American Little Lord Fauntleroy Suits: Chronology--The 1920s

Figure 1.--This portrait is undated. We believe it was taken in the 1920s, probably the early 20s. It pictures three siblings. The two boys are dressed very differently, unusual for boys of about the same age. The one boy wears a white shirt, tie, short pants, and white knee socks. Perhaps one boy is slightly younger or both boys had Fauntleroy suits for special occassions and mother wanted to show off both outfits. The boy sitting on the floor is dressed in a Fauntleroy Suit. It is unusal in that the jacket and blouse have short sleeves. This is very rare in a Fauntleroy suit. The blouse had ruffled sleeves and a ruffled open-necked collar--also rather rare. His shoes have bows on them. He is wearing short pants and white knee socks.

We note only a few boys wearing Fauntleroy suits in the 1920s. The Fauntleroy has not yet disappeared, but it was no longer a major fashion. Some Fauntleroy features like large collars and bows are fairly common, but classic velvet Fauntleroy suits were quite rare. And they seem to be worn by boys from affluent families. You no longer see boys at school wearing them or the average child. As far as we can tell, the Fauntleroy suit basically disappeared as a major style during the 1920s, although there may have been some in the early-30s. And the suits we see seem to be outfits made in boitiques and not the mass produced suits of the 1880s and 90s made in large numbers. We note fancy party suits in the The Boys Buyer. There were differences in the 20s. We not longer see the huge collars or the floppy bows. We note some fancy outfits like the one the boy here is wearing (figure 1). Others seem more plain. We also note the suits being worn with short pants rather than knee pants, usually worn with white socks or stockings. Most seem to hve been made with shorts. We still see Fauntleroy suits being offered in mail order catalogs. We notice a 1927 suit offered by Lane Bryant in 1927. Lane Bryant was a retailer for full-figured women, but apparently offered maternity clothes and outfits for younger children as well. Actual suits in the photographic record were even rarer than in the 1910s. The suits were mostly worn by younger pre-school boys. We see, however, some younger school-age boys wearing them. The Lane Bryant catalog suggests an upper age range of 7 years. We suspect that this was the basic upper limit, perhaps up to 8 years or so. This looks to be about the age of the boy here (figure 1). This suggests that while the prevalence was much reduced, the age range was basically similar to earlier periods.

Pevalence

We note only a few boys wearing Fauntleroy suits in the 1920s. The Fauntleroy has not yet disappeared, but it was no longer a major fashion. As far as we can tell, the Fauntleroy suit basically disappeared as a major style for boys during the 1920s, although there may have been some in the early-30s. And the suits we see seem to be outfits made in boitiques and not the mass produced suits of the 1880s and 90s made in large numbers. The suit here looks tons to have been a suit custom made in a dress shopmor by mother at home. We still see Fauntleroy suits being offered in mail order catalogs Actual suits in the photographic record were even rarer than in the 1910s.

Chronology

We see Fauntleroy suiys offered in mail order calogs throughout the 1920s. We notice a 1927 suit offered by Lane Bryant in 1927. Lane Bryant was a retailer for full-figured women, but apparently offered maternity clothes and outfits for younger children as well. We note another Fauntlery suit, fancy party suits in the The Boys Buyer in 1929.

Elements

There were differences in the Fauntleroy suits we see in the 1920s. The jackets were normally closed collars. Some Fauntleroy features like large collars and bows are fairly common, although not the huge collars we see earlier or the large floppy bows. The classic velvet Fauntleroy suits were quite rare, but we do see velvet jackets, usually long sleeves. The short sleeve jackets we see here (figure 1) were very rare. We note some fancy outfits like the one the boy here is wearing (figure 1). Others seem more plain. We also note the suits being worn with short pants rather than knee pants, usually worn with white socks or stockings. The short pants Fauntleroy suits seem quite common in the 20s.

Age Trends

Fauntleroy suits a with the general pattern were mostly worn by younger pre-school boys. We see some school-age boys wearing them. The younger boys in grades 1 and 2, perhaps 3, but not much beyond that. The 1927 suit offered by Lane Bryant catalog offered a Fauntleroy suit in 1927 up to age 7 years. We note a boys wearing a short pants Fauntleroy suit for his violin recital, probably in the late-20s. It was common at the time for child\ren to dress up more formally for ecitals than is the cae today. We suspect that te agerange in the Lanr Bryant catalog was the basic upper limit, perhaps up to 8 years or so. This looks to be about the age of the boy here pictured with his brother and sister (figure 1). This suggests that while the prevalence was much reduced, the age range was basically similar to earlier periods.

Social Class

The Fauntleroys suits we have found seem to be worn by boys from affluent families. You no longer see boys at school wearing them or the average child.

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Created: 2:59 AM 6/27/2007
Last updated: 12:33 AM 4/24/2014