Figure 1.-- Here we see an illustration for a boy's sailor dress from a 1894 edition of 'La Mode Ilustree'. It shows a a fussy dress with baloon sleeves and lots of stripes. The skirt falls below the knees.

One of the most influential and long lasting French fashion magazines was La Mode Ilustree. This magazine was particularly important for any assessment of 19th century children's fashions as it sought to deal with children's fashions and issues. It also spanned a long time period from 1840 to 1937. The first and long serving editor wrote extensive pieces, advising French mothers on children's fashions and other domestic issues. A reader has sent is an illustration from a 1894 issue showing a boy's sailor dress. Actually looking at it more closely, the outfit may be a blouse and skirt rather than a dress. It does not have the classic V-collar usually associated sailor styling, but there are all kinds of stripes which were also commonly used for detailing sailor outfits. Also notice the anchor decoration on the waust band. We note many other sailor outfits, including sailor dresses, that had the V-front, but not all. This dress seems rather fussy in contrast to the plain lines of traditional sailor styling. Notice the baloon sleeves. This was a common decice on women's dresses at the time. We do not yet have the ad copy from the La Mode Ilustree page.

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Created: 10:10 PM 2/16/2014
Last updated: 10:10 PM 2/16/2014