The Victorian Era

How Did Children's Fashion Change in the 19th Century?

Article · Fashion & Dress · The Victorian Era, 1837–1901

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Children’s fashion in the nineteenth century, and especially in the Victorian period, was transformed by a number of forces. The new idea of childhood as a special, protected, and innocent phase of life, the new industrial technologies of the period, the new middle-class prosperity, the new codes of respectability, the new mass media, the new schools and educational institutions, the new games and sports, and the new fashions of the adult world all combined to create a new visual culture of childhood. The history of children’s fashion is examined in Victorian Children’s Clothing, and the broader context of childhood in the period is set out in What was life like for a Victorian child?.

The Early Nineteenth Century

In the early nineteenth century, children were dressed as miniature adults. The little boy of the period wore a small frock coat, a small waistcoat, a small shirt, a small pair of trousers, a small pair of boots, and a small hat, and the suit was often an exact copy of the adult suit. The little girl wore a small dress, a small petticoat, a small chemise, a small pair of drawers, a small pair of stockings, a small pair of boots, and a small bonnet, the dress an exact copy of the adult dress. The little girl was also often subjected to the same elaborate coiffures, the same elaborate cosmetics, the same elaborate accessories, and the same elaborate ornamentation as the adult woman.

The visual culture of childhood in the early nineteenth century was influenced by a number of factors. The Romantic movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, with its emphasis on the natural, the simple, the innocent, and the spontaneous, encouraged a new interest in childhood. The poetry of William Wordsworth, with its vision of the child as a special kind of being, was particularly influential, and the educational ideas of Friedrich Froebel, the founder of the kindergarten, gave the new conception institutional form. In the visual arts, the childhood portraits of Sir Joshua Reynolds and the paintings of Sir John Everett Millais helped to fix the period’s image of the child, while the illustrations of Kate Greenaway in the 1870s and 1880s, with their children in smocked frocks and broad-brimmed hats, did more than any other single source to set the visual style of the modern child, and the novels of Charles Dickens chronicled Victorian childhood for a mass readership.

The Skeleton Suit

The skeleton suit, a one-piece outfit of trousers joined to a jacket by buttons or tapes down the front, was introduced in the late eighteenth century and remained in use for younger boys well into the Victorian period. It was the standard dress of the toddler boy from about one to four years old, before the introduction of more elaborate tunics and trousers. The skeleton suit was a deliberate departure from the older fashion of dressing small boys as miniature men, and it marked the first step towards the modern idea of a distinct children’s wardrobe.

The Mid-Nineteenth Century

The mid-nineteenth century saw the development of a more distinctive visual culture of childhood. The little girl of the period wore a long, white dress of fine cotton, silk, satin, lawn, or lace, trimmed with lace, ribbon, embroidery, insertion, pin-tucks, or smocking. The little boy of the period wore a long, white dress, similar to the little girl’s, until the age of five to seven, when he was breeched — put into trousers for the first time. The breeching was an important moment in the life of a Victorian boy, and it was the subject of family attention.

The breeching was generally held at the age of five to seven, and it was attended by the parents, the godparents, the grandparents, and the wider circle of family and friends. It was the moment when the little boy was recognised as a member of the male sex, and it was a moment of celebration. The breeching suit was often a new suit in a sturdy wool, with matching tunic, belt, and trousers, and it was a fixture of the wardrobe for the next several years.

The Late Nineteenth Century

The late nineteenth century saw a further development of the visual culture of childhood, with the rise of the age-segregated wardrobe. The little girl of the period wore a more practical dress of wool, cotton, linen, flannel, serge, gabardine, or tweed, trimmed with braid, buttons, lace, or embroidery. The little boy of the period wore a more practical suit of wool, cotton, linen, flannel, serge, gabardine, or tweed, trimmed with braid, buttons, lace, or embroidery. The pinafore, a sleeveless or short-sleeved overdress gathered at the back and tied at the waist, was the working dress of the nursery, worn for play, for meals, and for lessons, in cotton, linen, gingham, or print.

The sailor suit was introduced into children’s wear by Queen Victoria, who dressed the young Prince of Wales in a miniature version of the uniform of the Royal Navy in the 1840s, and the fashion was gradually adopted by the upper and middle classes. The sailor suit was associated with the seaside holiday, with the yacht, and with the new cult of the sea, and it was one of the most distinctive children’s fashions of the late Victorian period.

The School Uniform

The school uniform was introduced in the late nineteenth century, and it became a major feature of children’s clothing. The school uniform was a response to a number of forces, including the new education acts of the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s, the new schools and educational institutions, the new games and sports, the new codes of respectability, and the new visual culture of childhood. The school uniform was generally a standardised suit or dress, often of a dark colour, often of a sturdy fabric, and often of a simple cut. The Eton suit, with its short black jacket, broad Eton collar, and matching shorts, became the standard for the middle-class schoolboy by the 1890s, and the gymslip, introduced in the 1890s, became the standard for the middle-class schoolgirl.

The school uniform was a major industry. The great school outfitters of the period, including the firms of Gieves, Hawes, Burtons, John Collier, Moss Bros, Hepworths, and Austin Reed, all produced school uniforms of various types. The school uniform was also a major social institution, and it was the subject of debate about the role of uniformity, the role of discipline, the role of class, the role of conformity, and the role of identity in the life of the child. The history of the school uniform is examined in What was Victorian education like?.

The Working-Class Child

The working-class child of the nineteenth century wore a more limited wardrobe than the middle-class child. A working-class boy generally wore a coarse cotton or linen shirt, trousers of corduroy, moleskin, fustian, or heavy cotton, heavy leather boots, and a flat or peaked cap. A working-class girl generally wore a plain dress and pinafore of similar coarse cotton or linen, heavy leather boots, and a simple cotton or straw bonnet.

The working-class child of the period was often sent out to work at a very early age, and the working clothes of the child were often the working clothes of the adult. The history of child labour in the period is examined in How did the Industrial Revolution impact Victorian Britain? and in What was life like for a Victorian child?.