Continuity and Change in Edwardian Children's Clothing

Abstract

This article examines the tensions between conformity and distinctiveness that were played out in the case of the sailor suit (mostly worn by boys) and the pinafore (mostly worn by girls) in Edwardian Britain. Each of these embodied general concepts of age- and gender-appropriate dress, as well as finely graded social distinctions between more and less costly variants of the same garment. This is followed by an examination of the knitted sweaters worn increasingly by both sexes from 1900. In each case, the costs, meanings and uses of garments are evaluated through a close analysis of retailers' documents, consumers' statements, and school group photographs. This allows us to see whether changing ideas about childhood, and increased mass production of clothing, led to a flattening of social and gender distinctions in dress, or whether these persisted in different forms.

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