Down near the bottom: Yes, just as boys were often put in shorts, girls wore non-ruffly "play dresses" or "sun dresses", that were about as practical as such a garment can hope to be. The reason was that the knees would be the first thing to wear out if you put an active, outdoor kid in long pants, and the things would wind up being cut-off shorts anyway. The "unisex" option of the 1970s were these horrible things called "kulats", that were kind of like shorty versions of bell-bottoms.
Down near the bottom: Yes, just as boys were often put in shorts, girls wore non-ruffly "play dresses" or "sun dresses", that were about as practical as such a garment can hope to be. The reason was that the knees would be the first thing to wear out if you put an active, outdoor kid in long pants, and the things would wind up being cut-off shorts anyway. The "unisex" option of the 1970s were these horrible things called "kulats", that were kind of like shorty versions of bell-bottoms.
Was that the correct spelling or could it have been "culottes"?
Probably. I don't think I've ever seen that word written, and for sure I haven't heard it spoken in ages.