Early 20th C. Teen Mourning Attire

 At most, a girl of thirteen should wear dark gray or white dresses with black hair ribbons, shoes and stockings and other accessories.

What Readers Ask: 

Q. “What is the correct mourning for a girl of thirteen who has recently lost her mother?”

A. In this country, sensible persons do not permit girls in their early teens to wear black, even for a parent. It is positively bad taste to let a 13-year-old girl wear all black or crepe. Even though the elder members of the family wear black, children need make no change in their dress whatever. At most, a girl of thirteen should wear dark gray or white dresses with black hair ribbons, shoes and stockings and other accessories. – Morning Union, 1917

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia