Figure 1.--This CDV portait shows an unidentified brother and sister. It is undated, but the mount and clothing style are certainly from the 1870s. Note the girls mid-calf hem lone. This was fairly standard in the second half of the 20th century. The studio was C.S. Cooper in Clyde, New York.

Girls skirt and dress hem lines have varied over time. We do not not yet have much informtion on the 17th and 18th centuris. We know much more anout the 19th century, at least the second half with the advent of photograpjhy. Hem lines in the 19th century were fairly stable, but varied substantially in the 20th century. Women wore long dresses throughout the 19th century. Girls hem lines were more varied. We notice long dresses done in the Empire style during the early-19th century, but shorter drsses worn with long pantalettes. The actual length of girls dresses varies with age. The basic length seems to have settled in at mid-calf after mid-century, but his is just a preliminary asessment. We assume that boys wearing dresses and kilted outfits followed the same conventions, but this needs to be confirmed. We have seen younger boys with longer hem lines, but this may be mother buying outfits that will last awhile. . This is an interesting topic because it may provide one more tool to help us date undated images. Girls began wearing pants in the 20th century which added new garments to the hem-line topic.

17th Century

We do not not yet have much informtion on the 17th and 18th centuris.

18th Century

19th Century

While our knowledge of the 18th century is limited to a relatively small number afartistic rederings. This changes in the mid-19th century with the invention of photography (1839). All of a sudden we see ubstantial numbrs of images and this increased exponentially the albumen process, CDVs and cabinet cards (1860s). This allows us to follow fashion developments in detail never before popular. We know much more anout the 19th century, at least the second half with the advent of photograpjhy. Hem lines in the 19th century were fairly stable. Women wore long dresses throughout the 19th century. Girls hem lines were more varied. We notice long dresses done in the Empire style during the early-19th century, but shorter drsses worn with pantalettes by mid-century. The actual length of girls dresses varies with age. The basic length seems to have settled in at mid-calf after mid-century. Younger girls might have even shorter hems commonly worn with pantalettes, but this may have been more common in Europe han America. . The CDV here from the 1870s is a good example (figure 1). This is just a preliminary asessment which needs to be confirmed. We assume that boys wearing dresses and kilted outfits followed the same conventions, but this needs to be confirmed. We have seen many younger boys with very longer hem lines. This may be mother buying outfits that will last awhile, but ankle-length for very young boys seems excessive. We suspect that something else was at play here. This is an interesting topic because it may provide one more tool to help us date undated images.

20th Century

Girls hem lines varied substantially in the 20th century, esppecially aftr Workld War I. Hemlines continued at mid-calf lengths in the early 20th century, but began to move upard after Wokd war I. Girls began wearing pants in the 20th century which added new garments to the hem-line topic.

21st Century

Created: 9:05 AM 11/30/2012
Last updated: 5:05 AM 8/7/2017