and his unbreeched
brother. In French royal portraits gender can be hard to tell, except by the absence of jewellery (1640s) The first progression, for both boys and girls, was when they were
shortcoated or taken out of the long dresses worn by babies that came well below the feet, which have survived as the modern
christening robe. It was not possible to walk in these, which no doubt dictated the timing of the change. Toddlers' gowns often featured
leading strings, which were narrow straps of fabric or ribbon attached at the shoulder and held by an adult while the child was learning to walk. After this stage, in the
early modern period it is usually not too difficult to distinguish between small boys and girls in commissioned portraits of the wealthy, even where the precise identities are no longer known. The smaller figures of small children in genre painting have less detail, and painters often did not trouble to include distinguishing props as they did in portraits. Working-class children presumably were more likely than the rich to wear handed-down clothes that were used by both sexes. In portraits the colours of clothes often keep the rough gender distinctions we see in adults—girls wear white or pale colours, and boys darker ones, including red. This may not entirely reflect reality, but the differences in hairstyles, and in the style of clothing at the chest, throat and neck, waist, and often the cuffs, presumably do. In the 19th century, perhaps as childhood became sentimentalised, it becomes harder to tell the clothing apart between the sexes; the hair remains the best guide, but some mothers were evidently unable to resist keeping this long too. By this time the age of breeching was falling closer to two or three, where it would remain. Boys in most periods had shorter hair, often cut in a straight fringe, whilst girls' hair was longer, and in earlier periods sometimes worn "up" in adult styles, at least for special occasions like portraits. In the 19th century, wearing hair up itself became a significant rite of passage for girls at
puberty, as part of their "coming out" into society. Younger girls' hair was always long, or plaited. Sometimes a
quiff or large curl emerges from under a boy's cap. Boys are most likely to have side partings, and girls centre partings. Girls'
bodices usually reflected adult styles, in their best clothes at least, and low bodices and
necklaces are common. Boys often had dresses that were closed up to the neck-line, and often buttoned at the front—rare for girls. They frequently wear belts, and in periods when female dresses had a V at the waist, this is often seen on little girls, but not on boys.
Linen and
lace at the neck and cuffs tend to follow adult styles for each gender, although again the clothes worn in portraits no doubt do not reflect everyday wear, and may not reflect even best clothes accurately. Unbreeched boys of the nobility are sometimes seen wearing swords or daggers on a belt. A speech by King
Leontes from
Shakespeare's ''
The Winter's Tale'' implies that, as common sense would suggest, these could not be drawn, and were purely for show: Leontes also calls his dress a "coat"; "cote" was a French and English term, dating back to the
Middle Ages, for earlier adult male gowns and seems to have been kept in use for boys' clothes to preserve some gender distinction. Usually jewellery is not worn by boys, but when worn it is likely to be dark in colour, like the
coral beads worn by the Flemish boy above. Coral was considered by medical authorities the best material to use for teething aids, and a combined rattle and whistle (in silver) and teething stick (in coral) can be seen in many portraits. in 1637 by
Van Dyck. From left:
Mary,
James—unbreeched at four,
Charles,
Elizabeth and
Anne In portraits even very young girls may wear
necklaces, often of
pearls. In the
van Dyck portrait of the children of
Charles I, only the absence of a necklace and the colour of his dress distinguish the unbreeched
James (aged four) from his next youngest sister
Elizabeth, whilst their
elder brother and
sister, at seven and six, have moved on to adult styles. In cases of possible doubt, painters tend to give boys masculine toys to hold like drums, whips for toy horses, or bows. ==The next step==