Decorative Arts o Costumes o Toys o Fine Arts o Tools o Music o Transportation
Children's Collections
Playthings ~ Clothing
Boy's Two-piece Dress
Cotton; machine-made trim
American, circa 1884
Gift of Alice Mary Count, 67.9.4a-b
Infants of both sexes wore long white dresses for the first years of life. This dress was worn by Ralph Downs Count and made for him by his grandmother who lived in Middletown, NY.During the last half of the 19th century, children were depicted in art and literature as innocent, almost angelic creatures to be protected from corrupt influences. White, with its symbolic connotations, was the preferred color for infants and toddlers. Both boys and girls wore dresses or skirts in combination with pantalettes or short pants.
During the 20th century, gender again became significant in dress as the angelic unisex child dressed in embroidered white linen gave way to the identifiably young male in blue or female in pink.
