Figure 1.--Here two unidentified American brothers wear virtually identical Fauntleroy blouses and floppy bows. Notice how these huge collars have large back flaps. Also notice the younger boy's suit which seems to be a sailor-style Fauntleroy outfit. The portrait is undated, but we would guess was taken in the late 1890s. We do know that the studio was located in Indianapolis, Indiana. |
Perhaps the most common method of adding a Fauntleroy look to a regulat suit was to attire the boy un a fancy Fauntleroy blouse. We find in fact that Fauntleroy blouses were made in larger sizes than Fauntleroy suits. These Fauntleroy blouses could be exteemly fancy with large enough collars and wrist cuffs that the suit jacket was almost hidden. Thus the effect was one of wearing a Fauntleroy suit. This appraoch appealed to thrifty mothers because when the boy was deemed to old for the Fauntleroy look, a new blouse and perhaps an Eton collar were all that were needed rather than a new suit. We do not entirely understand the conventions here. Some boys probably wore these Fauntleroy blouses regularly with their suits. Other boys may have just worn them on special occasions. Here we do not yet have access to contemprary accounts that might provide better insights. Without such accounts we can only speculate based on the available images. Some mothers seem to have used similar Fauntleroy blouses to dress different age brothers similarly even though they had different style suits.
Fauntleroy Related Pages:
[Return to the Main other suits with a Fauntleroy look page]
[Return to the Main Fauntleroy page]
[Fauntleroy dresses]
[Fauntleroy blouses]
[Fauntleroy movies]
[Lace collars]
[Collar bows]
[Vivian Benett]
[Fauntleroy patterns]
[Literary characters: Cedric Erol]
Other Related Pages:
[Dresses]
[Kilts]
[Smocks]
[Pinafores]
[Velvet]
[Sailor Hats]
[Blouses]
[Ring Bearers]
[Long hair]
[Ringlet curls]
[Bangs]
[Bows]
[Sashes]
[Hair bows]
[Ruffled collars]
[Long stockings]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossary]
[Satellite sites]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]