"The dress of children should be different from that of adults. It is disgusting to behold a child disfigured by dress so as to resemble a monkey rather than a human creature."
[A Familiar View of the Domestic Education of Children During the Early Period of Their Lives, by Christian August Struve, pub. 1802]
Today, having a child means buying lots of equipment and clothing. Although the Regency era was a simpler time, there were items of clothing and equipment that were made specifically for young children.
Children's Clothing
Just as today, some parents dressed their child in a way that was practical, while others cared more about appearance than practicality. Children in wealthy households might wear small copies of adult clothes, particularly for formal portraits or in the company of their parents, but when in the care of servants and nurses would most likely be dressed in clothing that was suitable for their age, allowing them to move and play.
Infants and children up to three, four or even five years were often dressed alike, with no visible difference between boys and girls. One suggestion for appropriate clothing for both sexes, from birth to the age of three, was:
"a flannel waistcoat without sleeves, made to fit the body and tie loosely behind, with a petticoat not quite so long as the child, and a frock over this, a little longer, both of some light thin material, and loosely secured to the body, avoiding any pressure which shall confine the motion of the ribs. All swathes, bandages and stays are mischievous and should be prohibited."
[An Encyclopæaedia of Domestic Economy, by Thomas Webster, pub. 1815]
A Frock in wealthier households would have been slightly longer and made of finer materials than those in poorer families. Some patterns for children's frocks and petticoats were more commonly used by the poor because they required less material. Another term for a young child's frock was Long Coats.
They also suggested the use of tied tapes, rather than pins, to secure the clothing, especially the Napkin. Napkins were the Regency nappy (UK) or diaper. (US) Cloth napkins could be tied on with ties, but it wasn't unheard of for straight pins to be used, as the "safety pin" of today wasn't invented until 1849.
A Bib at this time would have looked very familiar. It was made of three or four layers of material, sewn around and turned inside out to conceal the edges. It tied under the chin while children were cutting their teeth "to prevent the moisture from their mouths wetting their chests and the bosoms of their frocks". In Cecilla by Fanny Burney, (pub. 1790) one character calls it a "slobbering bib".
Caps for newborns were a subject of disagreement, with some books recommending a thin cap and others insistent that they were not necessary. This goes to show that contradictory advice from so-called experts is nothing new!
As a child became old enough to walk, the outer frock layer would be made shorter, to avoid them tripping on the hem. Children's frocks were gathered at the neck and sometimes the waist, fastening at the back with ties. They were often ornamented with a coloured sash in wealthier households. A Pinafore or apron could also be worn, to keep the frock clean, or to hide a dirty frock.
Girls would have continued to wear a frock throughout their childhood and into their early teens, only transitioning to more adult clothing when they completed their education and began looking for a husband, or when the parents decided it was time. The single mention of a frock in Jane Austen's works comes in Mansfield Park, where ten-year-old Fanny Price is introduced to the Bertrams for the first time. Likewise, in Maria Edgeworth's books, the only character described as wearing a frock was an eight-year-old:
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Reading the Regency
Non-FictionA guide to Regency England for readers of classic literature or historical fiction set in the early 19th century. England, as it was in the early 1800's, can sometimes be as confusing to a modern reader as travelling to a foreign country. Their clot...
