English Children’s Costume Since 1775

1935

Storage Bliss UXP B

London: A. & C. Black Ltd

Children’s fashions have changed over time due to changing attitudes towards children. According to Brooke, the earliest record of distinct children’s wear dates from about 1770-1775, before which time children were dressed as miniature adults. In the introduction to this volume, James Laver writes that some boys wore loose trousers instead of tight knee breaches for several decades before their fathers adopted the look, while some girls wore the ‘Empire’ dress ‘before the Empire itself came into existence’. This is evident in the delightfully coloured illustration by Iris Brooke.