Toddler Girl Colonial Historic Costume

If you want a toddler girl colonial historic costume, there are some amazingly

inexpensive costumes for girls that come in small sizes. You can find either pilgrim type clothing or Williamsburg styles. However, girls dressed differently after the age of five or six, so a true toddler's costume may have to be made at home.

Both boys and girls were dressed in gowns for the first four years or more of their life. Historians speculate on the reason for this, with theories that range from ease of care before and during toilet training to keeping the babies from moving too fast and too independently. Whatever the reason, it is hard to tell whether very young children depicted in period paintings are male or female.

Basically the children wore no underwear, had a frilled and often padded cap of the mob type (round with rucking to hold it in place), and a long, voluminous gown made of printed linen or cotton that opened in the front. Sleeves were long and loose, with puckered wristbands.

Over the gown, open-backed smocks with or without sleeves were often slipped on and fastened in the back with a button or two at the top. The smock, often made of plain material, was open in the back. Shoes were soft, flat slippers. Baby clothes were formal in style if not in material, and to be historically accurate should include leather or whalebone stays, believed by Colonial parents to encourage good posture.

For Halloween, using a brightly sprigged cotton or calico type material with a white cotton smock and a white cap will make a darling costume even if it is a little more colorful than a historic toddler dress. There often was lace on the edges of the caps in the old days, so that is an authentic touch that will be sure to please the little miss who is dressing up.

Accessories could be a rag doll with a hand drawn face and a costume similar to the toddler's. A small basket full of apples or Indian corn or small pumpkins and gourds is nice - you can even glue them in place if you don't want them rolling all over the floor. In the early days, children were to be seen and not heard - you may not be able to get that idea across!

For going outdoors, a Red Riding Hood type cloak can let the under dress be seen and still keep your little girl warm as she shows off her toddler girl Colonial historic costume.


toddler girl colonial historic costume to toddler Halloween costume

toddler girl colonial historic costume to quick easy Halloween costumes