On our previous visit to the city, there was an exhibition of vintage children’s clothing at the big museum. It was mostly boring because most of the exhibits were dresses… but it was interesting too because one tends to learn things that they never knew beforehand. One thing I learned at that exhibition was that boys did once wear dresses. “We used to.” I said. “They had some at that exhibition.”

“Oh yes they did didn’t they!” Mum replied in an almost enlightened tone. She stepped into the stall and began browsing. I dutifully followed but felt more than a little out of place. “Some of these aren’t dissimilar to some of those dresses.” she commented, referring back to the exhibition.

“Which ones?” I asked. “The boys or the girls?”

“Both really.” she smiled. “There wasn’t much difference between the boy’s and girl’s dresses.”

I cast my mind back and visualised some of the photographic exhibits and Mum is absolutely right.

 

“It’s weird that boys used to wear dresses, and now we don’t… but girls never used to wear pants, and now they do.” I pondered.

“It is when you think about it isn’t it.” Mum replied as she perused some pastel coloured petticoats.

“It’d make more sense if we just wore both.”

“I suppose it would.” Mum replied. “But if there’s one thing you’ll learn when you’re a grown up…” she paused as she picked up a shoe. “…most of the time the world doesn’t make much sense.” She put the shoe back and having browsed all the around the tiny stall, she asked if I’d seen anything I like.