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English girls have worn a great variety of different garments. We see English girls wearing a variety of headgear. Some of the more popular were sailor hats, berets, tams, and boaters. Head wear seems primarily associated with school wear, at least after World war I in the 1920s. English girls like girls in other counties almost entirely wore dresses and skirts. We see rompers/bloomers for school gym class. They may have also been worn by the Girl Guides. Dresses continued, however, to be the standard girls' garment. This did not begin to change to any extent until after World War II. We are not sure how popular jumpers (sweaters) were for girls. We certainly see girls wearing them at school. We are not sure how common they were away from school. The frugality of the War and the stress on practicality undoubtedly had an impact. The overall trend toward casual wear was a another factor. We begin to see girls wearing short and long pants, although the time line was a little slower than in America. The popularity of jeans was another factor. Gender variations in underwear have differed over time. We do not have a great deal of information on this, but believe that the overall trends were similar to those in America. There was obviously boys and girls underwear. At times the underwear for younger children has been fairly standard.
We see English girls wearing a variety of head wear. A few were the same as worn by the boys. Most were very different. We note bonnets, hats, berets/tams, and to a lesser extent caps. The types and styles varies with age and chronological periods. Until after World War II (1939-45), head wear was a very important item and much more prevalent than today.
Not only were there different styles for girls, but the girls also wore much more highly decorated hats like the broad-brimmed hat the girl here is wearing (figure 1). Many hats we have noted girls wearing were even much more elaborately decorated. A complication here were hair bows. Large hair bows could not be worn with head wear. Sailor hats were popular in the late-19th and early-20th century. Younger boys also wore sailor hats, but not the decorated wide-brimmed hats like the girls. Some of the more popular styles in the 20th century were berets, tams, and boaters. Some head wear seems primarily associated with school wear, at least after World War I in the 1920s. We see rompers/bloomers for school gym class. They may have also been worn by the Girl Guides. Dresses continued, however, to be the standard girls' garment. This did not begin to change to any extent until after World War II.
We are not sure how popular jumpers (sweaters) were for girls. We certainly see girls weering them at school. We are not sure how common they were away from school.
English girls like girls in other counties almost entirely wore dresses and skirts. These were the two most common garments for girls. We have a very substantial photographic record to draw from. The 19th century photographic record suggest that dresses were by far the dominant garment for girls. We are not, however, sure how accurate this is. Portrait were the dominant type of 19th century photographs, although we have some portraits outside the studio to see what girls wore when not dressed up. We see a lot of pinafores and what look like dresses. Mothers may have outfitted their daughters in their best outfits for the portraits which meant dresses. Skirts are not strongly represented in the 19th century photographic record. Skirt outfits may have been worn more commonly than is reflected in the photographic record. In the 20h century we see far more girls wearing skirts. This may mean that skirts were more common, but it may only mean that the explosion of amateur photography with Kodak Brownie and other systems mean that the photographic record was no longer based just on studio images. We see all kinds of family snapshots around home and the photographic record is much more a reflection of everyday life and the clothes the children wore when not dressed up. School photography is also a good indicator of popular styles, although pinafore were so common that we often do not see what the girls are wearing underneath. Dresses were for many years commonly worn with pinafores. This was the case in the 19th and early-20th century. We see rompers/bloomers for school gym class. They may have also been worn by the Girl Guides. Dresses continued, however, to be the standard girls' garment. This did not begin to change to any extent until after World War II. We also see English girls wearing pinafores in the 19th and early-20 centuries.
Pants were a garment that men and boys after breaching exclusively wore since they first appeared in the West (17th century). The first exception was pantalettes (19th century), although girls wore them exclusively as an under garment. At the turn of the 20th century we still do not see girls wearing pants, including shorts. Even for school gym, girls mostly wore bloomer or romper pants rather than shorts. This did not begin to change until after World War I in the 1920s. And even then we rarely see girls wearing pants. The only exception was school gym where we do begin to see girls beginning to change from bloomers to shorts. This continued to be unusual for some time. We see some young women wearing long trousers as a fashionable style (1930s). The frugality of World War II and the stress on practicality undoubtedly had an impact. We see women wearing pants during the War, mostly in work settings. It does not seem to have affected girls wear greatly, but after the War we do begin to see some girls wearing pants, mostly shorts. The overall trend toward casual wear was a another factor. We begin to see girls wearing short and long pants, although the time line was a little slower than in America. The popularity of jeans was another factor. The shorts that we do see are wearing them for casual play occasions, usually during the summer. Girls did not wear shorts to school until the late-20th century, and then only in primary school. School with uniforms insisted in dresses or skirts.
We begin to see clothing designed for a range of activities. Girls and women;s clothing was not designed with activities in mind, especially vigorous activities. Amelia Bloomer pushed for dress reform, but had little real impact. Although we see extensive adoption in school gyms. Except for the most affluent, this was primarily a 20th century development. This was most notable at school, especially secondary schools. Education beyond primarily school was mostly for boys, but by the 20th century there was an increasing understanding that it a important to educate girls as well. And secondary schools mean gum and sport activities. Girls were naturally not as active as boys, but we still see gym and beach outfits as well as a range of outdoor activities like Girl Scouting.
Gym, sports, and other recreationally oriented strenuous physical activities are normally associated with boys and men. There are variation in gender roles from culture to culture. Mongol women, for example, had far more freedom and power than women in other patriarchal cultures such as Persia, China, and Christendom. At a time that the Chinese were binding women's feet to keep then at home and limit physical activity, Mongol women were riding horseback, fighting in battles, and tending herds. The first girls (but not adult women) e see engaged in sport were Greeks. In modern times, the first girls we see involved in sports were the girls at English private boarding schools. As far as we know, this was an English development, although Amelia Bloomer was an American. And the uniforms developed for the girls became standard uniforms for girls' gym and sport for many other countries. We are less sure about the development of girls' gym classes in America. There seem to have been two early gym/sport uniforms developed for the girls. The first were dark bloomers worn with middy blouses. The bloomers gradually evolved into romper gym uniforms. Second we layer see a new sports uniform for the girls--the gym slip. Gradually this became a type of regular school uniform rather than just a gym uniform.
We begin to seaside and beach outfits (late-19th century). Britain is an island and this the British either live along the coast or are very close to the sea. And the railroads mean by the late19th century there was easy and inexpensive access to he sea. With the growth of industry and the cities, there was an increasing desire to get to beaches for at least a short interlude of fresh, bracing seaside air and salt water. For children the attraction was mostly paddling in he shallows and playing on the beach. Building sand castles was specially apparent. Beachwear for boys and men was rather straight forward and simple, a basic top and shortened pants. For women and girls it was more complicated. There had to be more top coverage, even for girls. And short pants were more of an issue. Thus we see bloomers for girls. Women often had to wear long dresses. We also see long stockings, although younger girls might be allowed bare legs. All this did not begin to change until after World War I in the 1920s.
We do not yet have a lot of information on English girls inclement weather garments. We note girls wearing leggings in the 1920s.
Gender variations in underwear have differed over time. We do not have a great deal of information on this, but believe that the overall trends were similar to those in America. There was obviously boys and girls underwear. At times the underwear for younger children has been fairly standard. There were girls underwear with frills. The underwear garments the little girl in 1914 wears here is a good example (figure 1). A German reader tells us that this was similar to little girls' underwear in her country. Many mothers in th 19th and early 20th centuries, however, purchased the basic underwear for everyday wear that both boys and girls wore. This became much less common, especially after World War II.
Females throughout the 20th century have been more adventurous with their footwear when compared to men and boys. When skirts began to shorten in the 1920s the feet and ankles became more visible making footwear an increasingly important fashion accessory. This was especially true of women where fashion often exceeded practicality in importance. Girls footwear tended to be more practical. Strap shoes and sandals as well as sturdy low-cut oxfords became girls' standards. Even for girls, however, fashion was never absent. And as girls reached the teen years there was a increasing desire to wear fashionable footwear with heels.
Women have often chosen to wear high heeled shoes for a variety of reasons including giving the optical illusion of a longer, slimmer leg, a smaller foot, and a greater overall height. High heeled footwear come in a range of styles including stilettos, named after the stiletto dagger and adopted as a phrase in the 1930s, feature a long, thin, high heel. They vary in length from 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) to 25 cm (10 inches) or more if a platform sole is used, and are sometimes defined as having a diameter at the ground of less than 1 cm (slightly less than half an inch). Stiletto-style heels 5 cm or shorter are called kitten heels. Other types include wedges (occupies the entire space under the arch and heel portions of the foot), prism (three flat sides which form a triangle at the point of contact with the ground) and puppy (thick square block heel). High heeled footwear has significant draw backs especially when worn excessively cause can create skeleton/muscular problems. Similarly these types of footwear can cause ailments such a blisters, corns, hammer toes and bunions. Also footwear with very pointed toes can force the toes together leading to debilitating problems in later life. Further issues with high heeled footwear, and picked up the feminist movement, is that such shoes make females struggle to walk effectively and make them a sexual object. It is also for many of these reasons that girls have been discouraged from wearing such footwear. Chiropodists argue that such footwear is unsuitable for young growing feet. Despite the disadvantages of such footwear most girls like high heeled footwear, from young girls trying on their mother's stilettos when playing dressing up at home, to teenagers wanting to wear high heels to look fashionable. Many a parent or school has faced recurring battles with teenage girls wanting to wear high heels.
Many schools have strict rules on girls' footwear and insist on sensible shoes. School guidelines for footwear include instructions such as "Shoes (Black) in traditional plain polished leather with black laces and dark thin soles. Heels less than 2.5cm (1")" or "Black shoes - low heels, no stilettos" are typical. At the other end of the scale in recent years ballet pumps have become popular. This type of shoe is also discouraged by many schools because of the lack of protection to the feet, especially the ankles. For much of the 20th century common shoe styles for girls have included sandals, T-Bar strap shoes and Mary Janes (generally worn by young girls, these have a very low heel, and allow for plenty room for toe movement). Older girls however have often found these shoe styles childish and unfashionable and objected to wearing them. Companies such as Clarks and Start-rite still make shoes in styles specific to young girls. As girls have begun to wear trousers and leggings on a regular basis, many girls wear trainers. Trainers specifically aimed at especially younger girls have been produced. Designs can be based on a toy such as My Little Pony or a Disney character, and some feature flashing lights and other gimmicks such as wheels. The later type also having safety concerns.
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