Figure 1.--Dress for Christmas in the late 20th and early 21st centuries has become increasingly casual. Some families, however, continue to dress up. These brothers in 1998 wear velvet Eton suits, but much longer short pants than were common only a decade earlier. They still wear the white kneesocks that were commonly worn with velvet suits.

Children dressing up formally for Christmas declined in the late-20th century. This ws especially true for boys and girls often enjoyed dressing up. Some parents did insist on their boys dressing up for the holidays. Fancy Christmas wear for boys in the late 20th Century was less commonly short pants. Some boys still worn velvet Eton suits with short pants, but the shorts were much longer. Even more common was to wear velvet jackets with knickers. Boys of school age wear long pants suits or the ever popular blue blazer and grey slacks. By the 1990s the Christmas atire even for family gathering or even Church became increasingly more casual, as more and more boys objected to dressing up in coat and ties. Some families still insist that the children dress up for some events, but the number of such fmilies declined substantially.

Reader Comments

A HBC reader writes, "You say 'By the 1990s the Christmas atire even for family gathering or even Church became increasingly more casual, as more and more boys objected to dressing up in coat and ties. Some families still insist that the children dress up for some events, but the number of such fmilies declined substantially.' I think that it is a mistake to think of the changes in fashions for boys on dress-up occasions as being a move towards a more casual style. Casual and formal are relative terms, and there is always a need for styles that fill those roles. The formal style of an era is based on the regular fashions of earlier eras, and is distinct from contemporary fashions. Thus top hats were worn even by chimney sweeps in the 19th century, while in the 20th century they were reserved for special occasions, and in the 21st century they are worn only in historical recreations. The daily wear of boys today is a tee shirt and knee-obscuring cargo shorts, so when they need to dress up they wear long pants and a shirt with buttons and a collar. Woven shirts are no longer an item of everyday wear, and even the polo shirts that were so ubiquitous in the 80s are now considered dressy. (The fact that polo shirts were adopted as a part of school uniforms has been the kiss of death.) Whatever the current fashions are, people will feel the need to use older fashions on special occasions, even if those outdated fashions were considered casual when they were everyday wear."

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Created: December 20, 2003
Last updated: December 20, 2003