Fashioning Children: From Angels to Equals: A Case Study of a Danish Fashion Company and their Boutique for Children

The “Long Sixties” was characterized by a series of political and cultural revolts, which fundamentally changed Western democracies. In fashion, this led to an enhanced focus on youth and youthfulness, as well as to more juvenile and casual styles of dress. This article explores how the culture revolution of the 1960s influenced children’s fashion and led to a re-negotiation of children’s social status and rights. The analysis is based on a case study of a particular cultural and commercial actor, Nørgaard paa Strøget, who in 1973 opened one of the first fashion boutiques for children in Denmark. The article focuses on Nørgaard paa Strøget’s designs, buying policies and shop decoration in order to highlight how the new shop was used as a platform for promoting a more progressive approach to children and their upbringing. The study is based on archival and promotional material supplemented by interviews, and draws on discourse analysis in its strategy for data collection and analysis. The article argues that the social upheaval of the 1960s led to a less hierarchical relationship between the generations, and suggests that fashion played an unheeded but important role in this leveling of the hierarchy of age.