From the 19th century onwards, children’s fashion gradually ceased to be a mere reproduction of adult clothing, giving rise to specialised garments suited to the various activities of everyday childhood.
The proliferation of costumes helped to disseminate fashion models and establish gender differentiation in clothing and hairstyles, which generally occurred around the ages of four to five, when boys and girls began to be assigned attributes and roles preparing them for their future functions in society.
The turn of the century was dominated by the sailor suit, which would define children’s fashion for both sexes for several decades, providing greater comfort and lightness. Different variations of this type of children’s attire can be seen in this early 20th-century photograph, part of the Sound and Image Archive of the Museum of Angra do Heroismo.
