Figure 1.--This cartoon gives a good idea about how much a mother controlled a child’s clothing and the variation. We are not sure about the source, but looks to be the ype of cartoon thst appeared in the British magazine 'Punch' The text reads, "Which is best? Matilda: I wonder, Marie, you don't put Augustus into jackets and trousers; really he grows too tall for tghat kind of costume. [Costume was used in the sence of 'suit' at the time.] Marie: Perhaps, Matilda, you will be kind enough to allow me to dress my own child in my own way. I am much obliged to you all the same. I donlike the pratice SOME people have of dressing little boys like little men!!!"

Age graded clothing was a very common convention in the 19th and early-20th century but it was largely unknown before the late-18th century. Different styles of clothing for girls and boys, once they were breached, is a relatively late historical phenomenon. Dressing children as children only began in the late 18th century. Up until at least the late-18th or early-19th century, most boys wore exactly the same styles as their fathers but in smaller sizes. Rank or status, of course, influenced children's clothing, but rarely age. It is only fairly recently, with Romanticism and the related development of child psychology, that boys were thought of as anything other than miniature adults. In the 16th century, for instance, boys as young as 9 or 10 years of age could be hanged for stealing. The law took no cognizance of their tender age as having any bearing on the punishment. The same principle that applied to legal punishments applied also to styles of dress. Age grading was very common in the 19th and early 20th century. Inumerable portraits demonstrate just how wide spread this practice was. Age grading is a convention that virtually disappeared in the late 20th century. We are not sure why age grading when out of style. Our reader also raises an interesting question. "I don't understand why that has now become so unfashionable. Boyswear today tries to make no concession to differences in age other than to make clothing in different sizes. Perhaps it has something to do with the spirit of equality that began with the Civil Rights Movement, and then extended to the Women's Rights Movement. The ideas of rank and privilege became unfashionable, and so not only did it seem right that children should dress as adults, but it also became possible for adults to dress as children without loss of status. Now clothing is used only to indicate how much money you have, not how old you are. But how can you make a t-shirt look expensive? The answer is to print the brand name boldly across the front and back of the t-shirt. Certain brands are famous for being expensive, even though they are no more better-made than an unbranded t-shirt."

The 17th Century

Age graded clothing was a very common convention in the 19th and early-20th century but it was largely unknown before the late-18th century. Different styles of clothing for girls and boys, once they were breached, is a relatively late historical phenomenon. Up until at least the late-18th or early-19th century, most boys wore exactly the same styles as their fathers but in smaller sizes. Rank or status, of course, influenced children's clothing, but rarely age. It is only fairly recently, with Romanticism and the related development of child psychology, that boys were thought of as anything other than miniature adults. In the 16th century, for instance, boys as young as 9 or 10 years of age could be hanged for stealing. The law took no cognizance of their tender age as having any bearing on the punishment. The same principle that applied to legal punishments applied also to styles of dress.

The 18th Century

For most of the 18th centuty, children were dressed as small versions of their parents. The one exception was younger boys who wore dresses. But once breeched, quite youjng boys were dressed in outfits just like their fathers. And this reflected how they were treated. Children from a very young age worked. Educational programs also ,ade little allounance for age. The very concept of childhood only developed in the 18th century with the enlightenment. Slowly these concepts began to affect clothing styles. Dressing children as children only began in the late-18th century and was still incomplete by the turn-of-the 19th century. The first such garment was the skeleton suit for boys. The skeleton suit only appeared in the lste-18th century and was largely a style for children from affluent families.

The 19th Century

Age grading was very common in the 19th century at least in the late-19th century. We do noy have a lot of information on the early-19th centuty. Our general impression is that age grading was not very common, but our information is still very limited. Photography by the mid-19th century provides counless images of age grading tends. We fo not see age grading as a major fashion conventions. There were different kinds of outfits, but primarily with fashionable city families. This begins to change dramatically in the 1880s. We begin to see not only different outfits, but the use of collars and neckwear as wll as hats to accentuate age differences after mod-century, especially by the 1860s. Inumerable portraits demonstrate just how wide spread this practice was. In the period before mass media, there were substantial differences from family to family. The mother decided such matters for the younger children. And mothers could have very different attitudes about such matters. Some mothers wanted to keep their sons like little boys while other mothers were quite willing to dress their sons in the styles for older boys. Father would have more say for the older boys. They also had varied attitudes, but not as varied as mothers.

The 20th Century

We still see pronounced age grading in the early 20th century, especially in the period before World War I and even into the inter-War era. We see floppy bows and large collars being used as age grading items. With mass media and ready made clothing, there were more standard conventions for age-graded clothing. Age grading persisted to some degree well after World War II, but it was no nearly so pronounced. After World War I the type of pants became more important in age grading. Age grading is a convention that virtually disappeared in the late-20th century. We are not sure why age grading went out of style. Our reader also raises an interesting question. "I don't understand why that has now become so unfashionable. Boyswear today tries to make no concession to differences in age other than to make clothing in different sizes. Perhaps it has something to do with the spirit of equality that began with the Civil Rights Movement, and then extended to the Women's Rights Movement. The ideas of rank and privilege became unfashionable, and so not only did it seem right that children should dress as adults, but it also became possible for adults to dress as children without loss of status. Now clothing is used only to indicate how much money you have, not how old you are. But how can you make a t-shirt look expensive? The answer is to print the brand name boldly across the front and back of the t-shirt. Certain brands are famous for being expensive, even though they are no more better-made than an unbranded t-shirt."

The 21st Century

Created: June 9, 2004
Last updated: 5:23 AM 12/14/2012