Figure 1.--This glass negative slide shows sisters from a well-to-do family enjoying a little outdoo play. The image is undated, but looks like the 1910s. One girl has a hair bow, another wears a tam. Their little brother or sster wears a pinafore. Boice the longish dresses and black long stockings. They are being supervised by the famly maid. It looks like their very substanial home is undergoing rennovations.

We have begun to collect some information on chronological trends in English girls fashions. Of course girls' fashions depending somewhat on the age of the girl are a deritive of women's fashions. This has varied over time. For centuries girls essentially wore just smaller versions of their mother's dresses. As with boys clothing we begin to see differences developing between girls and womens cloyhing in the 19th century. These differences have varied over time as well as the importance of differentiated clothing. A HBC reader has worked on these differences and variations over time.

The 18th Century

English girls all wore dresses in the 18th century. We are not sure about skirts. The styles involved were basically scaled down versions of mother's dresses.

The 19th Century

We do not notice significant differences between girls' and women's clothing in the early-19th century. Our information, however, is very limited. From the Victorian Era (1837-1901) onwards distinct clothing differences evolved between girls and grown up women. Throughout the 19th century Victorian era skirts and dresses were the predominant garment for females of all ages. It is only in the latter part of the 20th century that trousers have become regular attire for females. The most obvious differences in skirts and dresses for girls, up until the latter part of the 20th century were the length of the hem. In Western Europe women�s hems were always floor length right up until the end of the First World War in 1919. In the 19th century different conventions developed for girls. Harper�s Bazaar in its 1868 edition promoted the principle that the girl�s hemline should drop from the knee to the ankle as she got older(figure 1). By the time a girl reached around 17 years of age she was considered to be a young lady and wore skirts ground length just like adult women did. This difference evolved for two reasons; to empathise the difference in seniority between and adult and a child (Victorians believed children should be �seen and not heard�), and because it was felt more practical for girls not be tied down by long gowns when playing games. This certainly suited Lottie Dod who was five times winner of the Ladies Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon. She was 11 when she first competed and won her first title at 15 in 1887. Her young age meant she could wear a shorter dress and move around the court more freely than her adult opponents in floor length garments. Trousers for women evolved from bloomers, invented by Elizabeth Smith and Fabrizia Flynn, which were named after Amelia Bloomer who wore them in the 1850s. The initial bloomers were skirted garments, but by the end of the 19th century unskirted ones appeared for wearing in the pursuit of athletic activities such as cycling and gymnastics.

The 20th Century

The 20th century saw women�s rights increase as they began to work, take up educational opportunities and obtain the vote. The clothing women and girls wear today reflect this change, and the differences that once existed between adult and children�s fashions are less distinct. Although many girls still wear skirts and dresses, it is usually a matter of choice rather than convention or compulsion. It wasn�t until the Edwardian era and World War I that women began wearing trousers whilst undertaking war time activities such was working in the munitions factories, and trousers were generally frowned upon for wearing on other occasions until later into the 20th century. Similarly school girls therefore would rarely wear non-skirted garments, except for sporting activities, until the 1960s. Many girls by the end of the century rarely wear skirts and dresses, and this is reflected when looking on a typical UK high street on a Saturday.

The 21st Century

Girls clothing was quite diverse in the 21st century. Skirts and dresses no longer dominated girls wear. Some girls wore dresses ahnd skirts. Other mostly wore jeans, short, and other pants. Dresses and skirts still dominated at school, but many schools were dropping the insistence that girls wear skirted garments. Girls in the 21st century are less likely to be treated differently when it comes to hosiery. Many girls regularly wear trousers and leggings. When they do wear skirts in general they have a vast array of colourful and fashionable range of leg wear to choose from.

Sources

HBC reader Stephen submitted the text for these pages on English girls clothes.

Created: 7:09 PM 11/19/2010
Last updated: 7:09 PM 11/19/2010