Figure 1.--Here we see an unidetified grandfather with hus three grabd children, two boys and a girl. They look to be about 2-6 years old. Notice the yonger boy. He wears a fancy blouse and white knee pants. Earlier he orbably would have not yet been breeched. But by the mid-1890s we see boys being breeched earliert than before and the boy here is a good example. Notice the the rounded criown hat on thetble. Boys connonly wore such hats, but usually not ones so highly decorated. The girl has hairboes, but small mones so we supose she could have worn the hat.

The age of breeching seems to have declined by the 1890s, but there continued to be substatial differences among families. Thus for the first time we have a great deal of evidence about how boys were dressed. Family portraits provide valuable informnation on breeching conventions. We see boys wearing dresses throughout the 19th century. The 1890s family image on the pevious page is a good example. At the end of the century in the 1890s we see fewer boys wearing dresses and being breeched at an earlier age. Portraits of older boys wearing skirdgartments becomin much leass common. Many boys wearing skirted garments wore kilt suits rather than dresses. One notable observation is that is was not just boys from affluet families that wore dresses, but boys in rural families as well. We are not sure yet as to how demographics and social class affected the age of breeching. An example is an unidebtified boy who got his first suit with psnts at the Best & Co. department store during 1896.

Created: 1:22 AM 9/15/2022
Last updated: 1:23 AM 9/15/2022