Figure 1.-- This cabinet card portrait shows three siblings, two girls and a boy. They are according to a note on the back, Nellie 6 years 9 months, Amy 4 years and 10 months. and Freddie 2 years and 10 months. Unfortunatly their last names are not indicated. Freddie seems to have a basket on his lap and something in his hand. All three children are wearing dresses. Both Freddie and Nellie look to be wearing pinafores over their dresses. The portrait was taken in 1894. The studio was Fletcher in Birmingham or Bromsgrove.

As English boys mostly wore pinafores over dresses and skirts, the age conventions would thus seem to be essentially to be essentially the same as for for those garments. This would have changed somewhat over time, but would be basically pre-school boys up to about 5 years of ages. Most of the images we ahve found in the photographic record suggest 2-4 years were most common. Freddie, the boy here, was nearly 3 years old. Here social class conventions would have had some impact. Boys from well-to-do families might have worn pinafores to a slightly older age, especially if they were educated at home. They were subjected to closer supervision and nannies and governesses might have kept them in pinafores. Girls of course wore pinafores to a much older age and they are commonly worn to school.

Age 2 Years

An English cabinet card shows two unidentified chilren and a lady. We are not sure if the lady is a young mother or a nanny. The children look to be about 2-4 years of ages. Both wear colored dresses with puff sleeves and white pinafores. The younger child hs a wide waist sash. The portrait is undated, but looks like the 1880s to us. We have age details about another boy. The boy here, Freddie, is 2 years old going on 3 years in 1894 (figure 1). He wears as whire pinfore over a colored dress.

Age 3 Years

We think many 3-year old boys wore pinafores, in part because many boys at this age had not yet been breeched. Here social class was a factor. This of course varied over time. We notice a cabinet card with an uidentied boy wearing a pinafore and dress. He looks to be about 3 years old. The boy holds a raquet to identify him as a boy. The portrait is also undated. We would guess that it was taken in the 1880s, in part because of the dark green mount. We are unsure about the age conventions of the oval formatting. The studio information has been trimmed.

Age 4 Years

Breecking seems to have been a factor in boys wesring oinsfores. We notice two unidentified brothers, we think in the 1890s. They look to be about 2-4 years old. The boys are wearing pinafores and are not yet breeched. We notice a class portrait from the Rodborough Infant School about 1905. The girls all wear pinafores, not none of the boys. The children look to be about 4 uears old to us, but there my be some three tear olds.

Age 5 Years

Created: 12:31 AM 10/5/2013
Last updated: 3:18 AM 4/9/2016