Compare and Contrast
What clothes do you remember from your childhood? Itchy long stockings, woolly vests, wet gabardine mackintosh? Think too of the endless hand washing and the problems of drying. Here you can see some of the garments in which fond mothers have dressed babies and children, to show how much they loved them or to impress those who admired them. You can compare exquisite baby caps with a modern baseball cap, Clarks shoes with white kid button boots, and a brightly coloured pinafore dress with embroidered white dresses trimmed with lace and blue ribbons.
Fashion icons of the 1930s for girls’ clothes were Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, and Shirley Temple. Copying ‘film star’ fashion was not invented as recently as we may think! The tailored coats worn by the royal children were very similar to the little coat and leggings on display. The blue sundress, embroidered with fishes, reflects this era when it became fashionable to have a tan, and no longer necessary for a lady to be pale and interesting.
Chilprufe, a subsidiary of Ladybird, made children’s quilted binders, body belts, stay bands, combinations, head flannels and Directoire (Harvest Festival) knickers up until the 1930s.
The circle is now complete. In earlier times, a child was dressed as a miniature adult when it was out of baby gowns. Now, with styles specifically for children by ‘must have’ designers, the trend is again to dress them as fashionable miniature adults.
Originally children’s clothes would have been bought from small local shops. Today, they come from places like Marks and Spencer, Mothercare, Woolworths or even supermarkets along with the groceries. Designer garments are sold through exclusive, often independent, small shops.
