Figure 1.--This 1885 cabinet portrait shows a boy named Arthur wearing a kilt suit. He has a velvet collar buttoning jacket, pin-on lace collar, and plaid. pleated kilt. He seems to have ringlet curls at his back. The studio was Essery Studio. 11 E. 7th St., St. Paul, Minnesota. The back of card reads: "Arthur 3 years and a half old." What is interesting here is the date. We are not sure if mother in 1885 had heard of Mrs. Burnett's 'Little Lord Fauntleroy' story.

Kilt suits during the 1880s were made in many different styles. There were many types of jackets. Boys in the early 80s wore the same styles as worn in the 1870s with the sack suit jackets generally replacing the cut-away jackets. Quite a few kilt suits after 1885 and Mrs. Burnett's publication of Little Lord Fauntleroy were made as Fauntleroy kilt suits. This was a small black velvet cut-away jacket made with a plaid skirt-kilt. The plaid for these Fauntleroy kilts tended to be brighter than used for the standard kilt suit. We see fewer of the kilt suits with cut-away jackets in the 1880s with the exception of these Fauntleroy kilt suits. Initially we see pin-on lace collars, but Fauntlrroy blouses with large ruffled collars were more populae by the end of the decase. The kilt skirts were also done in a variety of styles and lengths. The length may relate more to the boys' age than stylistic considerations. Mothers may have wanted kilt skirts that the boy could wear for several years.

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Created: 3:01 AM 6/10/2010
Last updated: 3:01 AM 6/10/2010