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Early 19th-Century Children's Clothing

Comfort was the least important consideration in early 19th-century children's fashions. Looking well dressed was far more important than playing freely, according to costume historian Doris Langely Moore. In fact, in the early 19th century, lack of freedom of movement was considered an important aspect in training children's bodies to grow straight and healthy. Even so, clothes for children of the early 1800s were far less confining than those of the 1700s.

Babies
- It was a mother's duty to prevent her baby from moving too much.
  
  In the early 19th century, parents believed babies would literally grow crooked if they were allowed to move freely. Their clothing, therefore, "allowed no more movement than a turn of the head---sometimes not even that," according to costume historian Clare Rose in her book "Children's Clothes." Babies were swaddled tightly in cloth, with the arms held straight against the baby's sides. To further confine movement, a "stayband" of fabric was placed under one or two head caps and pinned to the baby at the shoulders or torso. Babies of both genders wore gowns so long that crawling was difficult if not impossible.
Girls
- Girls wore clothes mimicking their mother's, complete with low necklines and crinolined skirts.
  
  In the early 1800s, girls wore dresses with raised waistlines, relatively narrow skirts and short sleeves. As throughout the remainder of the 19th century, girls' dresses mirrored women's closely. As the Victorian period began, waistlines dropped to their natural position and skirts became fuller. Eventually, many layers of petticoats were replaced with crinolines --- wire cages worn to make skirts stand well away from the body. Throughout the early 19th century, necklines were often quite low, even for very young girls.
Boys
- Boys wore dresses until ages 4 to 6, when they began dressing like miniature men.
  
  Boys wore dresses until they were 4 to 6 years old, after which they wore long pants. "There was no transitional costume...between frocks and suits, which were a near approach to the attire of manhood," wrote fashion historian Moore in "The Child in Fashion." "The change was made abruptly." With the wearing of long pants came white shirts, vests and jackets. Ties were sometimes worn, as well, but often in the form of bows.
Accessories
- Baby accessories consisted mostly of cloth caps, bibs and booties. Girls wore hats as elaborate as their mother's, as well as gloves, stockings and shoes --- even high-heeled ones. Girls might also carry parasols and purses, and they always wore corsets. Boys wore hats often similar to their father's.

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