1860s Fashion - Tumblr Posts
Why does Alice wear an apron?
During the 19th and early 20th centuries (Alice in wonderland taking place in 1865) it was common for young children to wear a pinafore or apron on top of their clothing to keep it clean. Because naturally children are messy and clothes are expensive and in a world before fast fashion you didn’t have a lot of clothes so you have to keep yours nice. So Alice being around seven at the time of the first book it is (in a historical context) unsurprising that Alice wears an apron/pinafore as most children her a age and younger would have. That is why Alice is always portrayed with her apron but of course as the decades went by this historical context has been lost to most people.
This is also why in the Alice in wonderland 2010 movie 19-year old Alice doesn’t have her now iconic apron. By that point in her life Alice should be wearing adult clothing. And although the movie doesn’t have the best historically accurate costuming I do appreciate the small historical detail none the less.
Portrait of Queen Olga of Greece (1867) by Nikiforos Lytras. Collection of Tina and Michalis Krasakis, Munich.