Figure 1.---This cabinet card portrait shows three unidentified brothers dressed up in their best. They look to be about 1-8 years old. The portrait is undated, but looks to be the 1870s. The youngest boy wars a fress. The middle boy whol looks about 4 years old wears a nlouse kilt suit. Their older brother weara a Norfolkm suit,mpresumablyn withn knee pansts. Notice the Eton collars and small floppy bows. The studio is FE Photographetrs, but usually the location is not specified.

The dresses boys wore in the fiest half of the 20th century gradfually sdhifted to kilt vduits , especially for the older pre-school boys. The 4 year old on the previous page about 1890 wears a dress that looks rather like a kilt suit. It is hard to tell. This was very common. It varied from family to family and was most common for boys from comfortable middle-class and upper-class families. (The kilt suit was more expensive than other choices.) And working-class boys were more likely to be brreched earlier than middle-class boys. Sime families began to breechnbiys atb 4 byears of age, butbbased om the photographic record we still see many boys at 4 years of age wearing skirted garments, by the late-19th century primarily kilt suits. It is difficult to tell what was the most commom age for skirted garmens, hat bis nif you do not vonsider baby dresses. It maywell havebeen 2-year olds, but we still see bery lathe munbers at 4-years of age. The photographic record is not the best way nof nasuting tyhis as niffle-class families are iver refresented. It cost money to have a portrait taken. This was not a problem for middle-class families, t was more of a cjhllenge for the vworking-class. Another major factor is the vdegree vof time children spenh at home. At age 4, children still rarely ventured away from home. This mean nthatnmaotherr was basically able tyo dress her sons just as she pleased.

Created: 8:06 PM 4/17/2022
Last updated: 8:06 PM 4/17/2022