Figure 1.--This American boy wears plain pantalettes in a portrait which has been estimated at about 1846. Notice how the pantalettes fall to the ankles. The style by the 1840s was generally thatbit was no longer necessary to cover the ankles.

Pantalettes for children, both plain and fancy were an important 19th century garment. They were primarily worn by boys during the first half of the 19th Century. They did not entirely disappear, however, until the turn of the 20th Century. The length of the pantalettes varied based on fashion of the day. The major change over time was the length of the panatalettes. In this regard, boys pantalettes while generally plainer, but the length primarily reflected the length that girls were wearing. Early in the 19th century, women wore very long pantalettes with trimming at the for the part that showed under the skirt. Boys panralettes were also quite long. Even after the introduction of the hoop skirt, pantalettes continued to be fanciful because of an occasionally glimpse of the ankle was possible. Children by the 1860’s, however, were wearing shorter dresses and the the bottoms of the pantalette legs extended to just below the knees. After the Civil War even pantalettes for women and girls became plainer and eventually were referred to as drawers.

18th Century (1770-1800)

No information available at this time. We do not know if pantalettes were worn in the 18th century.

Figure 2.--I am unsure how to date this American image. It may have been the late 1840s, but the 1850s is more likely. Notice the delicate lace trim on his pantalettes. Also notice how wide they were.

Early 19th Century (1800-40)

Our information on the early 19th century is limited. This was before the advent of photography and thus the available images are limited. Boys wearing pantalettes began to appear after the beginning of the 19th century. They are of considerable historical appearance as they in fact are the first trouser-like garment to be worn in polite society. By the late 18th century, trousers were being worn by laborers and on the American frontier. Sailors were wearing pantaloons. But refined individuals did not wear trousers. I am not sure who designed them and in what country they first appeared, presumably either Engkand or France. They probably appeared in the 1790s, but I have no real information about boys wearing them until the 1800s. Both young boys in dresses and some what older boys in tunics, skeleton suits and other outfits sometimes were dressed in pantalettes. Not all boys in these suits wore pantalettes, but some did. The legs of the suits were longer than the knee breeches worn in the 18th century. They were not, however, full length pants, generally ending above the ankles. Some boys wore pain white socks or stockings, but other boys also wore the pantalettes. The trim would cover the ankles as it did for their sisters. Pantalettes were very ornamental garments, but they were also worn for modesty as it was not acceptable in the early 19th century for either boys or girls to have bare legs.

Figure 3.--Boys in dresses were still wearing pantalettes in the 1860s, but much shorter ones than at the beginning of the century. This photograph shows Prince Albert Victor of Whales, eldest son of Edward VII in a rather frilly lace trimed dress for a 1868 photograph. Note the lace trimmed pantalettes and short white stockings. Eddy, as he was called by the family, was a favorite of Queen Victoria. He died at the age of 27, probably a blessing in disguise as his private life would have scandalized the Victorians.

Mid-19th Century (1840-70)

Children’s clothes by the 1840s were still similar for boys and girls until about the age of 5 or 6 years of agesix. Both wore "dresses" of cotton or wool around the house. Occasionally, a boy's dress would be worn over "drawers" to match, which showed beneath the dress. Little girls often wore pantalettes peeking beneath their dresses. The usual child's dress was long or short sleeved to suit the season, with slim sleeves, round or boat-shaped neck and the waist was lightly fitted with a set-in belt. Preferred fabrics were linen and cotton, for ease of care. Conventions for pantalettes changed markedly after the mid-19th century. It was becoming less common for boys to wear pantalettes, except for youger boys still in dresses. While the style had not entirely disappeated. Some boys still wore suits with calf-length pants. In some cases frills were incorporated with the hem of the pants (figure 1). Pantalettes for most boys had become much less common. By mid-century it had become more acceptable for younger children to wear shorter knee length dresses with short socks. Pantalettes for these children became much shorter, showing only at the hem of the dress. While less common, pantalettees did not disappear and photographs of boys wearing dresses and kilts testify that they were still being worn by boys.

Figure 4.--The noted English author E.M Forster is pictured here at the age of 5 years in 1884. He wears a Fauntleroy dress with pantalettes. While they were becoming less fashionable, pantalettes were still worn by some boys as late as the 1890s. His rich aunt who left him a sizeable inheritance, reportedly liked to see him nicely dressed. Click on the image for information on Forster.

Late 19th Century (1870-1900)

Pantalettes did not entirely disappear until the end of the century. Some little boys in dresses continued to wear them even as late as the 1870s and the 1880s and even occasionally in the 1890s. Somewhat older boys wearing kiltsuits might also wear them, but this was not very common by the 1880s. With the Fauntleroy craze which began in 1885, many mothers created elaborate costumes for their boys. Some choose to add pantalettes to the popular Fauntleroy dresses, making a particularly fancy outfit. While this was not common even for Fauntleroy suits, available images show that such outfits were worn. Some mothers in the 1880s and early 1890s even incorporated pantalette-type frills at the hem of the knee pants worn with Fauntleroy suits, instead of having the boy wear actual pantalettes.

Early 20th Century

We have not noted pantelattes being worn in the early 20th century.

Created: October 12, 1998
Last updated: 3:49 AM 9/20/2007