Once upon a time children wore miniature versions of their parents’ clothing styles. Then, in 1780 or 1790, depending on the source you read, children began to be dressed differently, wearing fashions designed just for them.
Bowden Children, John Hoppner, late 18th c.
Skeleton suit, Kate Greenaway
Not that small boys, left to their own devices, would have worn high-waisted, ankle length trousers made of heavy cotton or linen and white cambric shirts with ruffled trim, but these “skeleton suits” as they were called were popular for at least fifty years. The pants had high waists, because they were buttoned onto the long sleeved jacket.
Although these long-sleeved, trousered suits were meant to be comfortable, they had three layers at the waist, not including underwear. Heaven knows how hot the boys must have felt in the summer or during active play! Or how quickly the white ruffed shirts soiled! Completing the outfit were white stocking, flat-soled strap slippers, and a military-style cap. The strapped slippers can best be seen in the 1841 fashion plate image at the bottom of this post.
Boy with cap
A skeleton suit, one of those straight blue cloth cases in which small boys used to be confined before belts and tunics had come in … An ingenious contrivance for displaying the symmetry of a boy’s figure by fastening him into a very tight jacket, with an ornamental row of buttons over each shoulder and then buttoning his trousers over it so as to give his legs the appearance of being hooked on just under his arm pits. (Charles Dickens, Sketches by Boz, 1838-39.)
Adding insult to injury, was the underwear that young boys wore under these layered clothes. This sample comes from the Manchester Art Gallery.
Detail of The Hoppner Children, 1791. Formal skeleton suit.
The smaller the boy, the more elaborately frilled the collar. Colors were generally light, with the most popular being blue or green. Sometimes the suits were made of scarlet or mustard as well. For more formal occasions, a colorful sash might be added and the trousers made of silk or velvet and trimmed with lace. A young man about to go to Eton would wear the larger Eton collar.
Detail of Fluyder Children, Sir Thomas Lawrence. Skeleton suit with sash
Detail, 1841 fashion plate
More Links:
- Nostalgic turn-of-the-20th-century photograph of a boy wearing a skeleton suit in printed fabric. This image is particularly interesting because the photographer created this image for a public that yearned for the good old days.
- Coral Necklaces, Regency Style – children wore these necklaces to ward off bad luck and for good health.
Little Anne illustration, Kate Greenaway
Jane Austen's World 
Perhaps the consolation is only a very few could afford to dress this way. Maybe only the upper classes dressed their boys like this.
Ellen
I have been looking at James Ward’s paintings and he has one with a boy in a red skeleton suit. He, with his sisters are just escaping the cow pasture with a grand bull looking on at them through the fence. I can forward the jpg of it (but I cannot find the orgininal internet source. )
BTW — this is a lovely blog — such good information and interesting topics! Thank you!
Thank you for your comment, Chantel. I will check to see if I can find the painting. If not, I would love to look at the JPEG.
Vic
Good news — I just found it!!!
and another…..
Chantel, THANK YOU so much. I love these images. You’ve given me an idea on where to go next with my posts. Vic
I believe the University of Rhode Island textile center has a little boy’s skeleton suit or something that just pre-dates that. I didn’t see the entire suit unfolded but it looked to me like a Regency boy’s outfit. The fabric was checked or printed and a mustard yellow color I think. Our guide said that boys often wore pink because it was in the red family and red was a strong, masculine color and girls wore blue because it was dainty. The guide showed us many different examples of textiles of the 18th and 19th centuries.
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I just read your article…very nice. Love the illustrations and the underwear. Have you seen the painting “4th of July 1819 Philadelphia by Krimmell. In the front left corner is a young black child wearing (what appears to be) a rust colored skeleton suit. He is barefoot. It is a wonderful painting.
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How did the boy get undone enough to use the pot?
Nancy, this image of a skeleton suit shows how a young boy can relieve himself if he is so pressured: http://pinterest.com/pin/269019777713235372/
Here’s another image from the V&A Museum in London: http://sensibility.com/englandblog/files/2010/09/IMG_2670.jpg
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