Figure 1.--This cabinet card shows an.unidenified broher and sister. They look o be about 3-5 years old. The boy looks to be wearing a blouse and striped skirt with ankle socks and button shoes. His little sister wears print dress wih long sockings. The wide-brimmed hat t heir feet was orobably the boy's hat. Te studio was C. Voss Bark in Bristol. They were phoographers to the Queen and Prince of Wales We are not sure how to date it, but would guess the 1880s.

We have found relatively few portraits of English boys wearing skirts. For that matter we do not see al that many girls wearing skirts. We were a little surprised about that. Dresses were so much more common than skirts. Kilts and dresses seem the more common skirted choice for boys, at least in the photographic record. Of course the photographic record, at least in the 19th century, is heavily biased toward the affluent classes and dress up clothing. Most people dressed up for portrait and dressed up their children. While we see a number of English boys wearing dresses and kilts, skirts see much less common. We are not entirely sure this was a reflection of how boys were dressed or influenced by the formality of a studio portrait. Skirts became a major garment in the 20th century, but that was not the case in the 19th century. We do not have much information for the early-19th century, but by the 1860s when the CDV and cabinet cards appeared, we have a substantial photographic record, providing a very good idea as to popular fashion. The number f images available provide a certain degree of validity to the assessments we are making.

Created: 4:18 AM 11/18/2024
Last updated: 4:18 AM 11/18/2024