Figure 1.--Kilt suits were only worn by boys. American girls in the 19th Century wore dresses and not kilt or kilt suits. We have never noted an image of an American girl wearing a kilt suit. As far as we can tell this was a destinctive garment for younger boys. This is a charming portrait of a little boy and his sister posing for their portrait with a porcelain doll in a buggy. The little girl has long hair and the little boy is wearing a kilt suit with a ruffled collar and he's holding a walking stick. The photo was taken by the North-Western Normal Photographic Studio Geneseo, Illinois. We are not sure how to date it, but would guess the 1880s.
The kilt was a male garment. Girls did not wear kilts in Scotland. The Kilt suits wjich evolved from kilts in the 1870s were also a boy's garment. We only note them being worn by boys. We note huge numbers of portraits of American boys wearing kilt suits done in a range of styles. American girls in the 19th Century wore dresses and not kilt or kilt suits. We do note thm wearing plaid dresses, but not kilts. The plaid skirt which is similar to the kilt and sometimes called a kilt became very common for girls in the 20th century, but we do not see Americam girls wearing them in the 19th century. We have never noted an image of an American girl wearing a kilt suit. That is not to say that none ever did, but we can say that it would have been very rare. As far as we can tell this was a dstinctive garment for younger boys. We do note some children wearing what look to be dresses styled like kilt suits. While gaving a vague simililarity to a kilt suit, these dresses were generally done with all kinds of fashion flourishes and fancy detailing. This contrasted with the kilt suit which in many ways was a very plain garment. It is not always possible to tell just who is wearing them.
Boy's Garment
The kilt was a male garment. It was not exckusively for boys, but worn by both boys and men. Girls did not wear kilts in Scotland. Nor did women. The Kilt suits wjich evolved from kilts in the 1870s were also a boy's garment. We only note them being worn by boys. We note, however, huge numbers of portraits of American boys wearing kilt suits done in a range of styles. American girls in the 19th Century wore dresses and not kilt or kilt suits. We have never noted an image of an American girl wearing a kilt suit. That is not to say that none ever did, but we can say that it would have been very rare. As far as we can tell this was a dstinctive garment for younger boys.
Plaid Dresses
We do note thm wearing plaid dresses, but not kilts. Boys also wore plaid dresses. In fact plaid became a popular favric for boy dresses.
Plaid Skirts
The plaid skirt is similar to the kilt and sometimes called a kilt. We note boys wearing plaid skirts in the 19th century. We are less sure about girls. We have not noted hgirls wearing plaid skirts like the boys did. The plaid skirt, of course, became very common for girls in the 20th century, but we do not see Americam girls wearing them in the 19th century.
We do note some children wearing what look to be dresses styled like kilt suits. At least to us they bear resemblance to kilt suits. We are not sure that fashionable mothers made that connection for their daughters or if these dresses had a name. We note both girls and women wearing jacketed dresses, but here we are taking about jacketed dresses with pleated skirts. While gaving a vague simililarity to a kilt suit, these dresses were generally done with all kinds of fashion flourishes and fancy detailing. This contrasted with the kilt suit which in many ways was a very plain garment. It is not always possible to tell just who is wearing them.
There of course was no law against girls wearing kilt suits. It was all up to mother and her fashion sence. Fathers would not have objected. Fathers may have intervened in how their sons were dressed, at least as they got older. It would have been rare for them to intervene in how their daugters were dressed. That was widely acceoted to be =mother's province. The fascinating asopect about kilt suits is that virtually every mother in America only dressed their boys in kilt suits, never their girls. We have acquired hundreds appraoaching a thousand kilt suit images and virtually everyone of them shows boys wearing the kilt suits. America is, however, a large country and for the most part the individuaals are not identified. We are thus left to assess the gender. We will load here any portraits that clearly show girls wearing kilt suits. There are very rare exceptions to the general rule which apparently was very widely followed by American mothers. It is astonishing given the emense size of the phhotographic record that we see so very few exceptions.
