* smocks: United States -- chronology early 20th century social class
American Smock Chronology: Early-20th Century--Social Class
Figure 1.--This unidentified portarit has no accompanying information. It was probably taken in the 1910s. It looks like children playing, but it is a studio portarit. The boy in front looks to be wearing a smock or dress. Notice the straw hats. The children are pictured beinging a watermelloon home, suggesting the South. The younger child, who may be a boy, even has a knife. The studio portrait is unusual in that the the children are not dressed up in their best clothing. They are dressed as though this was a snapshot. The oklder girl's hair not done up at all. Their expressions are usual. And an African-American friend is included. .
HBC believes that smocks for boys were not common in the 19th century and were primarily by boys in affluent families that were being cared for in nurseries or at least at home. Boys would not have gone out to play in a smock, except in gardens and other grounds of a family estate. Boys would not have worn smocks to school. Smocks were also not common in the 20th century as well. We see some examples of boys in the early-20th century wearing smocks that do not look like they are from particularly prosperous families. We are not sure what may have caused sucg a shift, or if it was an actual shift. We have so few examoles that it is difficult to actually tell. In some of these examples we are not entirely sure if the boys are wearing smocks or plain dresses. By this time vthe pirpse would have beeb siumilar--a play garnment. Boys were no longer dressed up in fancy dresses for formal occassions.
