Note in particular that party clothes are quickly outgrown, while a horse lasts for years. Handmedown clothes are taken for granted in most children's books before, say, 1970.

Clothes are a great deal less expensive than they used to be; cloth is cheap, while labor is expensive. As recently as the 1950s cloth was so expensive that women were taught elaborate darning and remaking techniques to make sure that a fabric's useful life was as long as possible. Mrs. Marlow's old dresses are a very valuable resource to the family.