Figure 1.--These children were photographed in Muncie, Indiana. The CDV photograph here is undated, but we would guess it was taken in the 1870s. The children wear identical white dresses with colored sashes, probably blue. The sashes are tied in a large bow at the back. Note the neckwear, pantalettes, and striped stockings. The children are unidentified. The short hair suggests that they are both boys. They look to be 3-4 years old.

Parents over time have liked dressing their children in identical or coordinated outfits. The popularity of this practice has varied over time. Other factors involved are coutries, age, and gender. Some styles like sailor suits have been especially popular for dressing children alike. Dresses were not as popular. This because only younger boys tended to wear dresses and after the turn of the 20th century we tend to see fewer boys wearing dresses, even younger boys. Even so we do see some families with the younger children all wearing dresses, often identical dresses. It is often not possible to determine the gender of these children, unless they are unidentified by name. Unfortunately many of the images we have found are not identified. We are not entirely sure how common this was, but we have found a number of portraits.

Brothers

We see some portraits of brothers wearing dresses, often identical dresses. Most of these portraits we have noted are from the 19th century. We are not sure how common it was in the early 19th century because photography had not yet been invented. After photography became common place in the 1860s we begin to see quite a number of these images. The primary limitation here is the age of breeching because this was only possible when both boys had not yet been breeched. Twins could be dressed this way. They were not always dressed in identical dresses, but quite a few were. And because families were larger than is now common. Many families might have two boys under about age 5 years. This becomes much less common after the turn of the 20th century, largely because boys were less commonly outfitted in dresses. Boy dresses were often quite simple. Note the relatively simple dresses the boys here are wearing.

Brothers and Sisters

We also see brothers and sisters wearing dresses. Again we do not know how common this was in the early 19th ceentury. At the time it was very common for boys to wear dresses so we think this was very common. It was also common in the second half of the 19th century, but began to decline in popularity in the 1890s and we see less of it in the 20th century. Often we see siblings wearing different dresses. This includes both boy and girl siblings. We do, however, see a few portraits where brothers and sisters are wearing identical dresses. Most commoknly this is done with a younger boy and older boy. This may have been more common when clothes began to be made ready madebecause the same dress could be found in different sizes, but identical dresses could be ordered from millinaries as well. Images with the children wearing identical dresses are not very common, but they are also not rare so quite a number of families practiced this convention. These dresses could be quite fussy, in part because they were often dresses sworn by older girls.

Reciprocal Links

Thank you for your interest in our site. If using any of our material, partially or in full, we ask that you always provide an active hyperlink to the pages that you have consulted.

Created: 4:50 PM 7/11/2007
Last updated: 8:37 AM 10/7/2020