Figure 1.--These three German teenagers were photographed in July 1935 on a bike outing. Notice the older teenage boy wears long-cut knickers. He looks to be about 18 years old. He may have long pants, but wears knickers for casual outings like this. Some images show adults wearing knickers as a kind of sporty pants style.

German age comventions concering pants varied widely chronologically. German boys in the 19th century after breeching mostly wore long pants. We notice age conventions beginning to develop after the mid-19th century. Younger boys after breeching began wearing shortened-length pants such as knee pants and bloomer knickers. This was particularly the case of affluent families. Working-class boys of all ages continued to wear mostly long pants. This did not chnge until the very late-19th century when we see more boys wearing knee pants and bloomer knickers. After the turn of the 20th century more and older German boys began waring knee pants. Bloomer knickers were also worn, but declined in the 1910s. German boys began commonly wearing short pants afer World War I. Most younger boys and some older boys wore shorts, depending on varying parental attitudes. There were age conventions for the various specific pants types. And these varied varied over time as well as among families. Social class was another factor. Long pants were very common in the 19th century for boys. School-age boys commonly wore long pants after breeching. This began to change at mid-century. We see younger children from affluent families wearing fashionable styles like bloomer knickers and knee pants. These shortened styles became more widely worn by the end of the 19th century. Long pants again became very common in the second half of the 20th century. Styles like knee pants and short pants were very common in the first half of the 20th century. Most boys wore them. So did younger teenagers, although here social class was a factor. Some what older boys wore knickers, most commonly teenagers. They were worn until after World War II. Lederhosen were a popular type of pants, although with a strong regional base. The age conventions associated with Lederhosen were not as strong as with other types of pants. The pants worn by each chronological age group is a little complicated because the conventions changed substantially over time. While our information is limited on the early 19th-century, we have a fairly good idea from the mid-19th century as to what type of pants German boys of different ages wore.

Decade Trends

German age comventions concering pants varied widely chronologically. Long pants became popular for boys before they were fashionable for men. Men in the early 19th cntury still wore knee breeches, although working-class men might wear long trousers. German boys troughout the 19th century after breeching mostly wore long pants. We notice age conventions beginning to develop after the mid-19th century. Younger boys after breeching began wearing shortened-length pants such as knee pants and bloomer knickers. This was particularly the case of affluent families. Working-class boys of all ages continued to wear mostly long pants. This did not chnge until the very late-19th century when we see more boys wearing knee pants and bloomer knickers. After the turn of the 20th century more and older German boys began waring knee pants. Bloomer knickers were also worn, but declined in the 1910s. German boys began commonly wearing short pants afer World War I. Most younger boys and some older boys wore shorts, depending on varying parental attitudes. Some older boys wore knickers. Not only did more boys wear shorts, but we see even younger teenagers wearing them. We also see boys wearing knickers, but mostly older teenagers. After World War II, knickers disappeard. Most boys wore shorts, including teenagers. Here a factor was the difficult economic condition. Gradually short pants went out of style for older boys, especially in the 1950s when jeans appeaed. Long pants because increasingly popular even for younger boys. Younger German boys continued to wear shorts into the 1960s. Gradually age conventions declined in importance as short pants began to be seen as warm weather seasonal wear.

Specific Pants Types

There were age conventions for the various specific pants types. There were age conventions for all the different types of pants: long pants, knickers, knee pants, and short pants. And these varied varied over time as well as among families. Social class was another factor. Long pants were very common in the 19th century for boys. School-age boys commonly wore long pants after breeching. This began to change at mid-century. We see younger children from affluent families wearing fashionable styles like bloomer knickers and knee pants. These shortened styles became more widely worn by the end of the 19th century. Long pants again became very common in the second half of the 20th century. Styles like knee pants and short pants were very common in the first half of the 20th century. Most boys wore them. So did younger teenagers, although here social class was a factor. Some what older boys wore knickers, most commonly teenagers. They were worn until after World War II. Lederhosen were a popular type of pants, although with astrong regional base. The age conventions associated with Lederhosen were not as strong as with other types of pants.

Chronological Ages

The pants worn by each chronological age group is a little complicated because the conventions changed substantially over time. While our information is limited on the early 19th-century, we have a fairly good idea from the mid-19th century as to what type of pants German boys of different ages wore. We have a fairly extensive archive of German images. The major complication here is that many of the images do not note the age of the children pictured. Thus we have had to estimate ages. This means we might be off by a year or so and this should be kept in mind when reviwing ths section.

Social Class

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Created: 11:57 PM 4/30/2008
Last updated: 5:29 PM 6/6/2009