Sateen dress and cape with Mountmellick embroidery, red (faded) velvet dress and cape, embroidered cotton dress with detachable belt and cape
Sateen dress and cape with Mountmellick embroidery, red (faded) velvet dress and cape, embroidered cotton dress with detachable belt and cape
Museum Notebook
In the early 1900s there was a distinct change in the way middle or upper class children were dressed and in the expectation of their behaviours and roles in society.
A common feature of all very young children's clothing was that it did not distinguish between boys and girls.
Boys wore full skirted dresses over starched petticoats and ankle-length drawers up to the age of 4 or 5.
This made changing nappies simpler, and also made it easier for boys to go to the toilet themselves. Around the age of 5 they graduated to knickerbockers and short jackets.
Privileged girls wore dresses with fitted bodices and full skirts over small bustles, reflective of women's styles of the times. They also wore ankle length pantalettes to ensure modesty.
By the 1910s girls' dresses were worn shorter and were made of more durable fabrics to allow for movement and play.
Hair ribbons became popular instead of hats, although hats were still worn on special occasions such as Easter. Sturdy leather boots with buttons were worn by both girls and boys.
For boys, knickerbockers and sailor suits became popular, as were "Little Lord Fauntleroy" suits made popular by the Francis Hodgkin book of the same name.
These suits were usually made from velvet with lace collars and were the domain of wealthy upper class boys only.
"Breeching" was the term used on the occasion when a small boy was first dressed in breeches or trousers.
The introduction of a less restricted style of clothing was influenced by the Sunshine and Fresh Air Movement. New concepts of child rearing and behaviour gave children a lot more freedom.
A fresh emphasis on children's health and wellbeing had a significant impact on clothing changes.
In contrast, children from poorer families wore practical wool or cotton clothing in dark colours - they were cheaper and didn't show the dirt much.
Most children's clothes would be handed down from older siblings and altered to fit. Many children went barefoot because shoes were expensive, but hobnail boots were also worn and again passed down from child to child.
Photograph of Franklin D Roosevelt in 1884, later President of the United States of America, wearing gender neutral clothing as a very young child
The Whanganui Regional Museum has an extensive collection of children's clothing including three dresses with matching short capes, a smaller version of what women of the time were wearing.
The first is made of red velvet with long sleeves and a matching short cape with a flat collar, fully lined with calico.
The second dress has long flared sleeves and is made from a textured cotton fabric with a short collarless cape and a belt with shaped bow tails, all embroidered with curlicues of narrow dark brown and white braid.
The third is made from cotton sateen and has long sleeves and a collared cape with satin ribbon ties.
This is heavily embroidered all over with Mountmellick embroidery. It is a style of floral whitework embroidery originating in the town of Mountmellick in County Laois, Ireland, in the early 19th century.
Leather and wooden clogs, silk baby shoes, leather ankle boots
The museum's collection also contains a fascinating array of children's shoes and boots, including a pair of glazed leather ankle boots fastened with six buttons, a pair of cream quilted-silk shoes with silk rosettes that are lined in white cotton twill with leather soles and a pair of children's clogs with black leather uppers nailed solidly to wooden soles and iron sole and heel plates.
There is a distinct difference in the style of these shoes. Wooden clogs were made to be hard wearing, practical and long lasting and to be passed down from child to child. Silk shoes, in all likelihood, wore out with just one child wearing them.
Sateen dress and cape with Mountmellick embroidery, red (faded) velvet dress and cape, embroidered cotton dress with detachable belt and cape
•Kathy Greensides is collection assistant at Whanganui Regional Museum.
