In the Victorian era, children, especially girls and younger boys, were often dressed in garments designed to look like miniature adults, reflecting societal views that childhood was a brief, often undesirable period to be rushed through. For little boys, this meant wearing dresses or tunics before their formal "breeching" ceremony, typically around age five or six. Young girls also wore dresses that mirrored adult styles, gradually adopting longer skirts and more complex adult fashion as they approached adolescence.