Based on the original study of French Museum collections and fashion archives, this paper explores the rationale behind the Eastern European trend identified from 1860 until 1915 in western children’s fashion. The mechanisms involved in this inspiration are analysed in the historical context of a conflicted European landscape, where the modernisation of society and the industrialisation of the fashion industry question the traditional social patterns. Exploring beyond this context, this paper will establish the meaning of this style for a socialising child and the educational role of clothing.

• https://muse.jhu.edu/article/856045