Figure 1.--This unidentified English boy had his portrait taken in the 1920s or 30s. The frame suggests that it was taken in the 1920s, probably the late 20s. He seems to be wearing a regular suit rather than a school uniform. Note that he is not wearing a school tie or school socks.

English bys wore suits with several different types of trousers. This varied substantially over time. English boys have worn knee breeches, long pants, kneepants, bloomer knickers, knickers, and short pants suits. We see boys in the 19th century wearing both long pants, bloomer knickers, knee pants and knicker suits. Various factors affected the type of trousers, including chronological fashion trends, age, social class and others. Long trouses were mostly worn at the beginning of the decade, but several different types of trousers were common in the second half of the century. We see many bys wearoing kncler suits at school. Knee pants suits were popular in the early 20th century, but not universal. Many English boys after World War I wore short pants suits. They were very common during the 1920s-40s. The popularity of short pants suits began to decline after the war, especialluy by the late-1950s. They were still available for younger boys in the 70s, but rarely seen since except as part of school uniforms. By the 1960s suits except for very little boys were generally made with long pants. Many schools required boys wear short pants suits or shorts with blazers. Generally suits, other than school suits, were made with long pants by the 1960s.

Created: 3:07 AM 10/24/2008
Last updated: 3:07 AM 10/24/2008