Figure 1.--This is a an example of the fancy Funtleroy suits worn in the late-19th century. We see a velvet suit, lace collar part of a fancy blouse. This boy has a huge sash to go with his suit.

Many of the fancy suit syles were inspired by military uniforms and other historical models. These fancy suit included Hussar, sailor, and Zouave styles. The British royal family snd Scottish authors helped stimulate interest in Scotland leading to both Higland outfits and the more restrined kilt suits. Many other fanncy styles were worn in the 1850s-80s. Literary inspiration popularized the fanciest style was of course the famed Fautleroy suit, in inspired by Mrs. Burnetts book, Little Lord Fauntleroy. The adoption of these historical/literary styles seems part of the process begun by the skeleton suit in differentiating men and boys' clothing. They were mostly worn by younger boys.

Cut-away Jackets

The cut-away jacket was done in many different dstyles. Most were very plain garments without extensive decoration and mostly without lapels and collars. Some had embroidery, especially in the 1870s, but most were very plain. We have noted a few done as fancy suits. One Iowa boy we have noted wears such a suit with huge lapels and a touch of sailor styling in the 1890s.

Fauntleroy Suits

Francis Hodgson Burnett, an English-born American, helped popularize a style of dress for boys that proved exceedingly popular among romantically inclined, doting mothers. The author modeled her famous fictional creation, Cedric Erol, after her own son, Vivian, and thereby condemned a generation of "manly little chaps" in America and Britain to elaborate, picturesque outfits. The actual description of Cedie's suits were rather brief in her book, Little Lord Fauntleroy. Perhaps even more influential than her text in popularizing the style were the lavishly detailed drawings by Reginald Birch, the artist who illustrated Mrs. Burnett's story. Whether it was the book or the illustrations, combined they were responsible for an enduring vogue of boy's clothes in the romantic style of the Cavalier/Restoration or Van Dyck Period worn by the young American hero of the story. It is not possible to get much fancier than a auntleroy suit.

Hussar Styling

We do not know much about Hussar-styled outfits. The Hussars were originally Hungarian cavalry. The first Hussars were raised by King Matthias I (1448). The King required the families in every twenty houses to furnish a man. The word Hizzar was thus based on the Hungarian word for 20--husz. Another source suggest the origin of the term is the omes from the Serbian husar or highwayman (highway brigand). The dashing Hungarian cavalry impressed Europe at the time. King Matthias organized his Hussars into a strong, mobile attack force that proved effective against the Ottoman Turks Spahis and in engagements with the Bohemians and Poles as well. Light calvalry proved useful in breaking up infantry and artillery formations. While generally used to describe light calvalry, there were also heavy calvalry units. Ottoman Emperor S�leym�n the Magnificent defeated the Hungarians at the Battle of Moh�cs (1526). Many hussars fled to Christian states and brought Hungarian light cavalry tactics and organization. The Austrian Hapsburgs engaged Hungarian hussars in their wars with the Ottomans. Frederick the Great used Hussars during the War of the Austrian Succession. Britain hired German mercinaries to try to supressthe rebellion in SAmerica. Best known are the Hessians, but there were also Hussars. Over time Hussars became applied to light calvalry forces. During the Napoleonic Wars, the calvalry was seen as the most prestigious service and the men wore very dashing uniforms. The cavalry was the best uniformed of all the diffeent services. Hussar uniforms often envolving elaborate horizontal breat work. We do not see very many of the Hussar-styled outfits in America. We have seen some in Germany.

Sailor Styling

The sailor suit was one of the most popular children's styles of all time. It was a standard style for about a century. It was not the fanciest style, but fitted in whit the historic/literary inspired suits. And some sailor suits were made with fancy styling. We note lace and ruffles bding added to some sailor outfits. This seem particularly common in turn-of-the-20th century sailor-style tunic suits, but we also notice fancy sailor suits as well. These suits diverged considerably from the traditional sailor suits based on actual uniforms. This was not the main trend in sailor suit design. The basic charm of the sailor suit was a basic, utilitain suit based on an enlisted man's uniform. Even English, German, and Russian princes wore the traditional suits based on the emlisted uniform. Of course for some mothers this was not what they wanted for their son. Thus we see some very fancy suits.

Figure 2.--This New York boy wore a fancy Highland outfit. This was not very common, but the more restrained kilt suit was very common.

Scottish Outfits

The British royal family snd Scottish authors helped stimulate interest in Scotland leading to both Higland outfits and the more restrined kilt suits. Highland outfits could be very elaborate. They were more common in Britain than in America or the Congtinent, but we do see some American boys wear Highland outfits. These were mostly boys from wealthy families who could aford an elaborat, little used outfit. The boy here is a good example (figure 1). Kilt suits were more basic, including a jacket and kilt-skirt and optionally a vest. They were much more wideky worn. These kilt suits became enormously popular in the United States. They were commonly worn by boys from middle-class families.

Figure 3.--We do not notice many boys wearing Zouave outfits, but we do notice many cut-away jacket suits that seem influenced by Zouave styling.

Zouave Styling

France annexed Algeria in the early 19th century as part of European 19th century rush to colonize Africa. Military units were formed from Algeians sympathetic to the French. Later units were formed with French soldiers, but with uniforms with Algeian--baggy pants styling. These units and the styling was called Zouave. It became a popular style for French boys. After American units adopted the Zouave styling in the Civil War, it became popular with American boys. While actual Zouave suits do not seem to be very common. We believe the Zouave style influenced the cut-away jackets many boys wore. Sone of the jackets look rather like Zouave uniforms, but the baggy red pants are noit very common.

Other Styling

A wide variety of other styles were used on boys suits.