Many Boys Wore Dresses During The Victorian Era
Pink wasn’t for girls, neither was blue for boys.
When it comes to clothing, we tend to identify certain kinds of clothes as being suitable for male or female. In this present day and age, many people are confined by norms that define gender and what kids should wear. This wasn’t always the case because during the early twentieth century, clothes worn by infants and young children had no sex distinction.
Children’s fashion during the victorian age was quite unique. During that time, little boys wore gowns and dresses well into their preschool years and even beyond. In many pictures of small boys from the victorian era, they can be seen dressed in similar fashion to that of girls.
Back then, parents weren’t so concerned about the attire of their kids because they believed that children developed their individual traits and personalities as they grew older, but weren’t necessarily born with them. Hence, it was very common for children to wear dresses until they got into formal school. This is why in many old photographs, it is difficult to differentiate the boys from the girls.
Although gender roles during the victorian era were extremely polarized due to the patriarchal system in existence then, young children were not part of the equation. Blue and pink…
