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Floppy bows were very commonly worn by American boys with Fauntleroy blouses. American boys wore their Fauntleroy blouses both with and without floppy bows. This included blouses worn with and without Fauntleroy jackets. Often ot was the younger boys that wore the fanciest Fauntleroy blouses and wore them as part of suits with jsckets, but this varied quite a bit. This was entire up to the mother's discression. There were no well establised conventions. Both were equally acceptable. Like the collars, the floppy bows varied in size. Many were quite large. Some were large enough to almost cover up the smaller collars. Some times we can not tell the type of collar. Often younger boys had very large floppy bows. We can almost always tell the Fauntleroy collar blouses because they were so large, but Eton, Perer Pan, andd other collars are often covered up. The bows were used to add a little color to what was often a black and white outfit. We notice bows in all kinds of colors asnd patterns, including white. Black seenms to have been less common, but given the black and white photoigraphy of the day. This is diigicult to assess. The children involved range from about 2 years of age to younger teens. The older boys tended to wear the less fancy blouses and often without the classic Fauntleroy jackets.
Floppy bows were very commonly worn by American boys with Fauntleroy blouses. American boys wore their Fauntleroy blouses both with and without floppy bows. Both approaches were common, but we see large numbers of boys wearing their Fauntleroy blouses with floppy bows. Here the photograophic record provides a great deal of information enabling us to assess just how common bows were with Fauntleroy blouses. The Fauntleroy blouse was especially popular in America as were the floppy bows so it is no surprise that the combination was especially popular in America.
This included blouses worn with and without Fauntleroy jackets. Often it was the younger boys that wore the fanciest Fauntleroy blouses and wore them as part of suits with jackets, but this varied quite a bit. Many boys just wore the blouses and bows without the jackets during the summer. This was both seasonal for the younger boys and an age convention for the older boys. This was entirely up to the mother's discression. There were no well establised conventions. Both were equally acceptable.
We commonly see American boys wearing Fauntleroy blouses both with and without floppy bows. Many boys did not wear them, especially the older boys, but as long as the Fauntleroy blouse was popular we see them being worn as an option with floppy bows. The popularity of Fauntleroy blouses and floppy bows occurred over a relativedly short period of time, from about the mid-1880s to the mid-1900s. The of course all set off by Mrs. Burnett's publication of her famous book, Little Lord Fauntleroy (1885).
There were some related trends before this, but it was the Burnett book that launced the Fauntleroy Craze and large rulled and lace collars with floppy bows was an important part of it. The style was at its peak in the 1890s. A good example is American boy Freddiec Deveraux in 1892. It is also interesting, however, to look at the decades before and after to see how the fashion developed and continued with younger boys for a time after the popularity of the style declines. Notably, during the short period this style was most popular, we do not see girls wearing large Fauntleroy collars and floppy bows.
Like the collars, the floppy bows varied in size. Many were quite large. This depended large on the chronology. We see very large bows in the late-1880s and 90s. After the turn-of-the 20th century the size of the bows began to shrink. The size of the collars roughly fluctuated wuith thge suze of the bows. Some of the bows were large enough to almost cover up the smaller collars. Some times we can not tell the type of collar. Often younger boys had very large floppy bows. We can almost always tell the Fauntleroy collar blouses because they were so large, but Eton, Perer Pan, andd other collars are often covered up.
When assessuing colors we need both to consider the blouse color abnd the bow color. The bows were used to add a little color to what was often a black and white outfit. The blouses were usually white, but not azlways white. The younger boys normnally had white blouses. Older boysd might have striped blouses or even colored blouses. We notice bows in all kinds of colors and patterns, including white. Black seems to have been less common, but given the black and white photography of the day, this is difficult to assess. Here we really need vintage clothing items to accurately assess colors, but relatively few of these bows seemed to have survived.
The American boys wearing floppy bows with their Fauntleroy blouses ranged from about 2 years of age to younger teens. The older boys tended to wear the less fancy blouses and often without the classic Fauntleroy jackets. We see some families where all the boys are wearung Fauntleroy blouses and floppy bows whole in other families it was justr the younger boys. his tended to vary with the mothers fashion sence as well as the age distribution of the boys. The design of the blouses also varied. The younger boys tended to wear the enormously fabcy blouses with lave and ruffles. The older boys might have large ruffled collsrs, but not nearly as fancy. This varied somewhat with mother being the porimary arbiter as to what was appropriate. The chronology was a major factor. It was primarily the 1890s that we see older boys wearing these blouses, although we also see them in the late-1880s and early-1900s. We hope to refine the age trends as we expand this section.
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