*** Little Lord Fauntleroy suits: ages








Little Lord Fauntleroy Suits: Ages


Figure 1.-- Here we see four children from a fanmily, we think in the 1890s. The children look to be about 2-12 years old. The three boys all wear fancy Fauntleroy blouses, the two older boys with Fauntleroy suits. The jackets are open, but not cut-away jackets. The studio was J.B. Scholl in Chicago.

Boys wore Fauntleroy suits at a range of ages. They were most common for younger boys. We have commonly noted boys from abour 3 to 8 years of age. A good example is 3 years old Charles H. Pool, Jr. The boy pictured here looks to be avout 6-7 years old (figure 1). Boys younger than 3 years did not commonly wear Fauntleroy suits, in part because they were not yet breeched. Some of these younger boys might wear Fauntlroy dresses. We have also noted a small number of older boys wearing them as well. Less common are older boys, especially boys older than about 10 years of age. We do noet, however a few bous of 11-12 years wears them, even 13 year olds--but this was much less common. We will link more of the pages here to show the different ages at which American boys wore Fauntleroy suits. Portraits of boys in Fauntleroy suits tells us that the boys were wearing the suits at a specific age. They of course do not tell us if they wore Fauntleroy suits after the portrait was taken and for how long. For this the best evidence is family portraits showing children at different ages. If older brothers are wearing regular suits, we get an idea of the upper age ranges. Of course there was no set rule and this was largely a family matter. There were also differences over time. Unfortunately many of the available images are unidentified and we can only guess at the boys' ages. Please klet us know if you can help with the age estimates.

Chronological Years

Boys wore Fauntleroy suits at a range of ages. They were most common for younger boys. We have commonly noted boys from abour 3 to 8 years of age. A good example is 3 years old Charles H. Pool, Jr. The boy pictured here looks to be avout 6-7 years old (figure 1). Boys younger than 3 years did not commonly wear Fauntleroy suits, in part because they were not yet breeched. Some of these younger boys might wear Fauntlroy dresses. We have also noted a small number of older boys wearing them as well. Less common are older boys, especially boys older than about 10 years of age. We do note, however a few boys of 11-12 years wears them, even 13 year olds--but this was much less common. We will link more of the pages here to show the different ages at which American boys wore Fauntleroy suits. Unfortunately many of the available images are unidentified and we can only guess at the boys' ages. Please let us know if you can help with the age estimates.

Age Grading

Parents in the 19th and early-20th century tended to have larger families than is common today. Some parents liked to dress the children similarly or even the same, depending on age and gender. Other parents like to make changes in their clothing reflecting ages. Some of the changes were minor such as changing the collar or bow if the boys were close in age. In other instances, there were major differences like the type of the suit. Individual portraits of boys in Fauntleroy suits tells us that the boys were wearing the suits at a specific age. They of course do not tell us if they wore Fauntleroy suits after the portrait was taken and for how long. For this the best evidence is family portraits showing children at different ages. If older brothers are wearing regular suits, we get an idea of the upper age ranges. Or if younger brothers we can tell when boys began wearing the suits. Of course there was no set rule and this was largely a family matter. There were also differences over time. Like the individual portraits, we often have to estimate ages.

Family Images

Most old phptographs are undated. This means that in most cases we have to estimate a child's age. This means that we can not report the level of precission that we would like. While we can not guarantee that we are correct in our estimates, we believe that they are geneally within a year or so of the acatual ages. And we encourage readers to send in their estimates if you think that we are off. his helps to cottrcr any estimates atht are rally out of line. Especially helpful are family portraits. When we have several children in a family we can more easily assess ages, given their are finite limit betwwn kids imposed by biology. This adds a little informatiom to the assessment effort. Usually only about two boys in a family are seen wearing Fauntleroy suits in family potriats, but sometimes there are more. And the moe children we have, the easier it is to guess the children's ages.





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Created: 11:54 PM 3/27/2005
Last updated: 7:51 AM 12/19/2022