How Franklin Roosevelt dressed as a child can guide our understanding of changing fashions.

The history of fashion teaches us about expressions of gender identity.

Historical facts can counteract hurtful judgments of children whose clothing disrupts societal expectations.

One striking photo of three-year-old Franklin Delano Roosevelt shows a boy with shoulder-length blond hair and bangs sitting on a stool wearing a white skirt, a white chiffon top, white socks, and black patent-leather shoes. He holds a feathery hat over his skirt-covered knees, looking just to the right of the camera with a demure expression. A typical fashion for young boys—and young girls—at this time.

The photo on the homepage of this post, depicts FDR at the same age in a frilly hat with his dog Budgy, as he poses in a basket saddle on a donkey. The photo to the left, taken in the same time frame, shows a more casual FDR, sitting on a fur rug.1

Why did young FDR wear dresses?

The direct answer is that societal norms led young FDR and other boys to wear dresses. It was the expected fashion of the time. What appears now as a nonconforming, unconventional choice was actually a conforming and conventional choice, and fully accepted.

What is “breeching” and why was it a custom?

From the Victorian era until the early 20th century, boys and girls wore dresses until around age 7, when the boys transitioned to breeches (trousers) in a rite of passage known as “breeching.”

In parts of Europe and the United States, dresses and petticoats were considered children’s clothing. Dresses were easier than pants or breeches when children’s diapers were changed or when children went to the bathroom on their own. With no buttons or other fasteners to deal with, dresses were not only fashionable, they were more practical and functional than pants.

When children started walking, they were “short-coated,” meaning clothed in shorter dresses, so they could walk more easily. Several years after short-coating, some boys were breeched gradually and some were breeched all at once, with breeches replacing all of the boys’ frocks in a ceremonial event similar to today’s birthday party, which also included the first haircut. Wealthier families sent their boys away to school after their breeching ceremony

How are fashions of the past relevant and helpful today?

1. Learning the History of Gender and Clothing Norms. For those perplexed and troubled by children not following gender norms with their clothing, looking back several generations is beneficial. Historical awareness confronts harsh judgments about children today who disrupt........

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