Figure 1.--These three siblings from Sarcoxie, Missouri were photographed about 1890. We believe that they are all sisters. The younger sisters at the sides are wearing dresses and not blouses. And note that while they have short hair, it is cut down to their ears. Boys at the time normally wore hair cut short at the sides. They look about 8 and 4 years old.

While we have found boys with center parts, we note center parts have been much more common for girls. There have been times when center parts were stylish for boys, but this has been the exception rather than the rule. The center part has much more commonly been a girl's style. We are not entirely sure why this was, but it seems basically utilitarian. Girls and women with long hair gound the center part the best way to deal with styling long hair as it provide a substantial length on both sides. And while girls with long hair commonly parted it in the center, girls also wore short hair with center parts. These center parts were common throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. It is often difficult to assess the gender of younger children in 19th century portraits. A center part is often a very good indicator that an unidentified child in an old phootogrph is a girl, but there is no way to be absolutely sure unless the children are identified. We also have some general information on girls center parts.

Created: 2:13 AM 7/13/2008
Last updated: 2:14 AM 7/13/2008