*** American Little Lord Fauntleroy suits: usage








Amrican Little Lord Fauntleroy Suits: Usage

Little Lord Fauntleroy suit
Figure 1.--This portrait is unidentified. We believe that he is an American boy, probably photograpged in the 1890s. He looks to be about 12 years old. Notice the hymnal. We are guessing that he is being confirmed. We are not sure about his suit. We thought that it might be some kind of boy's tuxedo, but note that it appears to have been made to be worn open toshow off the boy's fancy Fauntleroy blouse. The boy here looks a little old to wear a Fauntleroy suit. We are not sure if this was how he normally dressed or was a special outfit for his confirmation. Click on the image for a fuller discussion.

We do not fully uderstand the usage of the Fsuntleroy suit. This is in part because most available images are formal studio portraits rather than family snapshots. Thus the conventiona nd context is often lost, although the wearing it for a studio portrait does suggest formality. Fauntleroy suits would have been wore for special occasions and formal events such as church. People dressed more formally at the time. Thus occassions that today are casual events such as parties, peole in the late 19th and early 20th century would have dressed formally. We see boys in Fauntleroy suits in outdoor events such as garden partirs or even picnics. Certainly parties would have been such events. Another event would have been formal studio ohotographic portraits. Here peole did not always dress up, but it was quite common. Cerainly evebts such as weddings would have requied formal dress. Interestingly we do not see a lot of boys in Fauntleroy suits doing First Communion. We are not sure, but we believe that at the time Fauntleroy suits were popular that modern First Communion celebrations were not yet developed. The same is true of conformations, but here boys tend to be older and most were no longer wearing Fauntleroy suits. We also see boys wearing Fauntleroy suits to school. This was mosttly younger boys. A good example is Catholic school in the 1890s. It was very common in the 1890s and early-1900s to see the younger boys at schools wearing Fauntleroy suits.

Special Occassions

Fauntleroy suits would have been wore for special occasions and formal events such as weddings or a range of other family occassions. Cerainly events such as weddings would have requied formal dress. Interestingly we do not see a lot of boys in Fauntleroy suits doing First Communion.

Church

People fressed up for church in the 19th and early 20th century. Thu s boys might wear Fauntleroy suits for church or Sunsay school. Dufring the summer because of the hot weather they might justwear the fancy Fauntleroy blouse without the jacket.

First Communion and Confirmation

Here an American boy boy seems to be wearing a Fauntleroy suit for his Confoirmation suit. We are not sure, but we believe that at the time Fauntleroy suits were popular that modern First Communion celebrations were not yet developed. The same is true of conformations, but here boys tend to be older and most were no longer wearing Fauntleroy suits.

Parties

People dressed more formally at the time. Thus occassions that today are casual events such as parties, peole in the late 19th and early 20th century would have dressed formally.

Outdoor Events

We see boys in Fauntleroy suits in outdoor events such as garden partirs or even picnics. Certainly parties would have been such events.

Portraits

Another event would have been formal studio ohotographic portraits. Here peole did not always dress up, but it was quite common. We nostly see children wearing suits or other dress up outfits for studio portraits. The great majority of photographs we have found of boys wearing Fauntleroy suits are formal studio portaits. This was in part because family snapshots before the innoivation of the Kodak Brownie (1900) were not very common. There were some amateur photographers, but until the Brownie, the process of taking photographs was complicated and only really avid amateurs were willing to devote the money and effort to take photographs. Most people just relied on ocaasional studio portraits.studio

Schools

The Fauntleroy suit was not commonly worn to school. We do see a few younger boys also see boys wearing Fauntleroy suits to school. This seems to be mostly the First Graders, the very youngest boys. A good example is Catholic school in the 1890s. It was not unusual in the 1890s and early-1900s to see some of the youngest boys at schools wearing Fauntleroy suits or at least fancy Fauntleroy blouses.

Unclear Circmstances

Just because family snapshots begin to appear around the turn-of the 20th century does not mean we can always figure out the circumstances involved. We often can, but not always. One problem is that the snapshot may be taken around the home before or after the actual event which of course then we do not know about. Even these images are, howver, worth loading. While we may not be able to figure out the ciciumstamnce, that does not mean that readers may not have some valuable insights.





HBC






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Created: 10:30 PM 3/27/2005
Last updated: 4:03 AM 6/10/2014