Figure 1.--Here we see two sibling enjoying a vacation at Megunticook Lake, along the Maine coast 1898. We uspect the gir;l's dress and the boys mick were either sewerd orfered by mother.

American children, both boys and girls, have not commonly worn smocks. We se a few children wearing them, but not very many. Thus it is difficult to make any general statement about construction details. The few smocks that we have noted being worn by American children have been primarily back-buttoning styles. This is primarily because the era in which they were worn, mostly during the late-19th and early-20th century, this was the primary style of smock worn. Smocks were mostly done with long sleeves. Unlike other garments produced for the mass market, we think as so few children wore smocks, that they were often produced by home sewers or wealthy mothers placing small ordered with local millners. As a result, we see a range of different styles and construction detail, including short sleeves, some you do not commoinly see in European countries where smocks were more common like France. By the time that front buttoning smocks appeared, primarily after World War II, the smock was rarely worn by American boys. Even in nursery schools and kindergartens.

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Created: 11:37 AM 6/30/2021
Last updated: 11:37 AM 6/30/2021