Shoes

Like that of their parents, children's footwear in the nineteenth century could be lavishly ornamented, as this elegant pair of booties attests. Throughout the century, wealthy children were dressed in smaller versions of the garments worn by adults, although practical clothing for play came into vogue at the beginning of the twentieth century. These leather-soled booties were intended for a slightly older child and most likely made by a professional, but knitted or hand-sewn booties were also a common part of an infant's layette in the nineteenth century.