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In relation to history childrens clothing is relative new idea. The different fashions for children nowadays were none existent until very late in history. Children are full of original sin so must be taught to be god fearing good Christians; hence their growing up was encouraged vigorously. Children began imitation of adults at an early age.
They were dressed as adults as soon as possible and encouraged to act mature. In Tudor times little is known about childrens lives through records because not worth recording high enfant mortality rate. The average age of death was thirty years old. At the age of seven to nine children forced into adult life, so little records are show of children. There were very little portraits done for children and what exists show small versions of adults. Babies were normally wrapped in swaddling clothes, they believed that wrapping babies would protect them from falls and help straighten legs and spine.
It was also convenient for people to carry the babies around relatively more safely and if needed they were sometime hung up or a peg. However, this constricted the baby and was not good for the physical growth. They were some that even died of convulsions. These clothes were about six inches wide and ten to twelve feet long. Supposedly the tighter a child was wrapped the better arms were frequently bond as well. Children are kept in these swaddling clothes until they are taught to use their limbs.
Teaching them is at the caretakers discretion and not depending on the babys readiness, babies wore these clothes from six months to one year. The child was about to move their limbs when their clothes were changed, for example, when babies soiled themselves. As time progress swaddling clothes become more elaborate. Clothes were sometimes worn over the swaddling clothes.
During Tudor times, there were several different clothes needed to wrap a baby (for the wealthy). In the case of the children of James the III, the children wore shirt, a square band bed, which bounded from the breast to the feet and up again, a long band of swaddling clothes (roller) and tube waistcoat that bound the arms, and roller ad a blanket. In England, in the Sixteenth Century, swaddling clothes were used limitedly. There are only bound for the first several months and there are put in dress like clothes in which the have a wrapper and loose fitting diapers.
In 1693 John Locke became a lobbyist for not bounding babies at all. This thought was very controversial during the time. Little by little binding babies in swaddling clothes were fading out but in the 1785 s that swaddling was almost not practiced. However, there are still some people practicing swaddling today in rural areas mostly Eastern Europe.
The stay band was worn the head and pinned on the shoulders to keep the head steady. As swaddling become more unpopular than clothing were made for infants. They were being to wear long clothes. These long clothes called robes were sleeveless and thick like a coat. They also wore a shirt. They use a piece of clothing called the blanket made with woolen fabric worn underneath was linen held with pleats by wrapping a band or a waistcoat.
Sleeves are tied on separately. Later on sleeves were sewn on and this garment is now called a frock. At end of Seventeenth Century, a cloak was added for outdoors. A hood may have been worn attached or separate from it. Caps were very important and used to protect the head of the infant tabbies wore at least one cap. Many wore three caps of a forehead piece, and under cap and a decorative cap.
There was no distinction between colors, for example: blue for boys and pink for girls. This was introduced in the latter half of Nineteenth Century. Nightwear was also introduced. It was thought children should were a flannel waistcoat, a petty coat, a thin gown and a thin flannel shirt.
A cap was also worn at night. Clothing for babies become more and more elaborate. The simplest of clothes for a babys ware robe is four shirts, four caps, two frocks, two bed gowns, two flannel blankets, two rollers, two pairs of stays and flannel coats, two upper petticoat, twenty-four napkins (diapers). The gown, which opened at front, has replaced the frock, which opened at back.
These were baby boxes in each village for the poor. The babies of the poor mostly did not have a difference in day or nightwear. The fabric was most likely prints rather than embroidery, which the wealthy were more likely to have. It as usually fine embroidery work called Ayrshire work. For the first several months babies were carried a shawl or blanket while indoor.
Carriage with four wheels began to appear and babies were taken out quite comfortably. Caps for babies at this time had two shapes. The simplest cap that the poor used an oblong shape of fabric folder to a square shaped by drawstrings. The funding cap is made from one piece of material folded at the crown and a gusset was cut and the top part folded down and gathered at the back. The most fashionable style is made from a strip of muslin, the ends sewn together and gathers into a crown runners and drawstrings help make in conform to the head. Under clothes in the Nineteenth Century contain of a shirt of linen or cotton it opened at the front and were sleeved.
The flannel or barrel came to exist which were in effect what the blanket once was. Rollers were still used for support. The flannel petticoat was now the stays, and the upper petticoat was similar to the frock. Flannel pitches were used over the napkins to protect clothes from being soiled waterproof pieces appeared in the 1860 s but was thought as unhealthy.
The length of the clothes came into question because it restricted movement. Blankets and shawls were still being used for babies when outdoors. Cloaks and pelisses were also used pelisse was a cloak with a caps. Cloaks and pelisses were a variety of heavy materials like velvet and cashmere trimmed with fine materials most likely silk. There are portraits beginning in the Sixteen Century when babies have coral with them, it was in many forms for example in the form of a necklace or a stick.
These were used as teething devices. As babies grow bigger they begin to learn how to crawl and walk swaddling, elaborate long gowns and robes are quite unsuitable when this time comes. These young toddlers are then given shorter clothes to wear. In the Middle Ages, 13 - 14 th Century, boys wore short tunics lengths varied. Coasts and cloaks are worn as well over the tunics with a belt. They also had a round fur hat.
A hood was worn which covered most of the head came down to the shoulders later is the fourteenth century boy dressed like their father after they are swaddled. They wore a gipon (later known as a doublet). Gipon's were padded and tapered at the waist. It was button or laced at the front.
The sleeves were conformed to the arms and were buttoned from the elbow to the wrist. A belt was worn at hip level. Nobles wore a more elaborate belt with metal plaques adornments. Thigh-length hose was worn which were tied under the gipon. Hose sometimes were soled so shoes may not be worn. Both boys and girls wore the same shoes which were open and with ankle straps.
Piked shoes came in about 1395. Girls occasionally wore tunics as well but normally wore plain gowns named kirtles. Kirtles for girls had less d? collet?
e necklines and looser sleeves. The garment was tied at the back with lace that was from the neck to the waist. Over the kirtle may be a side less coat. It had a low heck and was sleeveless. The side was open from under the arms to the hip. A cote-hardie may be worn over the kirtle or tunic.
It was tapered and with a low neck so it could be used similar to a pullover. However, there were buttons in front. Girls at this time wore makeup like their mothers. They plucked their eyebrows and painted their faces. In the fifteenth century, boys wore gowns to their ankles with no belts. Their fathers wore belts, which were thought as a privilege.
The gown was fitted at the neck with button in the front or the left side. Older boys wore mens clothing, which were a doublet hose and a short gown or called the Houppelande over this lot that came to the knees or above, in adults the gown came to the ground or ankles. The gown for boy had small round neckline and a collar. The doublet is close fitting, padded, waisted and short.
A low square neckline was in style in the later half of the fifteenth century. Boy were allowed belts and were worn at the hip in the first half of the fifteenth century but at the waist in the second half doublets were laced from 1400 - 1450 but buttons or heck and eyes came in, in the 1425 Girls wore clothing similar to their mothers with slight differences. The first worn a chemise or smock and over that a kirtle or a tunic. Over this, the side less surat or also known as a super tunic is worn. Finally over these items a gown but sometimes in special occasions a mantle is worn. The headdresses girls wore are what differed from their mothers.
Girls wore a chaplet, which was a circlet with gems. In special occasion a silk or satin wreath is worn or a padded roll with ornaments. The cap or Turkish Bonnet was worn by both boys and girls. The hair for girls is worn down until marriage when it is put up. Childrens clothing the in the Sixteenth Century became more elaborate as their parents clothes were more so. Long gowns or robes were worn by young children.
The gowns were sometimes sleeveless with wings. Wings were stiff bands or rolls that resembled epaulettes. The child when wearing a sleeveless gown wore a sleeved shirt underneath with ruffles at the neck and wrist. These are the beginnings of the popular ruff. Aprons and bibs were also worn.
A young boy at six or seven would begin to dress in an ankle length gown with a belt at the waist. In the first half of the Sixteenth Century the neckline was lower to show the ruffles and the sleeves were separate. Wings were always present. In the second half this Century the gown was button the waist and were sleeved.
The ruffles become ruffs. At seven to eight the boys would be wearing a gown but now with a doublet and maybe a costume sword. A jerkin could be worn if the Boy has been breeches. Trunk hose was also being worn as well. Boys usually wore a long loose gown with hose at night for bed.
They also wore a nightcap. Shoes for children were closefitting, up to the ankle with slashing done. They were squared toed at first but were later rounded. A cloak was use for outdoors.
Cap and hats were worn as well. Girls wore gown to the ground, which included a petticoat and bodice. The wings sometimes hid the strings that attached the sleeves to the gown. Aprons and bibs were used by the younger girls.
The necks had frills or a turned-down collar or a d? college. In their wrists they had frills or cuffs. They do not usually wear the ruff until they are older, in their teens. The older girls dressed identically to their mother, wear such things as ruffs, farthingales and long bodices, and of course there are many more articles worn than this list.
Gloves were always worn outside Young girls wore coifs indoors while older girls wore draped hoods. Nobles would wear coronet over the hood. French hoods were also stylish. Young girls could wear their hair loose with ribbons. Beribboned headdress were worn as well. The older girls wore tall hats out.
Young boys and girls wore very similar clothing in the beginning of the Seventeenth Century until they are six or seven years old. They look that same until they are about five. Both were frock with petticoats however boys wear a doublet instead of a bodice. They button the garment in the front and had a ribbon or belt tied to their waist. Sleeves were long and were slashed, paned or hang sleeves. Hang sleeves allow hang strings to be attached, which controlled the walking of the child.
Ruffs were worn until the 1630 s when laced collars were fashionable. In the 1670 s a long coat replace the doublet for boy. A boy after breeching wore a doublet and breeches and sometimes a jerkin over the doublet. Later after the jerkin went out of fashion in the 1630 s and the doublet a while later, a long coat and breeches were worn, very similar to the fashions of men.
Poorer families had to hand-me-downs from the wealthy and they wore the doublet and jerkin even after if was unfashionable. Some boys had muffs and they wore the gim sole, which was high boot. Until 1620 trunk hose and Venetian breeches were worn. New style breeches came in and out style and worn with stockings. The Dutch breeches were opened at the knees and in some instances with ribbon loops. They were buttoned at the front and some had side and fob pockets.
Cloak bag breeches were full, oval and came down to the knees with ribbons tied there. The Spanish hose was high waisted and closed by ribbons or just left hanging. Stirrup hose or boot hose was worn to protect the stocking when riding. Boots were worn for riding. Pumps made from soft leather were for dancing. Everyday shoes were enclosed and had a large tongue which was decorated with ribbons are buckles.
Hats were worn by boys. They had large brims and usually decorated with a feather or ribbons of sorts. The materials of hats are usually felt or beaver. The Brimmed hats came into fashion in the 1690 s. Cloaks were worn in a in various lengths. They were lined and coordinated with the clothing that they were wearing.
Cravats were a new fashion and they were being worn by boys as well. Boys wore nightshirts with an opening at the neck to the center front. There was a narrow band at the neck and wrist and they were often decorated with frills on neckline. Nightcaps were worn as usual. Girls after dressing like to boys began to wear clothes closer to the style of their mothers. They began to wear log pointed bodices and later in the second in the second half of the Seventeenth Century back fastening bodices.
The sleeves were short and full until the 1660 - 1670 when they become narrow. Some still used hanging sleeves even though when leading strings were unnecessary for they represented childhood. The ruff was also used from 1625 - 1650 but was for older girls. After 1650 lace collars called falling bands were used. Girls wore caps or just used a band to hold their hair in place.
They wore a smock to bed, which, had low necklines, full sleeves to the elbow, and gathered with a band. Neckline and sleeve had frill and lace to decorate them. They did not wear hats did wear hoods in the later half of the Seventeenth Century. Younger girls tend to wear shorter hoods, which were bonnet like. Yellow was generally a fashionable colour where as blue was more for commoners. In the first half of the Eighteenth Century still wore frocks.
Boys wore the same style of clothes from the end of the previous century. They were subtle changes though. A three-brimmed hat for boys and a hood for girls were fashionable. Younger girls wore a shorter hood, which were similar to bonnets. Boys were breeches at three to four years old. In the later Eighteenth Century the age of three to eight years old were thought to be a period of growth.
They were not pushed to grow up as soon as they once were. They were now more difference in the clothes between boys and girls since breeching was earlier. Trousers were in fashion and boy began to were then after breeching. With trousers they wore a greatly shortened frock called vests and tunics. Slightly older boy wore jackets and soon the jacket became attached to the trousers. The trousers became longer and the jackets shorter.
The waistline was below the chest. This garment become the skeleton suit and was worn until 1820 s. Underneath the garment a shirt was worn. The Collar was turned out and frills were usually attached. Boys shoes were at first buckled and later laced.
Stockings were still worn by boys. Hats were wide brimmed with low crowns and were worn cocked. Younger boys wore jockey caps. In early Nineteenth Century the style changed again for hats and caps. A cap with a low crown was worn by young boys, while older boys wore tall stiff crowns with thin brims. Hats were made from beaver or straw.
Double-breasted coats were replacing cloaks. At night boys were still wearing plain shirts and a nightcap for bed. Some girls wore one-piece dress with the bodice and skirt sewn together while other wore a back-fastening bodice like the end of the last century with a separate skirt. Petticoats were worn underneath. Sashes make its debut and are worn to cover up the tucks of the bodice. The sash will last into the Nineteenth Century.
In the 1780 s skirts were still full but by the 1800 s the skirts were much more narrow. The number and size of the petticoats decreased. Some girls did not wear petticoats but instead drawers or trousers. They were unseen until the hemline was raised in the 1810 s.
In the mid Eighteenth Century turn back cuffs were in style and later the washable cuffs were worn from the sleeve of the elbow. Sleeves were short and puffed. The neckline was lowered in the early Nineteenth Century. Caps were still worn during this time but it had many changes for example the crown was raising, widening and loosening. Ribbons and frills were added matching the colour of the sash.
The cap become less full at the crown and after a while were small, close-fitting and had narrower frills were added. Many girls were wearing bonnets or hats by 1820. Young girls wore pumps, which were more rounded while the older girls wore the same shoes as their mother. After the early nineteenth century children began to have more identity in their clothing. The styles were changing more rapidly and the difference in clothing between boys and girls were greater. Children were not forced to grow up as quickly for medicine was improving and they were not need to procreate sooner.
Their clothes were not adult like as soon as possible like before BibliographBuck, Ann Clothes and the Child Holmes and Meier Publishers Inc. NewYork: 199 Cunninton, Phillis and Buck, Ann Childrens Costume in England W&# 038; J Mackay &# 038; Co. Ltd, Chatham Kent: 196 Ewing, Elizabeth History of Childrens Costumes Charles Scribner's Sons New Yor Rose, Clare Childrens Clothes Since 1750 B. T Bats ford Limited, London: 1998
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Research essay sample on Early Nineteenth Century Six Or Seven
