The Surprising History of Children's Fashion Through the Decades

For most of human history, the history of children's fashion can be summed up in a single sentence: there was none. Kids simply wore shrunken versions of whatever their parents had on. And here is a fact that surprises almost everyone who hears it -- well into the early 1900s, boys regularly wore pink dresses. Yes, pink. And yes, dresses.

Children's clothing history is full of these jaw-dropping reveals. The very idea that kids should dress differently from adults is barely two centuries old. Before that, toddlers were laced into corsets, three-year-olds wore powdered wigs, and nobody batted an eye. Fast forward to the present, and the global children's apparel market is a massive industry worth an estimated over $260 billion, filled with trends that change almost as fast as adult fashion.

So how did we get here? How did kids clothing change over decades from identical mini-adult garments to an entire universe of neon sneakers, character pajamas, and gender-neutral capsule wardrobes? That is exactly what this article explores. We are going on a nostalgic, surprising, and occasionally hilarious trip through the evolution of kids fashion -- from breeching ceremonies to butterfly clips, from flour-sack Depression-era dresses to TikTok-viral matching family outfits.

Understanding the children's fashion timeline reveals something profound: the way we dress our kids has always been a mirror reflecting our deepest cultural values. Every shift in hemline, every new fabric, every color convention tells us something about how a society viewed childhood, gender, freedom, and self-expression. This is not just fashion history -- it is cultural history told through tiny garments.

Whether you are a millennial parent who still remembers flipping through the Delia's catalog after school, a Gen X parent nostalgic for neon jelly shoes, or you simply love the unexpected twists of fashion history, you are in for a treat. And if you are shopping for children's clothing that blends today's trends with timeless charm, PatPat offers an incredible range of affordable, stylish options for every age. Now, let us dive in.

Why Children Were Dressed as Miniature Adults for Centuries

Before we explore the children's fashion timeline decade by decade, we need to understand a fundamental truth: for centuries, childhood as we know it did not exist. Children were viewed as small adults. They worked, they married young, and -- unsurprisingly -- they dressed exactly like their parents.

If you look at portraits from the 1600s and 1700s, you will see toddlers wearing the same elaborate ruffs, corsets, and buckled shoes as their mothers and fathers. Girls as young as three wore stiff bodices with boned stays. Boys were fitted with miniature breeches and waistcoats. According to The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, there was virtually no distinction between adult and children's garments until the late eighteenth century.

This was not cruelty -- it was simply how people understood the world. The concept of "childhood" as a protected, playful, separate stage of life had not been invented yet. The French historian Philippe Aries argued in his landmark work Centuries of Childhood that before the seventeenth century, Western society largely did not recognize childhood as a distinct category at all. Children were economic assets, not sentimental treasures, and their clothing reflected that reality.

So when did children start wearing different clothes from adults? The answer lies in a surprising place: philosophy.

The Breeching Tradition -- When All Toddlers Wore Gowns

One of the most fascinating chapters in Victorian children's clothing involves a tradition called "breeching." Until roughly age five to seven, all young children -- boys and girls alike -- wore long white gowns. There was no pink section and no blue section. Every toddler, regardless of gender, wore essentially the same garment.

When a boy reached the appropriate age, his family held a formal ceremony to mark his transition into trousers. This was called "breeching," and it was a genuine milestone -- often celebrated with gifts, family gatherings, and even special portraits. Think of it as the nineteenth-century equivalent of a birthday party, but for pants. Letters and diaries from the era reveal that boys eagerly anticipated breeching day, viewing it as their entry into "big boy" territory.

Why did boys wear dresses in the 1800s? The reasons were deeply practical, not ideological. Long gowns made diaper changes far easier in an era before modern fasteners. Gender-neutral clothing could be handed down to the next child regardless of sex, which mattered enormously when fabric was expensive and families were large. A single well-made gown might serve four or five children across a decade.

Even prominent figures followed this tradition. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was famously photographed at age two in a white dress with long hair -- completely normal for his era, but absolutely shocking to modern eyes. When this photo circulates on social media today, it consistently goes viral because it so thoroughly contradicts our contemporary assumptions about gendered clothing.

How the Enlightenment Sparked the First Children's Clothing Revolution

The philosophical seeds of change were planted in the 1760s when Jean-Jacques Rousseau published Emile, a treatise arguing that children deserved freedom, play, and clothing suited to their active bodies -- not miniature corsets. Rousseau wrote passionately against the practice of swaddling infants and binding children into rigid garments. He believed that restrictive clothing literally stunted children's physical and moral development.

Rousseau's influence was enormous. Gradually, mothers across Europe began dressing their children in simpler, looser garments made from lighter fabrics. Muslin replaced heavy brocade. Sashes replaced corsets. The shift was slow -- we are talking decades, not seasons -- but it was real and irreversible.

By the late 1800s, purpose-designed children's garments started to appear in earnest. Sailor suits became wildly popular after Queen Victoria dressed young Prince Albert Edward in one for a royal yacht trip in 1846. The trend swept across Europe and America, and variations of the sailor suit remained a children's fashion staple for nearly a century. Meanwhile, Kate Greenaway's illustrations of children in flowing, romantic clothing inspired an entire aesthetic movement that prioritized beauty and comfort over formality. For the first time in the history of children's fashion, kids had their own look -- and parents were eager to embrace it.

When Pink Was for Boys and Blue Was for Girls -- Color and Gender in Early Kids Fashion (1900s-1930s)

Here is the single most shareable fact in all of children's clothing history: the pink-for-girls, blue-for-boys color code that seems so "natural" today is actually less than a century old -- and it used to be reversed.

The Great Pink-Blue Swap -- A Surprising History of Gendered Children's Clothing

In 1918, the trade publication Earnshaw's Infants' Department stated plainly that "the generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls". Pink was seen as a stronger, more decided color derived from red, while blue was considered dainty and delicate -- more suitable for girls.

The reversal happened gradually through the 1920s and 1930s, driven not by psychology or nature but by department store marketing. Some historians point to the influence of Mamie Eisenhower's famous love of pink in the 1950s as a factor that helped cement the association in the popular imagination. Retailers eventually settled on the opposite convention, and by the late 1940s, the pink-for-girls association was locked in. This history of gendered children's clothing shows just how arbitrary color assignments really are -- and it is a powerful reminder that many things we assume are "natural" are actually quite recent cultural inventions.

Beyond colors, the early 1900s brought genuine progress for children's comfort and freedom of movement. Hemlines shortened dramatically. Play clothes emerged as a distinct category for the first time -- separate from "dress" clothes and "school" clothes. The 1920s children's clothing revolution introduced the "romper," the first mass-market garment designed specifically for kids to run, climb, and tumble in. This was revolutionary. For the first time, a children's garment acknowledged that kids were supposed to move.

The 1920s also saw the rise of children's clothing departments in major stores. Previously, children's garments were scattered throughout adult sections or made at home. Now, dedicated aisles and catalogs made it easier for parents to shop specifically for their kids. The concept of "children's fashion" as a retail category was being born.

Flour-Sack Dresses and the Depression Era -- How Economy Shaped Kids' Wardrobes

The Great Depression forced families to rethink everything, including how they dressed their children. When money disappeared, creativity took its place. Mothers across America began sewing children's clothing from cotton flour sacks and feed bags.

The practice became so widespread that flour and feed companies began packaging their products in printed fabric sacks with cheerful patterns -- florals, ginghams, plaids, and even cartoon characters -- knowing that mothers would turn them into dresses, shirts, and curtains. It was marketing genius born from economic desperation. Companies that offered the prettiest patterns actually sold more flour, because mothers chose their grain based on which fabric they wanted for their children's next outfit. Think about that for a moment -- a bag of flour became a fashion choice.

Meanwhile, Hollywood offered a glamorous counterpoint to Depression-era hardship. Shirley Temple became the single biggest influence on 1930s girls' fashion. Her ringlet curls, pinafore dresses, and polka-dot outfits were copied by mothers nationwide. Temple was not just a movie star -- she was a walking children's fashion brand, decades before the concept officially existed. Mothers would bring her photographs to dressmakers and say, "Make my daughter look like that."

Great Depression era kids fashion was defined by this fascinating tension between scarcity and aspiration. Families had little money, but they still wanted their children to look adorable. A flour-sack dress might be made from humble materials, but it could be cut and styled to mimic the latest Shirley Temple look. This resourcefulness and creativity would echo through future generations of children's fashion -- proving that style has never been solely about budget.

The Golden Age of Kids' Style -- Post-War Fashion and the Rise of Teen Culture (1940s-1960s)

The post-war era fundamentally transformed what kids wore in America and beyond. Economic prosperity, new materials, and a revolutionary invention called television combined to create the first true golden age of children's fashion.

During the 1940s, wartime utility clothing shaped children's wardrobes in ways both practical and poignant. Government-regulated fabric restrictions -- part of broader rationing programs across the United States and Britain -- meant simpler cuts, fewer buttons, shorter hemlines, and limited color options. Children's clothing during World War II was functional above all else. Victory garden prints and patriotic motifs appeared on kids' garments, turning even toddler dresses into expressions of national solidarity.

But once the war ended, a wave of optimism -- and spending -- washed over families. The post-war economic boom gave parents disposable income they had not seen in over a decade. Kids finally got wardrobes that reflected fun, not austerity. And a brand-new technology was about to change children's fashion forever.

How Television First Transformed What Kids Wore in the 1950s

The 1950s changed everything. For the first time in history, children could see what other kids were wearing through the television screen. Shows like Leave It to Beaver and The Mickey Mouse Club became accidental style guides for millions of American families.

What did kids wear in the 50s? Girls swooned over poodle skirts, bobby socks, and saddle shoes. Boys wore cuffed jeans, plaid shirts, and leather jackets (thank you, James Dean). But the real revolution was character-driven merchandise. The Davy Crockett coonskin cap craze of 1955 proved that television could make a single accessory into a nationwide obsession overnight. Mickey Mouse Club ears followed, establishing the template for character licensing that still drives children's fashion today.

The 1950s also solidified rigid gender-specific children's clothing in ways that would persist for half a century. Pink was firmly for girls, blue for boys, and department stores organized their children's sections accordingly. Toy aisles and clothing aisles reinforced each other -- the pink doll aisle flowed seamlessly into the pink dress section. This era cemented the gendered shopping experience that became so normalized that most people assumed it had existed forever. (As we now know, it had not.)

Mod Kids and Space-Age Style -- 1960s Children's Fashion Breaks the Mold

The 1960s blew the doors open. The youth culture explosion that gave adults miniskirts and psychedelic prints filtered directly down to children. Bold geometric patterns, bright primary colors, and space-age motifs replaced the conservative pastels of the previous decade.

Designers like Pierre Cardin and Andre Courreges created futuristic adult collections, and children's wear manufacturers quickly adapted the aesthetic for smaller bodies. Kids wore mod-inspired shift dresses, go-go boots, and outfits featuring rockets and planets. The space race was not just on television -- it was on T-shirts, pajamas, and lunchboxes.

The 1960s also brought a materials revolution to children's clothing. Synthetic fabrics -- polyester, nylon, and acrylic -- made kids' clothes cheaper, more colorful, and more durable than ever before. A polyester dress could survive hundreds of washes without losing its shape or color. The downside? These fabrics would later raise serious safety concerns around flammability, setting the stage for the regulatory changes of the following decade.

By the late 1960s, hippie culture began influencing children's clothing in earnest. Tie-dye shirts, peace-symbol patches, fringe vests, and denim everything started appearing in kids' closets. The first hints of a unisex children's clothing movement emerged, with some parents dressing sons and daughters in similar earthy, natural-fiber garments. The counterculture was setting the stage for the decade that followed.

Neon, Cartoons, and Brand Mania -- How Pop Culture Shaped 70s and 80s Kids Fashion

If the 1950s and 1960s planted the seeds of pop culture influence on kids fashion, the 1970s and 1980s turned it into a full-blown explosion. These two decades transformed children from passive wearers of parent-chosen clothing into active participants -- and sometimes demanding dictators -- of their own wardrobes.

Bell-Bottoms to Safety Standards -- The 1970s Children's Clothing Revolution

The 1970s hippie movement brought a wave of earth tones, natural fabrics, and unisex sizing to children's aisles. Bell bottoms for kids became a staple. Corduroy, rainbow motifs, and macrame details defined the 70s children's outfits that millennial grandparents still remember fondly.

One brand perfectly captured the era's spirit: Garanimals. Launched in 1972, it used animal tags so children could match their own outfits without help -- a lion top went with lion bottoms, a giraffe shirt with giraffe pants. It was brilliantly simple and gave kids their first taste of fashion independence. Parents loved it because it eliminated morning battles over mismatched outfits. Kids loved it because they felt empowered. The brand was so successful that it still exists today, more than fifty years later -- a testament to the genius of making fashion accessible to its youngest consumers.

The 1970s also marked a critical turning point in children's clothing safety. The Flammable Fabrics Act of 1972 established strict fire-resistance standards for children's sleepwear, fundamentally changing how kids' pajamas were designed and manufactured. This children's clothing safety regulations history is often overlooked, but it saved countless lives.

Character Licensing Explosion -- When Saturday Morning Cartoons Became a Fashion Statement

The 1980s turned children into walking brand ambassadors. 80s kids fashion was defined by a completely new phenomenon: the character licensing explosion. Care Bears, Transformers, My Little Pony, He-Man, Strawberry Shortcake, and Ghostbusters were not just cartoons -- they were entire wardrobes.

Saturday morning television became a three-hour fashion show. Kids watched their favorite characters, then demanded pajamas, T-shirts, lunchboxes, and sneakers featuring those same characters. The economics were staggering -- by the mid-1980s, character licensing was generating billions in children's merchandise revenue. Star Wars merchandise alone earned billions within a few years of the original film's release, and much of that revenue came from children's products.

Here is the counterintuitive insight about 1980s character licensing: it actually democratized children's fashion. Before this era, stylish children's clothing was primarily driven by parental taste and family income. But a Ghostbusters T-shirt cost the same whether your family was wealthy or working-class. Character clothing gave every child access to the same cultural currency, and the schoolyard became a more level playing field -- at least in terms of fashion identity.

Beyond characters, the 80s aesthetic was unmistakable:

• Neon colors -- hot pink, electric blue, fluorescent green, and acid yellow
• Acid-washed denim -- jackets, jeans, and even skirts
• Jelly shoes -- those translucent plastic sandals every kid owned
• Leg warmers and scrunchies -- workout culture for kids
• MTV-inspired looks -- Madonna's lace gloves and Michael Jackson's red leather jacket, scaled down for the schoolyard

This decade also launched sneaker culture for children. Nike and Reebok began marketing directly to kids, and the concept of "cool" shoes -- not just functional ones -- became part of childhood for the first time. A child's social status could rise or fall based on whether they wore the right brand of sneakers. This was a seismic shift. For centuries, children had worn whatever shoes their parents could afford. Now, for the first time, footwear carried social meaning in the schoolyard.

The 80s represented the moment when children's fashion stopped being solely a parental decision. Kids watched TV, saw what their favorite characters wore, and went to their parents with specific demands. The power dynamic had shifted permanently, and the children's fashion industry would never be the same.

What Kids Wore in the 90s and 2000s -- Nostalgia, Iconic Brands, and the Y2K Effect

If you are a millennial parent, this is the section that will hit you right in the feelings. The 1990s and early 2000s represent the peak era for distinct children's fashion identity -- a time when what you wore to school could make or break your entire social standing.

Limited Too, Delia's, and the Brands That Defined 90s Kids Fashion

90s kids fashion was not just about clothing. It was about identity. The brands you wore told the world who you were. And a handful of now-iconic names dominated the landscape:

• Limited Too -- Glitter, butterfly motifs, and a shopping experience that felt like a rite of passage
• Delia's -- The catalog that arrived in mailboxes and was studied like sacred text. Before the internet, Delia's was how tweens discovered trends
• Gap Kids -- Khakis, denim, and logo hoodies that defined "classic cool"
• OshKosh B'Gosh -- Those overalls. You know the ones
• The Children's Place -- Affordable trendy basics for every family

The 90s children's clothing aesthetic was unmistakable: overalls (worn with one strap down, naturally), platform sneakers, butterfly clips cascading through hair, slap bracelets on every wrist, and mood rings on every finger.

Television continued its role as the ultimate fashion tastemaker for children. Saved by the Bell gave kids neon-meets-preppy style inspiration -- Zack Morris's layered look and Kelly Kapowski's crop tops became playground aspirations. Full House popularized the cute-casual aesthetic, making flannel shirts and high-waisted jeans standard uniform for preteen girls. And The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air made bold prints, inside-out clothing, oversized silhouettes, and high-top sneakers aspirational for an entire generation. Will Smith's character did not just wear clothes -- he wore statements.

The 90s also introduced an entirely new fashion accessory category for children. Slap bracelets, mood rings, jelly bracelets, choker necklaces, and those iconic butterfly clips that cascaded through every girl's hair -- accessories were no longer reserved for adults. Kids had their own accessory culture, and it was enormous.

Perhaps most significantly, the 1990s created the "tween" demographic. For the first time, children aged eight to twelve were recognized as a distinct market segment with their own fashion preferences, spending power, and brand loyalties. Retailers realized that this age group did not want to shop in the "little kids" section but was not ready for teen fashion either. This was a watershed moment in children's fashion history, and it created an entirely new retail category that persists today.

Y2K Kids Fashion and the Rise of Fast Fashion for Children

The early 2000s brought a sparkly, logo-obsessed energy to children's wardrobes. Y2K kids fashion was characterized by:

• Low-rise jeans (yes, even in kids' sizes)
• Velour tracksuits in every color, inspired by Juicy Couture
• Rhinestone embellishments on everything
• Butterfly and floral motifs everywhere
• The Disney Channel effect -- That's So Raven, Lizzie McGuire, and later Hannah Montana turned child actors into fashion icons

The 2000s also marked the arrival of fast fashion in the children's market. H&M Kids, Zara Kids, and other mass-market retailers dramatically accelerated trend cycles for children. What had previously taken a season to filter down from runway to kids' aisles now happened in weeks. Suddenly, children's clothing was not just affordable -- it was disposable. A new outfit for the price of a fast-food meal became the norm.

This democratization of children's fashion had real benefits. Families who had previously struggled to keep their kids in trendy clothes now had access to stylish options at every price point. But it also brought growing environmental concerns. The sheer volume of children's clothing being produced, worn a handful of times, and discarded was staggering. These concerns would define the next decade's conversation about what responsible children's fashion should look like.

How Modern Children's Fashion Embraces Sustainability and Gender-Neutral Design (2010s-2020s)

The most recent chapter in the evolution of kids fashion is defined by two powerful cultural movements: sustainability and inclusivity. After decades of fast fashion, throwaway trends, and rigid gender categories, the pendulum has swung decisively in a new direction.

The 2010s brought a growing backlash against the environmental toll of disposable clothing. Parents began asking difficult questions: Why does a toddler need a wardrobe that changes every season? Why are we filling landfills with clothes worn three times? The answers drove a surge in organic cotton, recycled fabrics, capsule wardrobes for kids, and secondhand shopping.

The Return of Gender-Neutral Kids Clothing -- A Full-Circle Moment in Fashion History

Here is a delicious irony in the gender neutral kids clothing history: the "new" trend of unisex children's clothing is actually a return to how children dressed for most of history. Remember those white gowns that all toddlers wore in the 1800s? In many ways, modern gender-neutral fashion is simply coming full circle.

Major milestones in this movement include Target's 2015 decision to remove gendered signage from its children's departments, and the launch of numerous brands built entirely around unisex designs. Earth tones, muted palettes, and simple silhouettes replaced the aggressive pink-or-blue binary that had dominated since the post-war era. Retailers discovered that many parents actively preferred clothing that could be passed between siblings regardless of gender -- echoing, whether they realized it or not, the exact same practical logic that drove the breeching tradition two centuries earlier.

If you are looking for modern gender-neutral options, PatPat offers a wonderful gender-neutral baby clothes collection that blends contemporary style with everyday comfort.

Matching Family Outfits -- From Victorian Portraits to Instagram Feeds

The matching family outfit trend might seem like an Instagram invention, but coordinated family dressing has deep historical roots. Victorian families posed for formal portraits in carefully coordinated ensembles. In the 1950s, department stores sold matching mother-daughter dresses as aspirational sets.

Social media simply turbocharged an existing tradition and gave it global reach. Today, matching family outfits are among the most shared content on Instagram and TikTok, with holiday-themed coordinated sets generating enormous engagement every season. Christmas card photos, beach vacation shots, and birthday celebrations all become opportunities for coordinated family fashion moments. The trend shows no signs of slowing down -- it has become a genuine cultural staple that bridges generational differences, economic backgrounds, and personal styles.

PatPat's matching family outfits collection offers dozens of coordinated sets for every occasion, carrying forward a tradition that stretches back over a century.

Social media also created the "mini-me" phenomenon. Instagram accounts dedicated to stylish children amassed millions of followers. Parents became curators of their children's public style, and the line between dressing a child for their own enjoyment and dressing them for an audience became increasingly blurred. TikTok outfit-of-the-day videos featuring children became their own content genre, influencing purchasing decisions for millions of parents worldwide.

The 2010s and 2020s also saw groundbreaking developments in adaptive clothing and inclusive sizing. Major retailers have introduced dedicated adaptive clothing lines for children with disabilities -- featuring magnetic closures instead of buttons, sensory-friendly fabrics without scratchy tags, and seated-wear designs that looked stylish and felt comfortable. This represents perhaps the most meaningful evolution in children's clothing history: fashion that truly serves every child, regardless of ability.

Vintage-Inspired Kids Fashion Today -- How to Channel Every Decade in Your Child's Wardrobe

Now for the fun part. After traveling through centuries of children's fashion history, you might be inspired to bring some vintage charm into your own child's closet. The good news? Today's affordable trendy children's fashion makes it easier than ever to channel any decade's aesthetic without the custom-made price tags of previous centuries.

Here is a quick style guide for translating historical inspiration into modern outfits:

Two current aesthetic movements are keeping vintage children's fashion alive. The "cottagecore" trend draws on pastoral, old-fashioned silhouettes -- think floral prints, smocked bodices, and straw hats. Meanwhile, the "kidcore" aesthetic celebrates bold, primary colors and playful, retro-inspired patterns that look straight out of a 1980s Saturday morning cartoon.

The retro kids fashion comeback is not just about nostalgia. It is about recognizing that great design is timeless. A well-made Peter Pan collar dress is just as charming today as it was seventy years ago. A pair of classic overalls looks just as cool on today's toddler as it did on a 1990s kid posing for a school photo. The difference is that you no longer need a seamstress or a time machine -- you can find vintage inspired kids clothes at accessible price points from brands like PatPat that blend classic aesthetics with modern comfort, safety standards, and quality construction.

What makes today's vintage-inspired children's fashion better than the originals? Modern fabrics are softer, more durable, and easier to wash. Safety standards ensure no choking hazards or harmful chemicals. And the price points are dramatically lower than the custom-made garments of previous centuries. You get the charm of the past with the convenience and safety of the present -- and that is a combination worth celebrating.

Frequently Asked Questions About Children's Fashion History

From Miniature Corsets to Matching Family Sets -- The Journey Continues

Looking back across centuries of children's clothing history, one thing becomes strikingly clear: how we dress our kids has always reflected our deepest beliefs about childhood itself. When society viewed children as small adults, they wore small adult clothes. When Enlightenment thinkers argued for freedom and play, clothing became looser and more practical. When television and pop culture took center stage, kids became brand ambassadors. When economic hardship struck, families turned flour sacks into fashion. And now, as sustainability and inclusivity define our values, children's fashion is evolving once again.

The history of children's fashion is really a history of changing ideas -- about gender, about childhood, about what matters most. Every flour-sack dress sewn during the Depression, every neon jelly shoe from the 1980s, every pair of 90s overalls worn with one strap down -- they all tell a story about the era that created them. These tiny garments carry enormous cultural weight.

And here is the most exciting part: this story is still being written. Right now, today, you are making choices about how to dress your children that future generations will look back on with the same mixture of nostalgia and amazement that we feel when we see Victorian toddlers in corsets. Whether you are channeling 1950s charm with a Peter Pan collar, embracing 1990s cool with relaxed denim, or coordinating the whole family in matching outfits for the holiday card, you are participating in a tradition that stretches back centuries. How kids clothing changed over decades is not just a history lesson -- it is an ongoing conversation between past and present, and you are part of it.

If this journey through the evolution of kids fashion has inspired you to explore styles that blend timeless charm with modern comfort, PatPat offers an incredible selection of affordable children's clothing for every age, every style, and every family. From character-themed favorites to matching family sets, there is something for every chapter of your family's own fashion story.

What did you wear as a kid? Do you remember your first pair of jelly shoes, your favorite Delia's catalog outfit, or the cartoon character pajamas you refused to take off? Share your childhood fashion memories -- because every generation adds a new chapter to this surprising, wonderful story.

Further Reading and Resources

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art -- The Costume Institute
• Smithsonian National Museum of American History -- Collections
• Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) -- Fashion History Timeline
• The Conversation -- Pink for Girls, Blue for Boys: Not Always So