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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CONCLUSION

The first comment which we must make concerning the dress of the children at Louisbourg concerns the silence of the documents. As we have already pointed out with respect to certain items, this can be explained in two ways. With regard to the clothing of the newly-born, it is often a square of linen or woollen material which could have been used as a diaper or swaddling clothes. It is therefore quite conceivable that no care was taken to note the use of such articles when the inventory was made. And for the clothing of older children, they were similar to those of adults. It was sometimes mentioned that a garment was for a "child", or the article in question was described as "small". In the other cases, this must have escaped the notice of the clerks, so that in our day we have lost track of them.

Whatever the case may be, this gap in the primary sources could be filled from general works. The result is that the study on the dress of the children at Louisbourg is revealing from three points of view. First of all, it makes it possible to visualize what that dress was. Beyond this concrete aspect, it informs us also about the mentality of the times, with regard to the social behaviour and education of children. Finally, it completes the idea which emerges from the study of adult dress concerning the fashion in Louisbourg in the 18th century.

After having studied each item of clothing of the children, it is possible to see the whole picture as follows. The newly-born were almost
always dressed in linen garments: long-sleeved shirts (chemises de brassières), diapers, bonnets, and they were wrapped in swaddling clothes of linen or wool. All these garments were very simple at Louisbourg, where we do not see lace, or satin, which could have denoted certain luxury.
This does not mean that there was a total absence of refinement, as certain parents took care to dress their children in stays, and this was rather common among the rich circles. The children from those families wore them from the age of two or three years in order to learn good posture. At that age, boys and girls wore the linen "child's shirt", and the long dress or fourreau. Some of these exist at Louisbourg, in striped woollens or painted linen, called "Indian".

The children of six years old or more dressed differently according to their sex. The documents allude very little to boys' clothing. In order to visualize it, it is therefore the dress of the men which serves as a guide. The children from wealthy families wore the coat, i.e. the vest and the tight vest matching the breeches. Certain ones wore felt hats, and some even had a sword. The others, less rich, wore over their shirt a simple jacket which did not necessarily match their breeches. The shirt was always the basic garment. For outdoor clothing, the boys had a type of long coat, the capot, to protect themselves from the cold.

The girls adopted the styles of their mothers. They covered their heads with coiffes, and according to whether they came from more or less rich families, they wore well fitting dresses, made of beautiful fabrics, or simple woolen or cotton skirts. We note, however, that at Louisbourg, the young girls' dresses and skirts mentioned are in very plain fabrics: coarse muslin, calamandre. Yet certain little girls had beautiful clothes, as we find, for example, a camlet cape which was quite expensive. But ordinarily, instead of the long cape, the women and girls wore short capes (mantelets) to go out.

In general, the children wore woollen stockings. Those who were well dressed had black leather shoes, the heels of which could have been a little high for girls' shoes. But the more modestly dressed children wore rather wooden shoes.

Thus, from their early years, the children's social milieu of origin can be judged by their clothing. The habit of dressing children like their parents goes back to Renaissance times. It started in the rich merchant families, as clothing was costly and this gave them a way of showing their wealth. This custom continued in the 18th century in Europe and in the colonies. [104] A few examples traced at Louisbourg illustrate that such a mentality existed there also.

At the stores, ordinary garments, like stockings and shirts, were available for children. But in order to obtain more refined items, it was necessary to order them specially. We note that those who wished to and did place such orders had a high social status. For example, the wife of the judge, the "procureur du Roy pour l'admirauté", had stays made for her children in Canada. This also indicates that at that time, around 1726, the town. of Louisbourg was not in a position to offer its inhabitants certain services which already existed in the St. Lawrence Valley. An engineer received an invoice for the Caudebec hat which he had ordered for his son. The children who wore such clothing followed the fashions because their parents had the means. In the poor families, they had to be content with more common garments as clothing is not a luxury; its sole function is to protect from the cold. The dress of children therefore differed from one social class to another, and in this, it resembled that of the adults.

With the exception of the layette for the newly-born, no garment styles were made specially for children. As soon as possible, they were made to look like, and even behave like adults. That is what parents wanted for them, not only in appearance, but also mentally. [105] At a Louisbourg store, a child's sword was found. Was this an accessory or simply a toy? Whatever the case may be, toys are very rare and there is little variety: only a few rattles. The children were treated like their elders. In order that they might have good posture, they were forced to wear boned corsets, and their bodies were con-Pined in narrow clothing. The philosophers of the Age of Reason criticize this habit. Their writings would have an effect toward the end of the century, when there would be more concern for the comfort of the children. [106] The dress would simplified: loose bodices and shorter skirts for the girls, vests without tails and wide pants for the boys. This change would occur first in Europe and would then extend to the colonies. At the time of Louisbourg, children's dress was still severe and impersonal. Boys and girls, without distinction, were dressed in the same manner up to the age of six, at which age they became a replica of their parents. However, as far as Louisbourg was concerned, children's clothing was generally less rich than that of the adults.

There was no original fashion at Louisbourg for the adults, and this is even truer if we look at the clothing of the children. A few men wore Indian shoes, but not the children. And again in this case, it was no doubt more a necessary adaptation to the weather conditions than a borrowing from the native milieu. Moreover, nothing was invented either, and thus, the dress of the children was also in line with European styles.

Children were dressed like adults, more or less richly according to the wealth of the families, and in this aspect of its material life, Louisbourg society resembled that of the metropolis.

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