Pantalettes

Pantalettes

Young boy in pantalettes, 1836.
Type	Underwear

Pantalettes were leg-covering undergarments worn by women, girls, and very young boys before breeching, primarily during the early to mid-19th century. Though their popularity declined as fashion evolved, they remained in use into the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in conservative communities or as part of traditional dress. By the early 1900s, pantalettes had largely been replaced by open-crotch drawers, which aligned more closely with evolving fashion preferences.

First introduced in France in the early 19th century, pantalettes quickly gained popularity in Britain and America. They were leg-covering undergarments, sometimes resembling leggings, and could be either a single-piece garment or two separate sections—one for each leg—fastened at the waist with buttons or ties. The open-crotch design was a common feature, intended for hygiene and practicality. It also allowed women, girls, and young boys to use various restroom facilities more easily without needing to remove multiple layers of clothing, which was particularly useful in an era of limited sanitation options.

Ankle-length pantalettes for women were worn beneath crinolines and hoop skirts to maintain modesty in case their legs were exposed. Pantalettes for children and young girls were mid-calf to ankle-length and designed to be visible beneath shorter skirts. Until the mid-19th century, very young boys were commonly dressed in dresses, gowns, and pantalettes—garments more closely associated with girls' clothing—until they were breeched, typically between the ages of 2 and 8, sometimes older.^[1] This style of dress for young boys persisted at least until they were toilet-trained.

Most often made from white linen, pantalettes were frequently adorned with decorative elements such as tucks, lace, cutwork, or broderie anglaise, reflecting broader clothing traditions of the time.

An Irish reel bears the title of "The Ladies' Pantalettes".^[2]

The US Virgin Islands folk song "Over the Side", records how smuggler and suffragist Ella Gifft used her pantalettes to hide the rum that she was illegally importing there, during the Prohibition era.^[3][4][5]

In the 1939 film Gone with the Wind Rhett Butler tells Scarlett O'Hara, upon his return from Paris, France, that pantalettes are out of style there.

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  A pantalette undergarment with an open-crotch design, exemplifying 19th-century fashion's blend of practicality and modesty, featuring a gathered waist and lace-trimmed cuffs
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  A pantalette undergarment with a distinctive open-crotch design, featuring lightweight fabric and elegant scalloped hems with floral cut-out detailing, blending historical practicality with decorative refinement
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  A pair of open-crotch pantalette undergarments, crafted from lightweight fabric with a straight-leg silhouette, on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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  Vintage white pantalettes with an open-crotch design, featuring a button closure at the waist and floral lace trim at the cuffs, showcasing historical practicality and decorative elegance, 1830s
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  The three graces in pantalettes, ca 1800
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  Girl, 1810
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  1830
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  1850
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  1850s
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  1866
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  1872

• Leggings
• Undergarment

• C. Willett Cunnington & Phillis Cunnington, The History of Underclothes 1951, Dover. ISBN 0-486-27124-2.

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Look up pantalettes in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Historical Boys' Clothing - Pantalettes