The Harrowing History of 18th-Century Children’s Clothing

Clothes-Minded Kids

Carl Ludwig Johann Christineck: Portrait of Count Alexei Bobrinsky as a Child, 1769 (Public Domain)

Kids these days. They have no idea how easy they have it, clothing-wise. I mean, look at poor Alexei Bobrinsky up there in his tight, lace-trimmed waistcoat and breeches, and his powdered wig. Admittedly, most ordinary children of the 18th century didn’t have to wear this sort of get-up. If you were a kid getting your portrait painted, chances are your family was wealthy. Because fabric was extremely labor-intensive and therefore expensive, most kids in pre-industrialized Europe and America wore whatever their parents were able to find for them, which was usually repurposed, downsized versions of grownup clothing.

Babies might have had it the worst.

This is 17th century, but sadly the practice of tight swaddling continued well beyond the 18th century. De Wikkelkinderen (The Swaddled Twins), Artist unknown, 1617 (Public Domain)

Baby Wear

In eighteenth century Europe and America, most babies started out life swaddled (tightly wrapped). The infant would be dressed in a shirt and “tailclout” (an early word for a diaper, cloth of course), and then a very long strip of fabric (usually linen) would be wound in a spiraling fashion the entire length of the baby’s body. The poor, immobilized child might be unwound a couple of times a day to allow it to…