What a child should wear in 1712



The Enraged Musician by William Hogarth, 1741

A comment from Kendra on my post on leather stays made me do a search for them on Google books and actually found a few, very few mentions of them in British texts. In 1758 there is a note on poor girl being issued leather stays when they are admitted to an Asylum. I did a search for leather bodice and found a description af a country wench in her leather bodice from 1771 and then, a rather facinating list on the cost of clothes for children in a British charity school in 1712. Girls are then supposed to be provided with a leather bodice with a stomacher. But the whole list is worth a post, I think. Being charity this is what is considered the minimum of clothes a child, aged 7-12 should wear. A quite useful guide for 18^th century re-enactors with children, I think, the quality would be better for a richer child and he or she would have more underwear, but the basics are here. I kept the spelling.

 

An ACCOUNT of the RATES of Cloathing

Poor Children belonging to C H A R I T Y-s C H O O L S

The Charge of Cloathing a BOY

A Yard and half-quarter of Grey Yorkshire Broad Cloth 6 quarters wide, makes a Coat: 3 s.
Making the Coat, with Pewter Buttons and all other Materials: 1 s.
A Wasitcoat of the same Cloth lined: 3 s. 6 d.
A pair of Breeches of Cloth or Leather lined: 2 s. 6 d.
1   Knit Cap, with Tuft and String, of any Colour: 10 d.
1 Band: 2 d.
1 Shirt: 1 s. 6 d.
1 Pair of Woollen Stockings: 8 d.
1 Pair of Shoes: 1 s. and 10 d.
1 Pair of Buckles: 1 d.
1 Pair of Knit or Wash-Leather Gloves: 7 d.
Total: 15 s. and 8 d.

The Charge of Cloathing a GIRL.

3 Yards and half of blue long Ells, about yard wide, at  6d. p. Yard, makes a Gown and Petticoat: 4 s. 8 d.
Making thereof, Strings, Body-lining, and other Materials : 1 s.J
A Coif and Band of Scotch-Cloth with a Border: 9 d.
Ditto of fine Ghenting: 1 s.
A Shift: 1 s. 6 d.

A White, Blue, or Checquer'd Apron: 1 s.

A pair of Leather Bodice and Stomacher: 2 s. 6 d.

1 Pair of Woollen Stockings: 8 d.

1 Pair of Shoes: 1 s. 8 d.

A Pair of Pattens: 8 d..

1 Pair of Buckles: 1 d.

1 Pair of Knit or Wash-Leather Gloves: 7 d.

Total: 16 s. 1 d.

The Graham children by William Hogarth, 1742

I think it is interesting that girl’s costs more and that there are no warm outwear for either sex. The mention of a  leather bodice is interesting as well. I think they are more like stays, even if unboned they would probably add some stiffness and as a gown is listed, the bodice is probably meant more as underwear. I didn’t know what pattens was, but have now learned now that it protective overshoes. I am stumped on the fabrics for the girl’s clothes, though. Anyone who knows what Ells, Scotch-Cloth and Ghenting are? My guess is that Ells is a wool of some sort and the other two are different qualities of linen, but I’m not at all sure.

EDIT: Rae Arnold kindly provided me with answers: "
Scotch-cloth is another term for nettlecloth, which is linen-like, but from nettle, not flax.

Ghenting is a flax linen woven in Ghent.

The only time I’ve heard Ells used is as a measurement (27–45", depending on the country), never as a fabric description, but Googling "long ells fabric" returns results describing it as a light woolen (possibly "peculiar to Devonshire")"

Leather stays in Sweden

Are leather stays controversial? I sometimes encounter that view online, which have always puzzled me as I know there are extant ones around. Perhaps it is due to regional differences, what was common in Sweden wasn’t common elsewhere. There are several extant ones in Swedish museum collections and they seem to have been popular as working stays and for children. The ones in this post are all located at the museum Nordiska in Stockholm, but they are not the only one. There are, for example, a pair of children’s stays in Gotland who are cut and boned like adult stays and have also decorative stamping that mimics the look of fully boned stays.

The stays in this post range from fully boned stays, half-boned and what are more unboned bodices, though they shape is similar. In the 18^th century women in the rural areas of Sweden wore what in the next century would be called folk costumes. They varied from place to place, but an essential look was a shift, several skirts and a sleeveless bodice. In fact, quite close to what is sometimes called “wench-costumes”. These bodices were, and are, cut like stays and could be quite heavily boned, or not boned at all. Not all of them were made out of leather, of course.

 

NM.0001007

Dated to 1750-70, though my personal view is that they are earlier.  Made of chamois leather with lining in coarse linen. Much mended with linen in various qualities. Fully boned with whalebones. Enforced with sturdier whalebones around the waist and across the bust. Cut with a front that narrows down to a point and is laced in the back. The shoulder straps are sewn to the back and tied to the front. There are traces of silk at the seams on the inside, which may indicate that this was originally a bodice in silk that has been covered with chamois leather.

Nordiska also have a pair of leather stays that are, so far, not photgraphed (NM.0109352). They are, according to Britta Hammar and Pernilla Rasmussen in Underkläder, made for a young girl. The museum dates it to 1720-29, though the stays itself are marked with "Anno 1687", ie, the year 1687. They are front-laced and in dark brown leather, edged with chamois leather. Made out of four pattern pieces with a seam at the center back and side-back. 12 tabs. It's a bit unclear if there are any boning left at all.



 

NM0004796

Stays in light-coloured chamois leather, 1750-60. Front-laced, 10 pattern pieces with 20 boning channels. Boned with whalebone. Has been altered to be smaller by a new seam in the back and the front folded back with new lacing holes made. Possibly originally boned with iron boning at the lacing. Lined with unbleached lining. Has been owned by a Sara Hazelius, wife of a dean.

 

 

NM.0001252

Stays in brown calf skin, ca 1750. Front-laced, six pattern pattern pieces and 18 boning channels. Boned with iron at the lacing holes and reed. Eight tabs, overlapping each other. Lined with coarse, unbleached linen with leather reinforcment where the boning channels end.



NM.0001313

Dated 1750-1799. In brown stamped leather, but no bones, though the shape is similar to boned stays. The stamps are very decorative and depicts, for example, straight and wavy lines and bows.

 

 

 

 

NM.0001127

Bodice in brown calf skin, 1780-1820. 12 boning channels, 10 overlapping tabs. Lined with unbleached linen.



NM.0044668

These are undated and lack other information as well, but due to the high waist I think that they are from the 19th century. I have included them anyway because of the boning that harks back to the 18th century and for the bummroll attached on teh inside, under the tabs.




NM.0194150

Bodice in pale chamois leather, 1750-90. Boned at the lacing with iron, the diagonal channels are boned with reed or something similar, so are the three boning channels in the back. Overlapping tabs. Edged with white leather. Front,, neck and armhole decorated with pinked white leather. Lined with unbleached linen. Said to have been made as an engagement gift.



NM.0011194

Bodice in leather, seemingly unboned, but cut like stays, 1763-1773. Worn by Helena Olosdotter, a farmer's daughter, as a young girl.

I would like to make myself a pair of leather stays, because they seem to be quite comfortable. Front-laced with a few bones at critical points seems to be the most common ones. Well, I have time to think about it, I have plenty of sewing projects to make first.

Read more on other blogs:

 

A tutorial for making a pair of leather stays at Three-headed Snippet

 

Historically Speaking making a pair of leather stays

 

The Costume Historian on extant leather stays