CIVIL DRESS AT LOUISBOURG: 1713 - 1758
CHILDREN'S DRESS

BY

MONIQUE LA GRENADE

OCTOBER 1973

Report H F 16B E

Fortress of Louisbourg

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ILLUSTRATIONS

[Editors Note: The images are presently unavailable.  Please consult the original report at the Fortress of Louisbourg]

VARIOUS CHILDREN'S HEADDRESSES

• 1. Baby's helmet ("têtière"):

Parents put on the newly-born this type of hood which comes down below the shoulders, to support their head, (Encyclopédie de Diderot).

• 2. Bonnet:

This child's bonnet has a wide brim trimmed with lace and is tied with strings knotted under the chin. (Encyclopédie de Diderot).

• 3. Embroidered bonnets:

Certain models of children's bonnets could be trimmed or embroidered. (Rodolphe Vincent, Notre costume civil et religieux. Montreal, s.do).

• 4. Baby's bonnet ("béguin"):

The baby's bonnet, which was worn up to around the age of three, has a narrower brim than the bonnet. It is tied with a ribbon fixed with a pin. (Encyclopédie de Diderot).

• 5. Baby's bonnet ("béguin"):

There also existed models of baby's bonnets knotted under the chin with ribbons. The latter is trimmed all around with a strip of ruffled material. (Robert-Lionel Séguin, Le costume civil en Nouvelle-France, Ottawa, 1968).
 

PAINTINGS BY CRARDIN: DRESS OF THE BOURGEOISIE

The outer appearance of the bourgeois of the 18th century is well illustrated in the paintings of Chardin. Those which are reproduced here inform us about the dress worn by children in those milieus.

• Upper left:

little girl wearing a "fausse-robe", whose wide skirt, longer in the back, forms a train.

• Lower left:

little girl dressed to go out, with a hooded short cape ("mantelet"). She is carrying a muff. Her clothes are the same style as those of an adult,

• Right:

Little, boy in coat. His jerkin ("justaucorps") is made in the same style as those of men. His hat, which the governess is brushing, is of felt, with a wide brim folded at three points.

Plates taken from Auguste Racinet, Le costume historique (Paris, 1888).

• 1. and 2 Long-sleeved shirt "chemise de brassière'' for the newly-born. It is open in the back and its collar is fashioned without cutting the surplus material, which falls over the front in the manner of a bib. On the pattern, seen in profile, we see the opening for the sleeves and the opening for the neck-line . (Encyclopédie de Diderot).
   
• 3. The early age shirt is longer. It is first of all a rectangle to which are added triangular pieces to give more fullness. It has close fitting sleeves which are not illustrated on this pattern. (Encyclopédie de Diderot).
   
• 4. The early age socks are not shaped for the heel. (Encyclopédie de Diderot).
   
• 5. Children's dress in New France: The little girls cover themselves with long hooded capes. In the middle class, like their mothers, they wear the coiffe, the neckerchief and the apron, and they roll un their shirtsleeves. The boys also roll up their shirtsleeves. They wear breeches fitted at the knees, and vests without tails or sleeves. (Rodolphe Vincent, Notre costume civil et religieux, Montreal, s.d.).

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