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Quite a number of American boys wore formal velvet Fauntleroy suits with lace collars, Both velvet and lace were expensive material. And the Fauntleroy blouse could be made in silk. The Fauntleroy suit was a relatively expensive way of dressing a little boy, especially when all the finery is added to the basic suit, including floppy bows, silk sash, expensive stockings, and patent leather shoes. Besides the popularity of the Fauntleroy style the very expense of the Fauntleroy style probably added to its popularity. The United States in the 1880s was undergoing a period of raod economic growth and industrialization. The result was an enormous creation of wealth. Many families of very humble, rural origin found themselves enjoying considerable economic success. There was an enormous expasion of the urban middle class. And these successful families wanted to show their success. Here we are not just talking abourt the rich, but prosperous middle-class families as well. And clothing was one ways to do this. This include not only the parents, but the children at well. Thus dressing their boys in fancy and expensive Fauntleroy suits was a way of showing off their affluence. It is difficult to know how commonly this was done on purose or without fully thinking it through. At the time, even in democratic America, fashions were largely set by the wealthy and well-to-do. Thus the not so affluent mothers also wanted to dress up their boys in fashionable Fauntleroy suits. We thus see mothers scrimping to buy these suits. Some outfits were sewed at home, reducing the cost. And less expensive materials could be used. Some were even regular suits, but worn with large collars or Fauntleroy blouses which could be purchased in expensive materials. Often these suits used in expensive lace or ruffled collars. It is very difficult to assess the mind set of the mothers who chose Fauntleroy suits. It is possible to follow the democratization of the Fauntleroy style with low cost outfits is iobservable in the photographic record.
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