Figure 1.--This CDV shoes an unidentified boy wearing a low neckline print dress with baloon sleeves. The print dress has polka dots done in rows and coluuns. We also see a sash, but it is not an actual sash, but part of the dress pattern. He looks to be about 3 years old. The studio was Vandyke & Brown in Liverpool.

We believe that it was fairly common during the 19th century for 3-year olds to wear dresses. We believe that many parents began breecing boys at age 3 years, but many boys at that age continued wearing dresses. Our limited English archive, however, does not yet enable us to make any valid asertions. We have archived several images showing English boys comminly wearing dresses throughout the 19th century. Not all boys, but a substantial number of them. We believe social class was the primary factor here. A good example is a Liverppol boy who looks to be about 3 years old we think in the 1860s. He is wearing a low neckline print dress with baloon sleeves. The print dress has polka dots done in rows and coluuns. We also see a sash, but it is not an actual sash, but part of the dress pattern. We also note an unidentified Chester family with the boys all wearing dresses. The cabinent card portrait looks to date to the 1880s.

Created: 2:52 PM 7/6/2026
Last updated: 2:52 PM 7/6/2026