Henry Freeman Allen, c.1918 Gibson House Museum (2006.18.20) |
Until
the end of the nineteenth century, most American children were dressed like
miniature adults. Prior to age three, boys
and girls alike wore “dresses,” or long shifts that were simple to get on
and off and easy to launder. At about three or four, girls began wearing more
elaborate dresses, like their mothers, and boys were “breeched,” or put into
pants, like their fathers.
Beginning
in the 1860s and 1870s, however, specific clothing for children became popular.
And one of the most popular, and enduring, outfits for young boys was the
sailor suit. Queen Victoria dressed the Prince of Wales, Edward VII, in a
custom-made sailor suit in 1846, modeled on a real Royal Navy uniform. The
prince’s portrait was painted in this outfit and it set off a craze for sailor
suits that would last into the twentieth century.