Figure 1.--These unidentified American children were from Westerly, Rhode Island. The portrait is undated and we are not quite sure how to date it. Two of the children wear dresses. The older child is obviously a girl. The younger child sitting down looks to us more like a boy, although there is no sure way of knowing. Note the plaid pattern and ruffled collar. Click on the image for a discussion of this portrait.

We have only little information about colors and patterns. Color is a particularly difficult gopic to adress for 19th century clothing. Much of the information we have gathered comes from our photographic archive. This provides information on patterns, but unfortunlely the black and white photography of the day gives us few clues about color. Another problem is that been dresses were sewn at home. Thus catalogs are not as helpful as are the case with other garments. In addition catalogs are less available before the 1890s which was when dresses were more common for boys. Fortunately patterns so how up in black-and-white photographs. Thus we can develop more information on this subject. We habe only, begun, however, to address this subject. Our basic observation at this early stage is patterened dress were more common gor girls thn boys. This is, however, only a preliminary assessment. One of the patterns we tend to note for boy dresses is plaid. Here the connection with plaid kilts worn by men and boys presumably was a factor.

Color

Color is a particularly difficult topic to address for 19th century clothing. Quite a few problems complicate out assessmrnt of color. Much of the information we have gathered comes from our photographic archive. This provides information on patterns, but unfortunlely the black and white photography of the day gives us few clues about color. Another problem is that been dresses were sewn at home. Thus catalogs are not as helpful as are the case with other garments. In addition catalogs are less available before the 1890s which was when dresses were more common for boys. There are of course other sources of information on color, including both paintaings and vintge clothing. We also have tined photographs, although we are less sure about the accuracy of the colors shown.

Patterns

Fortunately patterns show up in black-and-white photographs. Thus we can develop more information on this subject. We habe only, begun, however, to address this subject. Our basic observation at this early stage is patterened dress were more common for girls than boys. This is, however, only a preliminary assessment. One of the patterns we tend to note for boy dresses is plaid. Here the connection with plaid kilts worn by men and boys presumably was a factor. As regards patterns, catalogs tends to be less useful than colors. Thus old photographs are a major source of information.

Created: 5:04 AM 1/4/2005
Last updated: 7:16 PM 3/5/2015