout the turn of the 20th century.

Hair parts for boys are generally side parts, either left or right parts. Left parts appear to be the most common. We are not sure, but this may be because most people are right handed. A complicating factor here is that boys' hair is first parted by mother. I'm not sure how she decided on the side to part. This may have changed when a boy got older and began to comb his own hair. Less common for boys was a center part. These center parts were We note some boys wearing center parts in the late 20th century. The side parts, however, were always the most common style for boys. We note diagonal parts cross the crow, but they are very rare. Almost all parts are either side or center parts. The side parts vary as to how far they go down the side of the head.

Side Parts

Hair parts for boys are generally side parts, either left or right parts or in some cases two side parts, both left and right. These double center parts were mostly for younger boys with fancy hair styles. They were not very common, but we see a few in the late-19th and early-20th century. Left parts appear to be the most common. We are not sure, but this may be because most people are right handed. A complicating factor here is that boys' hair is first parted by mother. I'm not sure how she decided on the side to part. This may have changed when a boy got older and began to comb his own hair. The side parts, however, were always the most common style for boys. A good example is Dan Brown, an American boy in the 1870s. The side parts vary as to how far they go down the side of the head. Here there was considerable variation. We motice some side parts that are relarively cloes to the center while others are much further down the side of the head.

Center Parts

Less common for boys was a center part. Here we include both parts right down the middle and those very close to the center. These center parts were very common for girls in the 19th century. In fact this was a good indicator that the child in a dress was a girl. This changed in the late-19th century. We note boys with center parts in the early 20th century. A good example is Clarence Rogers in the late 1900s. Another good example from the 1900s is Maurice Berkey and Sylvan Bush. Most of our information comes from America. We have not noted similar popularity in other countries, but our American archive is much larger than that ofor other countries. Center parts in America seem especially popilar at the turn-of-the 20th century. We note an English boy, Ken Adams in the 930s with a center part, but does not seem all thst common st the time. We note some boys wearing center parts in the late 20th century. We note center parts inthe 1980s. Currently hair styles are less standardized and a few boys have center parts.

Diagonal Parts

We note diagonal parts cross the crow, but they are very rare. Almost all parts are either side or center parts.

Created: 1:04 AM 6/26/2007
Last updated: 7:05 AM 10/14/2014