Identical Family Outfit


Figure 1.--Here we seea tintypeportrait with all three chilren in poka-dot print dresses. The American children are unidentified, but at leat three look to be boys. The portrait is undated. Tintypes rarely have inscriptions. They are particularly difficult to date because there is no mount. We would guess this portrait was taken in the 1880s.

The styles of family costumes almost always meant dresses, smocks, or pinafores. This is because in the 19th century there were destictive styles for makes and females. Women and girls wore skirted garments. Men and boys wore trousrs. Women and girls unlike the modern era never wore trousers. Younger boys, however, were outfitted in skirted garments. Thus the garments to be used if all the children were to be dressed alike were skirted garments. This was only possible, howeer, when the boys were young before they were breeched. The age of breeching varied over time as well as from family to family.

Dresses

The outfits chosen by 19th and early 20th Century mothers to dress their family identically was dresses. It was quite acceptable to outfit little boys in dresses during the 19th Century. While younger boys were normally outfitted in dresses, families varied widely as to the ages boys were kept in dresses. This was primarily determined by the mother, although fathers often incouraged a doting mother to breech their son. A boy with older sisters might be kept in dresses longer than otherwise so all tyhe children could be dresses alike, but it was mostlt the particular inclination of the mother that decided the issue. Interestingly, while boys could be attired in dresses, it was not acceptable, however, to dress girls at the time in trousers, kneepants, or knickers.

Smocks

Some mothers decided on identical smocks rather than the same outfits for their children. Both white and darl colored smocks were chosen. French mother sometime chose brightly colored smocks.

Pinafores

The images I have of children in pinafores are individual children. I do not yet have family group photographs of the children in pinafores. This of course does not mean that some mothers did not choose pinafores for her children. I think that the expensive, studio photography of the day meant that the children were dressed upmin their best party suits rather than pinafores.








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Created: 3:25 AM 4/3/2008
Last updated: 3:25 AM 4/3/2008