Figure 1.--This English CDV is undated, but looks to have been taken in the 1860s. The portrait was taken by Vandyke Brown, Liverpoolt. The mother and son are undated. The boy looks to be about 3-4 years old. He wears a low-cut symetrical polka dot dress with uffed sleeves and a diasgional device of some sort. He has white yhree quarter socks, very common with English children wearing dresses in the 1860s. He also wears pantalettes which only extended slightly below the dress hem. .

With the increasing number of images because of the popularity of the new CDVs, we have begun to develop some basic style indicators for English 1860s boy dresses. Decoration varied, but was commonly more restrained than for the girls. We note both low neckline and collared dresses. Age may have been a factor hrre. If there are collars, they tended to be small. We see puffed shoulders as well as short and long sleeves. Waistlines were usualy done at the natural waist. We notice a range of patterns. Plaid was popular for boys. Skirts are normally worn at knee length. Pantalettes commonly covered the knees. We see the dresses worn with three-quarter white socks.

Created: 5:46 AM 3/6/2023
Last updated: 5:46 AM 3/6/2023