Figure 1.-- This unidentified child looks to be about 4 years old. His CDV portrait was taken in Bournnmouth at the George Nesbitt on Norwich Road. We would guess that this portrait was taken in the late-1860s or 70s. It was with a lot of 1870s CDVs. We think the child is a boy, although center parts often indicated the child was a girl. We can't make out much about the dress. We don't make out much of a collar. We see long sleeves and a button-up front. He wears strap shoes with a pom. He looks to be holding an Easter basket and there is a sports racquet to the side. Click on the image for a fuller discussion.

Many English children wearing dresses wore them with socks rather than long stockings which were much more common in America. English trends seem more similar to French trends. This was especially true of younger boys and girls. We do not think there was any difference among the younger children on a gender basis. We are not sure about the early 19th century yet, but by the mid-19th cntury, socks, often white socks, were very common with dresses. We note both ankle socks and three-quater socks. The unidentified Bournemouth boy here wear white ankle socks. Knee socks were not very common, although they were worn with kilts. We also see long stockings which were more common with older children. The older children were mostly girls because by age 4-5 years of age, boys were commonly breeched. This varied somewhat over time and from family to family. Social class factors were invloved. Our archive is to limited at this point to develop firm assessments about these various trends, but we are constantly adding information and images.

Created: 11:08 PM 1/29/2012
Last updated: 9:52 PM 1/30/2012