Child's Tunic, 1840-1850

This might be a boy's tunic, to be worn with trousers, although one wonders if the color and fabric were sufficiently masculine (it might also be a girl's tunic, but appears to be too short). This piece might have been used by the Bowen family of Pennsylvania.

Girl's Dress with Pantaloons, about 1850

This dress is notable for its casualness and ease of movement, with the shoulders and sleeves at a natural level. It is also notable for the lower-style dress and the fact that it is made from scraps and can be altered easily. The bodice decoration is reminiscent of 1840's "points."

Girl's Dress and Jacket, about 1870

A nice special occasion dress, worn with a blousewaist. The use of magenta and black together suggests a circa 1870 fabric - a popular aniline dye combination at the time. Also, the zouave-style jacket was popular in 1860s. The red and black silk "shag" trim on the jacket is interesting but is not a great match for rest of the piece. Overall, this girl's outfit has the feel of the bustle and puff style popular in women's dresses of the 1870s.

Girl's Dress, 1845-1860

This lovely, expensive girl's dress would have been worn for very special occasions and appears to have been seldom used.

Girl's Dress, 1880-1885

Straight, low-waisted, heavily knife-pleated girl's silhouette dresses were very common in the early 1880's; men's suit fashions were also often reflected in women's clothing of the period.

Boy's Vest and Pants

Girl's Embroidered Cotton Dress, 1840-1850

White cotton dress with wide, collar-less neck and slightly belled sleeves. Bodice and skirt gathered; tight gauging along center-front and center-back waist. Empty whalebone casing at center-front. Self-fabric piping at neck, waist and sleeves. White embroidery at hem; hem and cuffs finished with irregular scalloping and crochet trim. Two tucks on skirt. Bodice lined with plain-weave cotton; sleeves and skirt unlined. Bodice open at center-back; hammered-wire hook and eye closures. Hand-sewn. T…

Girl's Dress, 1840-1850

This is a party or special occasion dress, the light washable fabric probably meant for summer wear. The workmanship is exquisite, the gauging tight and beautiful, the hem stitching fine and nearly invisible. With its drop sleeves, gauging, and wide neckline, the line of the dress is very similar to those worn by older women in the early 1840s. The dress is a gift of a New York State family.

Girl's Muslin Print Dress, about 1840

Muslin dress printed with red, tan and yellow flower sprig motif. Pieced, lined bodice with round neckline and channels for bones at center front. Lawn-lined bishop sleeves. Gauging at top of shoulder, top of sleeves, and center front. Hammered wire hooks and eyes on sleeves; center-back hook and eye closures. Pleated skirt with many repaired holes. Hand-sewn. This is an early and very fashionable dress with a very high waist - mother's styling in a child's dress, including channels for bones to…

Child's Dress, 1780-1830

This dress, which belonged to the Hungerford family of rural New York State and could have been worn by a girl or boy, has features dating from a broad span of years. The bodice is constructed to reflect, in very simple form, a woman's bodice with a faux busk pocket or channel in the center front, which seems more late eighteenth than early nineteenth century. It appears to be a bit later than the collection's other woodblock-printed Mitchell family dress (object no. 35.894.1).

Child's Dress, 1810-1825

The puff-over-long sleeve style was seen in women's fashions around 1810-1820. Pastel silks were also used during this period for "best dresses." See: Bradfield, Costume in Detail, pp.107-110; Buck & Cunnington, Children's Costume, p. 195. This dress was probably worn with pantalettes, probably by a little girl, although boys wore similar dresses in this era before the age of about three.

Boy's Jacket, about 1820

This jacket is for a very young boy, perhaps three or four years of age, and is notable for its exquisite hand-stitching. It belonged to the Mitchell family of Long Island, New York.

Boy's Suit, about 1820

The military-looking Eton-style suit was common for young boys in the 19th Century and was used for school or special occasions. This rare example belonged to the Mitchell family of rural New York State (as did the very similar suit numbered 35.596.57). The jacket front is very typical of those worn around 1820. This is a variation of the skeleton suit in which the trouser buttons attached to a shirt or braces rather than the jacket.

Boy's Suit, 1820-1830

The Eton-style suit was common for young boys in the 19th Century and was used for school or special occasions. This rare and rather expensive example belonged to the Mitchell family of rural New York State (as did the very similar suit numbered 35.596.5).The jacket front is very typical of those worn around 1820. The suit is nicely made but not exquisitely so; it is all hand-sewn and of lovely silk fabric. This is a variation of the skeleton suit in which the buttons on the waistband attach to …

Boy's Jacket, about 1820

This young boy's military-looking jacket is unlined and was probably for summer wear. It belonged to the Mitchell family of rural New York State.

Child's Dress, about 1780

This is the earliest child's dress in the Henry Ford collection. While it seems logical that it would close in back, the sleeves are set in in such a way as to indicate a front closure like other short or long gowns. The fabric may well be British. From the Mitchell family of rural New York State.

Girl's Dress, about 1885

This is a fairly inexpensive and rather short ready-to-wear dress for a young girl. It is surely a summer or spring dress - light in color and easily washable. Dresses of this type were often advertised in clothing catalogs of the mid-1880s.

Embroidered Pink Silk Taffeta Girl's Dress, about 1905

Pink silk taffeta dress with flowers embroidered in silk on yoke, sleeve cuffs and skirt. High neck, with ruffled lace forming stand collar. Long set-in sleeves with turnover cuffs. Yoke and drop waist with rather crude hand smocking. Short pleated skirt. Center-back opening with four mother-of-pearl buttons. Machine-sewn, but gathering on bodice is done by large hand-stitching. Some top-stitching executed in machine stitches of chain-stitch with silk thread; interior seams of cotton thread in l…

Breeches, about 1800-1825

Girl's Dress, 1915-1920

This lovely, loose-flowing Arts and Crafts-inspired dress belonged to Alleen Kelly Feiss and is the only truly higher-style Arts and Crafts girl's dress in The Henry Ford's collection.The Arts and Crafts-style decorative embroidery is quite distinctive.