Baby clothes today are characterized by wiggle room, color, and easy-to-wash materials. But children (and parents) weren’t always so lucky. Until the middle of the twentieth century, children’s clothing was restrictive, uncomfortable, and elaborate. Let’s take a look at some of these fashions.

Boys in Petticoats

In that photograph of your great-great-grandmother Edith and her family, the child standing next to her, wearing a dress and long curls, is actually great-great-uncle Arthur. In the days of Queen Victoria, boys and girls would wear their hair long and be hampered in their play by petticoats and stays. Stays were like a corset or brace; in such an outfit, it is not easy to imagine enjoying lighthearted physical activities. Not until boys were out of toddler-hood would they don pants, and these would often be made of unforgiving, itchy, dark materials. Girls were forced into stylish narrow boots and fashionable bustles—they could do little but sit and sew.

Little Adults

Many earlier children’s styles were influenced by the attitude that children were miniature adults. Throughout past centuries, children were therefore often dressed in smaller versions of adult clothes. Imagine a modern five-year-old being dressed every day in business suits—this gives you some idea of how a child of the eighteenth century might dress after leaving behind their baby clothes. A miniature brocaded suit, with jacket and breeches, would be completed by a lace jabot (a ruffled shirtfront) and cuffs to make the standard outfit for a young eighteenth century boy.

Wrapped in Swaddling Bands

Infants might have had it the worst. As is still a practice today in some cultures, European and American babies of earlier centuries were swaddled, meaning wrapped tightly in bands of cloth. While this was supposed to prevent deformity, it certainly did prevent movement of any kind. Babies and their clothes are more liberated these days—and all of us can breathe a sigh of relief.