Figure 1.--This cabinet card studio portrait shows an unidentified boy wearing a a white dress. He looks to be about 3 years old. The dress is a plain basic A-line dress with emroidery on the bodice and hem. It is cut long at calf level. The portrait is undated, but looks like the 1890s. The studio was Lewis in Hudson, Massachusetts.

Photography at the time boys wore dresses was all black and white, with a few colorized images. Thus we have very limited information on dress colors. The two colors we can identify with relative accuracy is white and black, especilly white. The photographic record clearly shows many children wearing white dresses. It seems to have been one if nit the most popular colors of boy desses, although this varied over time. There were both fashion and practical matters that made white so popular. Black dresses were not unknown, but much less common. And white was particularly popular, for younger children. We see quite a few of them. And white dresses they seem particularly popular at the turn of the century. This may have been because the boys wearing dresses were increasingly only younger boys. We see far fewer black dresses.

Black Dresses

We do not see many younger children wearing black dresses in the photographic record. While black is often recognizable, some sark shades of burgandy, blue, and green look very much like black sowe are not always sure about black-looking dresses. Mothers did not see black as all all that suitable for children, even during the Victorian era when black was so common. This does not seem to have carried over for children. And there was a problem with black, washing commonly cused it to fade. Of course with small children, their clothes had to be washed more than adult cloting. And unlike white white, bleach could not be used. This was a real problem before the invention of modern laundry detergents. And as black fabric faded it left a not very appealing color. There was one exception to all of this--the Fauntleroy era. Mothers were enthralled with Fauntleroy styling. This included Fauntleroy dresses for the younger boys--commonly done in black velvet.

White Dresses

White dresses are relarively easy to identify in the photographic record. Some light shades may look like white, but they have to be very light indeed not to show up a little different than white. And we see many children, both boys and girls, wearing white dresses. This was especually common for younger children. A good example is 3-year old California boy, Carlton Gardner, we think in the 1880s. There were both fashion and practical matters that made white so popular. White was appeling for little children because it emphazizes their innosence, giving them the appearance of little angels. There was also the practicality. And white was particularly popular, for younger children. We see quite a few of them. And white dresses they seem particularly popular at the turn of the century. This may have been because the boys wearing dresses were increasingly only younger boys. There were other factors. Unlike colored dresses, white does not fade even after repeated washings--something necessary with younger children. Modern reaaders do not fully appreaciate the laundry problem. In an era before machines and modern detergents, it was a major, labor intensive undertaking. A full day had to be put aside for washing and it took a the entire day of boiling water, crubbing rinsing, and hanging out on the line. The well-to-do had help during the work. Most mothers did not. There was a real advantage to white clothing. There were no laundry detrgents available, but with white, you could pour in bleech--something you could not do with colored clothing. Thus we see large numbers of younger children wearing white, including boys wearing white dresses. White today is not seen as the ideal color for younger children as it shows up dirt. But that is because modern mothers have washing machines and effective laundry detergents.

Created: 10:18 PM 9/19/2020
Last updated: 10:18 PM 9/19/2020