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Boys' clothing was the earliest children's styles to be developed. For centuries boys wore scaled-down versions of their father's garments. Boys from affluent families in the late-18th century began wearing skeleton suits, the first dedicated children's clothing. Dedicated girls' clothing first appeared a little later in the 19th century. Basically girls wore scalled-down versions of the same styles that their mothers were wearing. The same convention that determined what boys worefor centuries. The skeleton suit was followed by tunics in the early-19th century. We also see boys wearing short jackets and trousers. Dedicated girls styles were slower to develop, but we do see girls wearing aprons and pinafores made with the new cotton fabrics. Adult women might also wore pinafores when working, but not fancy ones like girls wore and not commonly all day. This continued througout the 19th century. Girls continued wearing dresses styled like their mothers, but hem lines began to change. Women wore dresses with long hemlines. Girls were allowed to wear dresses with more practical, shorter hem lines. This was govdrnecd by age and not style in the 19th century. And during the first half of the 19h century wore them with pantalettes that extended well below the skirts, in some cases all the way to the ankles. Women might also wear pantalettes, but not so prominetly. Girls throughout the 19th century wore either dresses or skirts. Amelia Bloomer make a splah with her bloomers, but very few girls actually wore them--except in gym classes in the later part of the century. We see new styles like middy blouses and sailor dresses, adopting popular boys' styles.
Boys' clothing was the earliest children's styles to be developed. For centuries boys wore scaled-down versions of their father's garments. Boys from affluent families in the late-18th century began wearing skeleton suits, the first dedicated children's clothing. Dedicated girls' clothing first appeared a little later in the 19th century. Basically girls wore scalled-down versions of the same styles that their mothers were wearing. The same convention that determined what boys wore for centuries. Images are limited to drawings and paintings for the first four decades of the century.
The boy's skeleton suit was followed by tunics in the early-19th century. We also see boys wearing short jackets and trousers. Dedicated girls styles were slower to develop, but we do see girls wearing aprons and pinafores made with the new cotton fabrics. Adult women might also wore pinafores when working, but not fancy ones like girls wore and not commonly all day. This continued througout the 19th century. Girls continued wearing dresses styled like their mothers, but hem lines began to change.
Photography appeared in the 1840s and we begin to find much larger numbers of images than previously available. They were a small fraction of what was to come, but the comparison with earlier decades was exponential. Almost all of the 1840s photographs were Daguerreotype portraits. We have one problem in assessing these Dags, it is difficult to differentiate between the 1840s and 50s portraits. We have only found girls in the 190s wearing dresses. We do not see the girls wearing blouses and skirts. We are not yet sure if they were not common or if mothers were just dressing their girls up in the more formal dresses. Yoynger boys and girls wore shortened dresses. Set-in waist bands and full skirts were common features. and the short cap sleeve was most common 【Severa, p. 23】 . We also see some toddlers with matching capes. This continued until, about 4-5 years of age. At this time the boys were breeched and the girls began wearing dresses with longer skirts. Here there may have been a social class factor, at least for the boys. While there were differences between styles for boys and men, girls were essentially dressed as miniature adults. There were two basic age differences. First, girls might wear dresses without collars and low necklines. (For women this was only for elegant dresses worn at fashionable events. Second. hem lines were different. After about age 5 years girls skirts were at or just below the knee this gradually fell to mid-calf level by age 12 years. Girls wore sometimes fancy white cotton pantalettes. Earlier pantalettes were worn to be seen, but by the 1940s they more commonly covered and just peeked out under the hem. 【Severa, p. 24.】 The necklines can be followed easily in the Dag portraits. The hems are more difficult to follow because of the ways most Dags were posed showing mostly the top part of how children were dressed. A major development in clothing technology was Elias Howe patenting his lock-stitch sewing machine (1846).
There was one fashionable silhouette that dominated the 1850s. It was a well defined narrow waist, drooping shoulders, and a huge expansive skirt that only grew in size through the decade. The problem with this was that it was mostly young women just out of their teens that could easily manage that narrow waist. For many women this meant having to fit into constrictive whalebone corsets. How different this was from the Empire dresses that began the free flowing 19th century. The dress skirt it self was a characteristic dome-shaped skirt with its fullness carefully distributed. The expansive skirt was not just a shell. It was usually well supported by multiple petticoats worn underneath. The number was up to the woman, but up to seven was no uncommon. Of course here we are talking about fashionable ladies. At least to offer real support, one of the petticoats was usually a crinoline This was a petticoat that was stiffened with horsehair. Then to make it easier to achieve the some affect. Someone invented the cage crinoline (1856). This involved a series of concentric steel hoops. It proved popular because freed the fashionable lady from the many heavy and layer of petticoats. And at the same time, a dress skirt could reach greater proportions which we see in the late-1850s and early-60s. The cage crinoline was widely worn and not just by the fashionable elite, although working-class women were less involved, in part because a woman could not do much when wearing one. But fashionable women did not work. Girls of course did not normally wear the cage crinoline. But the basic style of dress was the same. There were by mid-century distinctive styles for boys, This was less true for girls. Amelia Bloomer was a women's rights reformer. Her most influential work would be in clothing reform. After noticing the restrictive nature of corsets and dresses, Bloomer promoted the idea of women to adopting a new style of dress. The pantaloons, now called bloomers, were a shift from accepted skirted fashions dress for women. Her bloomers were the subject of ridicule from most men and women. She made a splash with her bloomers, but very few girls actually wore them--except in gym classes in the later part of the century.
We begin to see really large number of photoigrpjic images (1860s). This is when the CDV comes into existence. This meant that far more photograpohs were possible than with earlier photogrsphic processes. Women wore dresses with long hemlines. Girls were allowed to wear dresses with more practical, shorter hem lines. This was govdrnecd by age and not style in the 19th century. And during the first half of the 19h century wore them with pantalettes that extended well below the skirts, in some cases all the way to the ankles. Women might also wear pantalettes, but not so prominetly. Girls throughout the 19th century wore either dresses or skirts. We note a CDV portatriat of an unidentified girl taken in the early-1860s. She looks to be about 6 years old. We know this because she is holding a cased Dag or Ambro which disappeared very quickly after the early 1860s. She wears a Zouave cut-away jacket, popular during the Civil War. This is primarily a boy's garment. Younger girls could wear skirts cut well above the ankles. This girl wears a white dress with pantelettes and white long stockings.
We see new styles like middy blouses and sailor dresses, adopting popular boys' styles. Sailor styling was initially a boy's style. It had become a popular girls' style by the 1890s. The girl here is a good example (figure 1). Notice how boys' collars and neckwear recrived muvh more attention than that for the girls.
Severa, Joan L. Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900. (Kent: Kent State University Press, 1995).
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