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Changing styles show children's outlandish dress

Alex Moss
BBC News, Yorkshire
Leeds Museums and Galleries A portrait of a child dressed in a long dress-like gown with a lace neck ruff, hat and lace apron. The child has a gold chain over his shoulder and is holding a rattle with one hand and an apple with the other. There is a small dog jumping up at his side.Leeds Museums and Galleries
Visitors will have the chance to join a discussion about the Child with Rattle portrait

The outlandish outfits worn by children hundreds of years ago are being explored as part of an exhibition in Leeds.

Fashion at Play, at Lotherton Hall, charts the changing fashions from toddlers to teenagers dating back to the 1600s.

Visitors will have a chance to learn about the trend of dressing children like adults and see how ostentatious outfits were designed to capture a family's wealth and status.

Curator Natalie Raw said: "Unfortunately for the children depicted in some of these family portraits, it's probably fair to say they wouldn't have chosen these outfits for themselves."

The event includes a talk on the famous portrait of Child with Rattle, from 1611, which features toddler Henry Frederick Howard, the future third Earl of Arundel, sporting an opulent costume.

Other outfits on show include those worn by youngsters Elizabeth and Edward, captured in a painting from around 1740.

Aged around 12, Edward had been dressed in an adult suit, sporting a large wig and holding a dress sword in an effort to make him look like a grown-up gentleman for the portrait.

Leeds Museums and Galleries A portrait of a girl and a boy. They are stood together holding hands. The girl is wearing a gold and silver gown while the boy is wearing a pink long jacket with ruffles sleeves and a blue undercoat. He is holding a dress sword.Leeds Museums and Galleries
The exhibition showcases some of the more unusual outfits worn by children hundreds of years ago
Leeds Museums and Galleries A black and white picture of a man and boy riding matching penny farthing bikes on a cobbled street. They are both dressed in suits and a hat.Leeds Museums and Galleries
It will explore the history of children's fashion from the 1600s to the modern day

It also features a picture of a father and son in Wakefield wearing suits and riding matching penny farthing bikes, as well as a carefully posed picture of a mother and daughter from the 1860s both in formal dress.

Ms Raw, Leeds Museums and Galleries' curator of costume and textiles, said the tradition of children wearing grown up outfits was one that had endured for hundreds of years.

She added: "The reasons for this have varied, from wanting to convey wealth and status in aristocratic circles, to a simple expression of affection between parents and their children."

David Lindsay Two women dressed in black tending to a child's dress on a clothes stand. They are stood in the hall of a grand house. David Lindsay
The Lotherton Hall display runs until October

She said the talk was part of a wider exhibition, Fashion at Play, looking at how the changing styles worn by babies through to teenagers from the 1600s to the modern day gave a glimpse into society's attitudes towards growing up.

The talk takes place on 24 June while the exhibition runs until 12 October.

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