18th Century Children’s Clothing

Eventually, this page will just link to a series of pages focused on various topics; for now, I’m using it to collect various types of garments and accessories, and breaking them off into new pages as necessary.

Featured on separate linkspages:
babies’ caps, pudding caps, shirts, and rattles;
and also dolls and other toys and games.

Infants’ clothing

• MRAH, a quilted (?) shirt
• V&A B.13-2001, a swaddling band, France, c. 1700-1750; “Swaddling band made up of two thicknesses of white linen, seamed together at the sides with overcast stitching in white thread. The band is hand embroidered with an elaborate repeating pattern of stylized flowers and foliage, worked in white thread and using a variety of stitches including stem stitch, interlacing stitch, bullion knots, eyelet stitch and wave stitch filling. The embroidery indicates that this is an outer swaddling band, for use as the top layer; one end is straight and the other rounded, the latter being likely to be the outer end.”
• V&A T.879-1919, wrapping gown in printed cotton, England, c. 1750
• CW 1991-551,1A-C, infant’s long gown of plain gold silk satin, England, c. 1750-1775
• Christie’s Lot 328 / Sale 5422, a white ribbed infant’s gown, second half of the 18th century
• Christie’s Lot 333 / Sale 5422, an infant’s gown in cream silk with flybraid and silk fringe, second half of the 18th century
• Christie’s Lot 35 A / Sale 5945, including silk damask sleeves, a plain silk cap, a white linen shirt with ruffles, and a white linen cap with ruffles

Dresses for small children

• PMA 1943-23-1, a child’s dress in roller-printed cotton, America, c. 1750-1775
• Augusta 18.2256.17.0, a printed cotton baby dress, 1783
• CW 1992-139, a child’s dress in printed cotton, England or America, c. 1785-1810
• WHS 1959.140, a cotton baby’s dress with a high empire waist and gathered bodice, c. 1796; “Off-white cotton; hand-sewn; ankle length; A-line; very high empire waist with deep scoop neck, and highly gathered neck and waistline; short sleeves; hem stitching around neckline and down tops of sleeves, with additional narrow off-white lace around cuffs and neckline; two 3/4" wide fabric bands added down each side seam, attached only along one side, and embroidered in off-white with repeated triangles; 3 sections of 1/4" pin tucks go horizontally across skirt front, starting at knees and going down almost to hem, with 5 rows in the first section, and 4 rows in the other two sections; additional embroidery includes swiss dots on the sleeves, triangles along the hem, and more complicated scroll work between the hem and the bottom tuck on the skirt front; the back is left completely open, and closes with the drawstrings fed through the neckline and through the waistline at center back.”

Boys’ clothing

• Christie’s Lot 3291 / Sale 4981, a child’s frock coat, first half of the 18th century; “oatmeal wool with ice blue silk cuffs and collar, lined in pale blue silk twill, with decorative trim to the exaggerated buttonholes in silver thread, full skirted and with shaped bodice”
• CW 1989-441, linen gown embroidered with silks, England, c. 1710
• CW 1953-845, whitework waistcoat, England or France, c. 1720-1750; probably cut down from an adult’s waistcoat
• CW 1971-1577, whitework waistcoat, England, c. 1730-1740 (with later alterations)
• V&A T.362-1920, silk gown, France, c. 1750
• CW 1953-841, white tabby cotton suit, England, c. 1775-1790
• CW 1993-46, coarse off-white linen breeches, New Hampshire or Maine, 1775-1800
• CW 1970-109, cream ribbed silk waistcoat with polychromatic embroidery, England or France, c. 1790-1810; cut down from an adult’s waistcoat

Girls’ clothing

• MRAH, a lace apron, Milan
• Meg Andrews 7075, a quilted petticoat
• Girl's dress bodice with leading strings, silk, Britain, 1750-59
• Met C.I.62.28a,b, a silk robe à française, France, mid-18th century
• Girl's gown (side view), embroidered silk, Britain, c. 1760
• Meg Andrews 6939, a Chinese silk jacket of imperial yellow damask, “front opening with hooks and eyes, full skirt to the sides and back, the back with a central seam and a lower horizontal waist seam, simple sleeves with back seam, lined with same shade of yellow glazed linen,” 1770s
• A printed linen dress, 1770s
• Met 2009.300.1340, a girl’s silk dress, Britain, c. 1775–1785
• Young girl’s dress of block-printed cotton, Britain, c. 1780-1790
• CW 1994-160, hooded short cloak in satin, Britain (worn in America), c. 1780-1800

Children’s shoes

• LACMA M.67.8.170a-b, red linen embroidered with gold metallic threads, probably France, 1730s
• Met 2009.300.3150a, b, a child’s red leather shoes, late 18th century
• Met 2009.300.3148, a child’s leather shoe, c. 1775–1825

Children’s stays

• BATMC 2003.734, worn by a child 2 to 3 years old, linen, c. 1700-1750
• Met C.I.66.24.2, cotton, third quarter 18th century
• CW 1993-329, leather stays (scored with lines suggesting boning) for adolescent, made in four separate sections with lacing holes at the front, back and sides, England, c. 1760-1780
• PVMA 1880.015.02, linen, c. 1760-1790; “These stays are for a toddler and are stiffened with cardboard rather than whalebone or metal.”
• PMA 1988-15-1, linen, America, c. 1770-1790
• Kyoto AC4197 82-5-5, c. 1790; “white linen chintz; boned front, back and sides; metal spring at sides to adjust; front lacing; straps tied with cord”