Figure 1.--This 1870s tin-type shows popular fashions in the decade. The younger boy wears a tubular-look dress done in a plaid-like fabric. Note the striped stockings. The girls wears a dress with a two fabric bodies along with a pleated skirt. We also get to see her broad-brimmed straw hat. Both dresss are worn with large white collars. The girl's collar has what looks like cut-out lace. The older boy wears a long pants suit.

Women and girls primarily wore dresses since the meduieval era. The same was true of younger boys. This conventiin continued virtually unchanged into the 19th century. Boys wore dresses that were basically styled like the dresses their sisters were wearing. After mid-century we begin to see some changes. And they were increasingly notable by the 1870s. Notice the Carl Gutav the younger boy on an earlier page wearing a white dress. We begin to see the boys wearng dresses that were paliner than that of their sisters. Carl Gustav's dress is as plain as you can get. But is does not stop here. Notice the brightly colored Scottish plaid waistband/sash. That is notable because Scottish kilts were the primary skirted garment that men coud wear. Queen Victoria when she began dressing the British princes in kilts launch the kiklt as boys' wear/ And by the 1870s in America we not only see increasing numbers of kilt suits, but we see the dresses boys wear done in tartan plaid fabric or with tartan plaid trim as is the case here. Plaid was not unknown for girls, but it was much more common for boys. While changes were occuring, it is still very difficuklt to be sure about the gender if younger children in many available portraits. Girls dresses were much more complicated. We see a range of styles and lengths. Dress designers played with the bodice making in complicated with many jacketed or sailor touches. Such complications were much less common for the dresses boys wore.

Boys

Younger boys continued to commonly wear skirted garments incikluding dresses during the 1870s. We think just about all boys as toddlers wore dresses, but the age of breeching varied. Here social class was a factor. We notice boys wearing a wide range of different dress styles. As far as we can tell the dress styles worn by boys and girls were essentially the same at the turn of the 19th century. After mid-century we begin to see some changes. And they were increasingly notable by the 1870s. Notice Carl Gutav, the youngerboy boy on an earlier page is wearing a white dress. We begin to see the boys wearng dresses that were plainer than that of their sisters. Carl Gustav's dress is as plain as you can get. But is does not stop here. Notice the brightly colored Scottish plaid waistband/sash. That is notable because Scottish kilts were the primary skirted garment that men coud wear. Queen Victoria when she began dressing the British princes in kilts launch the kilt as boys' wear. And by the 1870s in America we not only see increasing numbers of kilt suits, but we see the dresses boys wear done in tartan plaid fabric or with tartan plaid trim as is the case here. Plaid was not unknown for girls, but it was much more common for boys. While changes were occuring, it is still very difficult to be sure about the gender if younger children in many available portraits. We do not yet have a lot of specific stylist details. We note a range of patterns used for dresses. The children here seemed to be wearing a gingham or checked dress. Color is a more difficult topic because of the black and white photography of the day. We can tell that white dresses were popular for younger children. White dresses were popular, often paired with a colorful waist sash. The Mint Museum of Art In North Carolina displayed is a young boy's dress with a rosette 'bustle' purchased in 1879 in Chicago for 4-year old James Cromwell. We are less sure about the colors used. The age of breeching varied, but it was commonly at about 4-5 years of age. There were substantial differences from family to family. One interesting development is the appearnce of plaid--we think a result of Queen Victioria dresing the British peinces in Scottish attire. Boys also wore other skirted garments, including kilt suits. These were skirted garments that girls did not wear. We think that boys wearing kilt suits may also have worn dresses as well. We are not positive about this, but it seems rather plauasible. But we would like to know if boys wre dresses and kilts rather than instead of kilts. We tend to notice slightly older boys wearing kilt suits rather than dresses, but there was considerable variation. Perhaps readers will have some insight here. We notice two Muncie boys, probably in the 1870s, wearing identical white dresses. Some mothers dressed their children in identical or coordinated outfits. Not all parents did this. It varied substantially from family to family. It was, however, a popular convention. White seems to have been a popular choice.This meant that the younger children might all wear identical dresses. Other parents dressed the boys and girls differently.

Girls

Girls dresses were much more complicated. We see a range of styles and lengths. Dress designers played with the bodice a good bit, making complicated creations with many jacketed or sailor touches. The girl's dress here is a good exapmple (figure 1). Many dress bodicies in the 70s were much more complicated. Such complications were much less common for the dresses boys wore.

Created: 7:28 PM 12/5/2023
Last updated: 7:29 PM 12/5/2023