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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III. FOOTWEAR

A. STOCKINGS

Children's stockings are mentioned quite often in the Louisbourg documentation, compared with other articles of clothing which were often ignored.

On the other hand, there is nothing concerning socks, which is surprising as the adults wore them in Louisbourg and we know that they existed for children. They were worn in Montreal at the beginning of the 18th century. [76] The socks of all young children were made of linen and had more or less the shape of a tube, without a corner for the heel. In fact, it consisted of a rectangle folded and sewn along its whole length as well as at one end, leaving the other end open to insert the foot. [77]

As for the stockings, there is no reason to believe that they differed from those of the adults, except for their size, and perhaps the material used. Men and women in fact wore silk or cotton stockings as much as woollen stockings. [78] The children, on the other hand, wore only woollen stockings. At least, these are the only ones mentioned in the documents. The quality varied, as the prices indicate. In 1738, an engineer paid up to 3 livres and 10 sols for "a pair of stockings for his boy", [79] while in 1758, a merchant was to offer some thirty "pairs of woollen stockings for children" at less than one livre per pair. [80] Stockings were made in different colours. For example, in 1757, during a trial, "three small pairs of children"s stockings made of blue, iron grey and brown wool" were deposited. [81]

Boys, who wore breeches fitted below the knee, [82] wore stockings which covered the leg up to the knees. There are no details concerning those of girls, but there is reason to believe that they were similar, as, at Louisbourg, they merely wrote "children's stockings".

B. SHOES

Like the stockings, children's shoes were mentioned many times in the documents. Unfortunately, they were merely mentioned without any details. The children's shoes were probably like those of the adults, [83] i.e. black leather. There is certainly no very marked difference as a lot of "thirty-three pairs of shoes, both small and large, for girl and man" was sold together in 1756. [84] It is possible, however, that the model was not identical for girls and boys. In fact, during a sale, a distinction was made between the "small shoes for girls" and "small shoes for children". [85] We know that the women wore high-heeled shoes, [86] and it would not be astonishing to find that the little girls started to imitate them when very young. This would correspond with the mentality of the time, wanting the children to become little adults very early.

The price of children's shoes does not vary much, and in general, it is not very high. More than a hundred pairs are mentioned, and their value is between 1 livre and 10 sols, [87] and 2 livres and 10 sols. [88] This stability of prices and the absence of descriptive details suggest a certain uniformity. Judging by those of the adults, the children's shoes were all black leather and were tied with a buckle on top, as was the fashion of the time.

C. WOODEN SHOES

In spite of their low price, shoes are not the most economical footwear for children, as we note in 1753 "ninety-five hairs of children's wooden shoes" worth not more than 4 sols per pair, [89] They were no doubt more durable and more suitable than shoes for the weather conditions of Louisbourg. The adults who could not afford leather shoes wore clogs or wooden shoes, and probably dressed their children the same way.

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