Little Girls’ Regency Dresses

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Little Girls’ Regency Dresses

September 22, 2009 by Vic

Prior to the 19th century, children were dressed as miniature adults…

18th c. Girl With a Kitten, Jean-Baptiste Perronneau

Children’s fashion often preceded similar changes in adult clothing. Simple frocks for girls in the closing decades of the 18th century foreshadowed the fashionable high-waisted, neo-classical style that would become popular for women during the first decades of the 19th century.

1790 Portrait of a Girl, John Hoppner

This pastoral image of a young girl by Thomas Gainsborough is a reminder that poor girls wore “tattered hand me downs or clothes made of coarse woollens and rougher cottons or mixtures like fustian.” (Fashion-Era)

Cottage Girl with Dog and Pitcher, Gainsborough, 1785

The easy, loose-fitting shifts below made it easy for little girls to play. The little boy’s skeleton suit is described in the post below.

The Sackville Children, John Hoppner 1797

A little girl’s mourning dress in 1809, although black, remained comfortable and unrestrictive. More details about this dress are at this link from Jessamyn’s Regency page.

Mourning dress, Ackermann plate, 1809

Childrens’ fashion posts on this site:

Posted in Fashions, jane austen, Jane Austen's World, Regency Life, Regency style | Tagged Regency Fashion, Young girl's fashion in the Regency era | 11 Comments

11 Responses

on September 22, 2009 at 04:23 Paivi

Great article! Thanks!
on September 22, 2009 at 22:00 Lauren

This post is excellent! Little girls are adorable in those shifts! I read that there was a generation of children who grew up ‘dressed as adults’ (of the old style.) This influenced the way their parents raised them and thought of them.

When they were adults the trend was to dress children differently- and they were treated a bit differently (less as small adults) which was a difficult idea psychologically for the first generation to accept. Interesting stuff!
on September 22, 2009 at 23:09 Janeite Deb

Thanks Vic for the great pictures – your site is always so enlightening!
on September 23, 2009 at 15:48 Alison

I’m new to blogs and have been introduced to them through an educational class that I’m currently taking. I found your blog on Jane Austen, and I’ve never seen anything quite like it. It is fabulous to say the least. I love Jane Austen! Thanks so much!
on September 24, 2009 at 07:58 Jane Odiwe

What a gorgeous post – I love the Hoppner painting, which I’ve never seen before. Thanks Vic!
on September 24, 2009 at 08:27 Mandy N

Beautiful portraits of Georgian children…I find the little girl in the Mourning plate especially poignant; reaching for something lost, gone forever.
Lovely post, thanks Vic !
on September 24, 2009 at 15:51 annekris

Lovely!
on February 1, 2010 at 03:35 inder

best
on May 31, 2010 at 21:19 CLARICE MONTOYA

I’ve been looking around janeaustensworld.wordpress.com and really am impressed by the good content material here. I work the nightshift at my job and it is boring. I’ve been coming here for the previous couple nights and reading. I simply wanted to let you know that I have been enjoying what I have seen and I look ahead to reading more.
- on May 31, 2010 at 22:35 Vic
  
  Thank you so much for the compliment. Your words mean a lot.
on October 15, 2011 at 10:48 Child’s Regency Dress at Vintage Textile: A Superb Vintage Clothing Site « Jane Austen's World

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