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We note pinafores being worn primarily from the late 19th to the early 20th century, but this may be because we begin tio see a lot more school photography by the late-19th centurty. We believe that pinafores were worn also commonly worn in the mid-19th century, but have much less information on this period. Many girls did not attend school in the early-19th century and we have only limited information on how they were dressed. We are not sure how common pinafores were and precisely when they became so common for girls. A problem here is that the pinafore was protective garment. It was thus commonly worn at school. But rarely worn for formal portraits. And because most 19th century photography was formal studio portraits, the 19th century photographic record is not a good indicator of how common pinfores were. Also we have no information on gender concentions for pinafores in the early-19th century. We believe that some younger boys were dressed in pinafores during the early 19th century. We do not know, however, how common this was. It varied from country to country. There were big differences from country to country which is diffucult to assess until the avent off photography. It seems pinafores were more common for boys in the early period, but we have very limited information about schoolwear. We have no information about how common pinafores were in the early and mid-19th century, in part because photography was not a commercial technology until about 1840. There are, however, relatively few images availavle for the 1840s and 50s. Only in the 1860s do large number of photographic images become available, but only studio portraits. We do not see many school portaits until the end of the century.
As best we can tell, pinafores appeared in the late-18th century. At the time, girls in most countries did not commonly attend schools. A few countries like Prussia and America were just beginning to establish public school systems expanding school attendance. We have no actual unformation on girls wearing pinafirs to nschool durung the 18th century.
Many girls did not attend school in the early-19th century and we have only limited information on how they were dressed. We are not sure how common pinafores were and precisely when they became so common for girls. As best we can tell, pinafores appeared in the late-18th century. Thus they were worn throughout the 19th century. In the early-19th century, girls in Englsnd did not commonly go to school beyond the Dame School level. England did not have a free-public school system. And preivate schools other than finishing schools were almost entirely for boys. Thus the were not worn at school. We have very few early-19th century images which would have beem almost enitely home scenes, but mostly the girls would have not worn pinafores for these portaraits. A problem here is that the pinafore was protective garment which covered a girl's dress. And for a potrait, mothers wanted to dress up their daughters in their best clothes and show off the outfits. We have no information on gender conventions for pinafores in the early-19th century. We believe that some younger boys were dressed in pinafores during the early 19th century. We do not know, however, how common this was.
We believe that pinafores were worn also commonly worn in the mid-19th century, but still do not have a lot of information on this period, even school trends. Gradually with the onset of the Victorain era, attitudes toward educating girls began to change in the mid-19th century. We see more parents wanting their daughters to be educated. And this was becoming easier with more primary schools opening. This inclused both single gender and coed schools. Single gender scgools were generlly poreferred, but village schools often were coed. Girls' schools began to be founded, including some boarding schools. We do not, howeve, know much about them. We do know that they were mostly single gender schools. We also have the invention of photography (1839), although the nunber of early foirmat images (Dags and Ambros) is relatively small--much smaler than in America. With the advent of the CDV, we fianlly begin to see substantial numbers of photograohic porertaits (1860s), but very few school images. There were big differences from country to country which is difficult to assess until the advent off photogrphy.
This all changed in the late-19th century. Not only do we have a far more extendive photographic record, but we have far more girls going to school. Parliament passed the Education Act which finally committed England to a free public school system.
We believe that girls commonly wore pinafores to school, although most of our images come from the 1890s as school photography had become increasingly common. The image here is a good example (figure 1). By the 1890s, pinafore were mearly universal at many schools. But they were rarely worn for formal portraits--only school portraits. Most 19th century photography was formal studio portraits, the 19th century photograohic record was thus not a good indicator of how common pinfores were. We do not see many school portaits until the end of the century. We begin to see more school photograpy, especially by the 1880s. There were quite a few by the 90s. And pinafores were very common for the girls. Styles varied, but in many schools they were virtually universal. We think this was largely because they were so common at the time. Some private schools may have required them, but for the most part it was just what girls wore. This was a practical matter. Laundry at the time was a major undertaking. And usually white cotton pinafores were easy to launder. Thus by keeping dresses clean, they eased mother's work load on wash day.
We continue to see girls in many countries wearing pinafores to school after the turn-of-the 20th century. School portraits show that thery were still very common. This of course varied from country to country. We have detailed information on some countries like America and England. Pinafores seem less common in France and Italy were smocks were weuidely worn. We have very little information on many other countries. It is difficult to date the images unless there is a caption on the back. As far as we can tell, this continues to be what the girls commonly wore, not school rules. We continue to see mostly white pintafores. White was no universal, but the vast majority of girls wore white pinafores. Pinafores were still very common in the 1900s and 10s, but we have difficulty differentiting beteween these two decadees. Pinafores quckly declined after World War I in the 1920s. The major factor here as far as we can tell technology. Laundry continued to be a major task that mothers faced every week. Washing machines began to appear as well as modern lundry detergents. This all made the need for pinafores to protect the girls' dress became less and less mecessary. By the 1930s they were not common any more. Much later we see ehat was called pinafore dresses, but the pinafore was mrverr an imprtant garments after thhe 1910s. We no longer see classes with moist of the firls wearing pinafores.
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