Figure 1.-.

Boys

A new fashion of imagniative fancy dress for boys appeared in the 1830s. Both young boys and girls wore pants like pantalettes and they were more vissible during the 1830s as hem lines for children were rising. Young boys wore tunics, older boys wore Eton jackets. One source reports the sailor suit appeared for small boys, but HBC does not begin seeing sailor suits until the 1840s. Elaborate fancy costumes for boys grew in popularity during the 19th century, culminating in the Fauntleroy suit of the 1880s and 90s. Dresses by the 1830s included printed cottons with high tucked waists and gigot (leg of mutton) sleeves. Many fashions of the early 19th century seemingly come directly out of the pages of a story-book. Children's clothes were similar for boys and girls until about the age of 6 years. A really delightful selection of printed cottons with high tucked waists and gigot sleeves appeared in the 1830s. Both boys and girls wore dresses of cotton or wool around the house. Little girls often wore pantalettes peeking beneath their dresses. Some boys also wore their dress over "drawers" or pantalettes to match, which showed beneath the dress. Both young boys and girls wore pinafores in the 1830s to protect their clothing--which was stillmuch more expensive in relative terms. We still have only limited information on smocks in the 1830s. They appear to have been more of an adult than a child's garment. Agricultural and other workers commonly wore smocks, although this varies among countries. Smocks appear to have been very common in England. Corsets for young children by the 1830s had gone out of style, though there were a few die-hards who insisted on keeping children in stays from infancy, so they would develop straight backs. Most physicians, however, and magazine consultants, argued against this as being too confining, and in fact inhibiting of a strong body. Free exercise of the little muscles was better. For this reason, they advised against swaddling infants, as had long been the custom. Infant garments were long gowns, and babies always wore caps. Some mothers decided on more boyish tunics for their sons. A boy in the 1830s still commonly wore tunics. A typical tunic might be made of earth brown sateen trimmed with dark blue braid. Tunics came in a wide range of colors, fabrics and designs. They were back, side, and front buttoning. One author describes a tunic of earth brown sateen trimmed with dark blue braid. Others were much more simple. He might also wear a little green silk pelisse (coat) which is complemented by a big white "puffed" cap, seemingly out of a story-book. Younger boys might wear pantaletes with their tunics. Otlder boys might wear trousers. As such the tunic was a kind of bridge between the dresses of younger boys and the trouser suits of older boys. We note boys wearing large collars The open collars of the early 19th century are becoming less common, but the tightly buttoned collars and large bows of later years have not yet appeared, bit has the stiff Eton collar become importnat yet. We note boys wearing javkets in bright colors and bold prints, but are not yet sure how common this was. Boys as well as men mostly wore long trousers in the 1830s. The kneebreeches men once wore had largely disapperaed for men. And the various kinds of shortened pants for boys had not yet appeared.

Girls

The 1830s were a transitonal era in dress design. The simple high-wasted Empire dress with baloon sleeves of the early 19th century began to go out of fashion in the 1820s. Dresses in the 1830s began to show a hint of the more pronounced hour-glass dresses of the 1850s. The 1830s were the last decade before Queen Victoria who rose to the throne in 1838. The 1830s was also the last decade of the more open early 19th century. The Victoian era of the 1840s was an incresing restrictions on women who were relegated to the home and expected to defer to her husband. This was reflectd in the increasingly restrictive fashions which became more pronounced in he 1840s as the Victorian era unfolded. As a transitiuonal era there were no clearly pronounced recognizable style associatd with the 1830s, but rather a gradual shift between the two more easily recognizable earlier and later styles and eras. We still see some dresses in the 1830s with low necklines and baloon sleeves. The baloon sleeves were an especially important style. Children still wore long dresses at the beginning of the decade. Pantalettes were commonly worn as hemlines rose to just below the knee by thge end of the decade. The Biedermeier style was important in Austria. We note girls with ringlet curls.

Created: 2:54 AM 1/28/2026
Last updated: 2:55 AM 1/28/2026