How Did Rousseau Keep Children In Frocks?
Rousseau advocated keeping children in frocks for as long as possible and then allowing them to wear loose-fitting clothing that did not constrict their movements. Toward the end of the 1770s, a new type of dress for boys began to emerge. Knee breeches were cast off in favor of trousers, which were emerging for the first time as acceptable fashionable dress. Trousers, buttoned together at the waist, were accompanied by a short jacket, an outfit that became known as a skeleton suit and usually worn with a soft fall collar shirt. At the same time it became fashionable for young girls to wear light unboned muslin frocks, short sleeved with a natural waistline and adorned with a simple ribbon sash about the waist. These new styles