Figure 1.--.

Clothes worn by orphans have generally reflected clothes worn by children from families with moderate means. In America this meant that actual uniforms were unusual. Often children brought clothes with them or clothes were supplied by relatives. One visitor who was in an Indiana orphanage during the 1920s tells me that the lady running the orphanage woukd buy clothes on sale in local stores. The children could select clothes from a large box. At other orphanages there may have been more similarity as clothes were often bought in large lots by the various state homes. Little boys at the turn of the century would often wear white shirts, large bows, and kneepants with long stockings. Infants and toddlers were less commonly found in the orphanages as they were easier to place for adoption. Another charity institution of importance is the settlement house.

Orphanages

Clothes worn by orphans have generally reflected clothes worn by children from families with moderate means. In America this meant that actual uniforms were unusual. Often children brought clothes with them or clothes were supplied by relatives. One visitor who was in an Indiana orphanage during the 1920s tells me that the lady running the orphanage woukd buy clothes on sale in local stores. The children could select clothes from a large box. At other orphanages there may have been more similarity as clothes were often bought in large lots by the various state homes. Little boys at the turn of the century would often wear white shirts, large bows, and kneepants with long stockings. Infants and toddlers were less commonly found in the orphanages as they were easier to place for adoption.

Settlement Houses

Another charity institution of importance is the settlement house. The most famous settlement house is Hull House located on Chicago's Near West Side. It was founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr and housed originally in an old mansion. Hull House operated educational, athletic, musical and other programs for inner-city children. By the 1920s the physical plant had spread out considerably and included a complex of thirteen different buildings, almost a city block, with a staff of at least sixty-five people. It catered to children of the surrounding imigrant neighborhood. It produced a number of very successful people and many professional people contributed their services--doctors, lawyers, college professors, school teachers, social workers, students, musicians, actors, writers, poets, artists and politicians. Hull House is well known for its pioneering and imaginative innovations in service to the children of the American underclasses. Hull House is one of the earliest American institutions to cultivate and promulgate social and philosophical diversity.

Created: November 25, 1998
Last update: September 17, 2003