My latest blog was about ladies’ fashions of years gone by, specifically their hats. While browsing through our numerous cabinet photos, I came across some with children. They were quite fascinating and sure made me smile! I remembered reading that it was commonplace to dress little boys in dresses years back, not just for their Baptism, but special occasions. The boys of today (and, their fathers) would cringe at the idea. (Probably afraid mom would bring out one of the photos to show a prom date who would quickly spread the story to their group of friends.) One of the photos we had actually has the name of the child written on the back . It reads “Joshua Owens” which confirmed the concept. Awww, isn’t he cute?
I found some others that showed the boys (this time toddlers) in short pants and collars that were huge and ruffled. The cuffs on their shirts were also white, lacy and fancy (reminds you of the Puffy Shirt in the old Seinfeld Show.)
As you may know, ’store-bought’ clothing was pretty darn expensive and mom did most of the sewing for the entire family. It is quite evident in some of the photos. Especially when all three boys were pictured in varying sizes of the same suit. 
From the same cloth, of course. You can see evidence of the thought process of wearing them until they did not fit at all. Sleeves were short on the older boys, too long on the youngest. I am not sure at what age the boys could begin to wear long pants, probably the early teens would be my best guess.
One of the photos is a puzzler. You cannot tell if this is a boy or a girl. The haircut does not give it away, there are straps on the shoes which MAY mean it is a girl. The short set has 
wide pockets. Guess it will remain a mystery. (Now, why didn’t mom put their name on this one?)
The photo with the two boys is a charmer. They sort of have the Little Lord Fauntleroy thing going on. Shirts with wide, white collars and large bows too. It made me giggle a bit. The older boy has his arm around his brother. I have a picture of my older brother, Mike, and me. He is about 4 years older and the picture shows him hugging me. When I was in my teens, I showed it to him and said I thought it was so sweet. 
He stared for a minute and then blurted out “they had to pay me a dollar to do that you know!” It sort of ruined the moment but in retrospect, it has become one of my favorite memories of him! He was quite a character.
I wish all people would have the good sense to mark the names on the backs of photos. Many of today’s pictures are on a ‘disc’ and are rarely put onto photographic paper. Even if they are, it is doubtful that those taking the pictures or folks featured in them will make a list of dates, and names. It sure would be helpful to future generations. Photos have always been and will remain one of our greatest treasures and valuable deposits in our memory banks.
