Figure 1.--This German boy is seen with a picture book. He looks to about 5-6 years old and is just leaning to read. The portrait looks to have been taken about 1920. He wears very light-colored presumably tan stockings. It almost looks like he isn't wearing any hosiery at all. Image courtesy of the BP collection. Click on the image for a fuller discussion of this portrait and the clothes that the boy is wearing.

A basic change in the color of long stockings occurred during the 1920s. Increasingly boys began wearing brown, beige and grey stockings, epecially by the mid-1920s. In most cases boys' long stockings were brown like the earth or as many remember, as chocolade. Also light brown stockings appeared, and to a more limited extent more brightly colored ones. Gradually lighter shades became the most common. Dark long stockings did not entirely disappear and might be worn for formal occassions. It was the lighter colors, however that contiued to be worn in West Germany until the late 1950s and into the 1960s in East Germany. When tights appeared in the late 1950s and early 60s, a much greater variety of colors appeared. A HBC reader writes, "As a general statement about long stockings, I think it is certainly true to say that brown shades was the usual color in Germany. But here I think we must distinguish between the brown plain stockings (this is almost certainly the color worn by the oldest boy in the suspender shorts image we got from the Hosiery Musuem) and the patterned stockings which tended to come in a variety of colors."

Major Change in Long Stocking

Basic changes in long stockings occurred after World War I during the 1920s. The major changes were in colors and lengths. Increasingly boys began wearing brown, beige and grey stockings, epecially by the mid-1920s. There were also brightly colored stickings, but these do not appear very common. The other major change was in the length of long stockings.

Brown/Tan Shades

In most cases boys' long stockings were brown like the earth or as many remember, as chocolade. Also light brown stockings appeared. Notice how light-colored the stockings the boy here is wearing appears (figure 1). Notice that these stockings are clearly not white, but look at least in black and white photographs to be a natural flesh tone. We assume that it was probably a tan color. Gradually lighter shades became the most common. These lighter shades become common in thge 1920s. A good example is a German boy about 1927. Unfortunately the blck and white photography of the day greatly complicates assessing color trends. Dark long stockings did not entirely disappear and might be worn for formal occassions. It was the lighter colors, however that contiued to be worn in West Germany until the late 1950s and into the 1960s in East Germany. When tights appeared in the late 1950s and early 60s, a much greater variety of colors appeared.

German Conventions

A HBC reader writes, "As a general statement about long stockings, I think it is certainly true to say that brown shades was the usual color in Germany. But here I think we must distinguish between the brown plain stockings (this is almost certainly the color worn by the oldest boy in the suspender shorts image we got from the Hosiery Musuem) and the patterned stockings which tended to come in a variety of colors."

Chronology

German children commonly wore long stockings in the 19th century. We see white stockings in the 1860s, but we do not note light shades that would suggest neutral light-brown shades like tan and beige. Darker shades predominated the stockings worn in the late-19th century. Black was worn and became increasingly common in the 1890s, but never was nearly a common as in America. Clearly other colors were being worn. The black and white photography of the day makes this difficult to assess. We believe that brown was one of the colors, but not the light-brown shades. We think that various shades of dark brown were popular in Germany. As in America and other countries, we think these neutral shades would have been seen as unmodest, suggesting bare skin. The Germans were not as puritanical as the Americans, but still we do not see the neutral light-brown shades. Our German 19th century archive is limuted, but this assessment is confirmed by German readers with substsntial archives of 19th century portraits. We have a much larger collection of 20th century images, both portraits and snapshots, se we are avle to assess both casual and formal wear in great detail. German children began commonly wearing socks in the 1890s and even more so after the turn-of-the 20th century. Long stockings did not disappear in the 20th century, but became increasingly seasonal cold weather wear. Color trends for long stockings do not seem to have changes significantly in the early-20th century. We do, however, begin to see changes after World War I in the 29th century. We begin to see children wearing lighter shades. Some are lihjt, but clearly not white. Some were apparently great, but the tan/beige shades seem to have been the most common of these light shades. Now that it was acceptable to wear short pants with socks, these shades were no longer seen as immodest. They became the most common shade for casual and school wear. White or black might be worn for formal events. As long stocjs weent out of fashion in the 1950s, it was these tan shades that were being worn.

Gender

Age

The light-brown shades of long stockings in Germany, unlike America, were not limited to younger boys.

Vintage Clothing

Vintage clothing is a useful source of uinformation on color. We note an example of German long stockings. This helps give an idea of the tan shades worn.

Created: 4:58 PM 10/22/2004
Last updated: 4:51 PM 10/8/2010