Ceremonial Clothing in Western Cultures - Leaving Nursery Status

Leaving Nursery Status

Until the late 19th century, young Western boys and girls often wore the same attire: a dress. Unisex infant clothing made changing diapers easier and simplified the passing of garments from one child to the next. When a young boy had reached an age at which he could begin to train in manly pursuits, he would be dressed in pants rather than dresses. Before the 19th century, his clothing might be simply a miniature edition of adult wear. During the 19th century, men wore long pants and boys wore short pants.

In current Western societies, even infant clothing may be marked for gender, and there is no such transition as the donning of the first pair of pants.

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Famous quotes containing the words leaving, nursery and/or status:

    I am leaving the town to the invaders: increasingly numerous, mediocre, dirty, badly behaved, shameless tourists.
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    When we leave our child in nursery school for the first time, it won’t be just our child’s feelings about separation that we will have to cope with, but our own feelings as well—from our present and from our past, parents are extra vulnerable to new tremors from old earthquakes.
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    At all events, as she, Ulster, cannot have the status quo, nothing remains for her but complete union or the most extreme form of Home Rule; that is, separation from both England and Ireland.
    George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)