2-703-437 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'The Blunt Children', 1766-1770, (1948). Portrait thought to be of Robert Blunt (born 1760) and William Blunt (born 1761). From the mid-16th century until the late 19th century, young boys in the Western world wore gowns or dresses for their first few years. The main reason for keeping boys 'unbreeched' was for ease of toilet training, as the fastenings of many early modern breeches and trousers were quite complicated. Painting in the collection of the Birmingham Museums Trust. From "English Fashion", by Alison Settle. [Collins, London, 1948]