We know of very little written material addressing the clothing of the Lincoln children. We have seen letters from Mrs.
Lincoln to the president while on her shopping expeditions to New York. She briefly refers to clothes she is buying for Willie
and Tad. The primary source of information on the boys' clothes, however, is the photographic record. We have found several
portraits that provide us some basic information. `
The Lincoln boys as was the fashion of the day wore dresses as younger boys. Few images exist, however, of the boys in
dresses. After breeching the boys wore a variety of juvenile styled jackets. One popular style was a jacket worn open or with
one button. The jacket had sides which fell away. The boys by 8 or 9 years increasingly adult looking,
rather non-descript suits. The new fashion of knee pants for boys
appeared in the 1860s, but as far as I know, Willie and his brothers all wore long trousers after they were breeched.
Mary Todd Lincoln was quite an extravagant wife. She spent large amounts on clothes and home furnishings, often without her
husband's permission. Interestingly, despite her interest in finery, she does seem to have taken great interest in dressing her
sons in fashionable clothes. The differing background of the parents may have affected their views on how the boys should be
dressed. The rather plain dressing, backwoods father and stylish, urbane mother may have had very different opinions. If so,
however, I know of no authors reporting on any such disagreements.
The Lincoln's permissive parental style probably affected the way the boys were dressed. As little boys they wore dresses and
juvenile suits. They began wearing more adult-looking suits at a fairly young age. Perhaps their parents bought the styles the
boys wanted as soon as they began expressing an opinion on the subject.
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