Figure 1.--Here we see one boy wearing his school uniform and another wearing a regukar sweater, short pants and tights. I am not sure if the boys are brotyhers or just friends. Nor do I know why they are both not wearing their school uniform. Perhaps the younger boy is not quite ready for school. The photograph is not dated, but we would guess was taken in the late 1970s or early 80s.

Russian boys in the early 20th century wore long stockings. We see many Russian boys wearing both kneesocks and long stockings in the inter-war era of the 1920s and 30s. We note Russian boys wearing sandals after World War II. Some wore them without socks, but with socks seems to have been more common. Long stockings were still commonly worn by primary-age children into the 1960s. Long stockings rapidly disappeared after 1969 when tights were first introduced. Younger boys commonly wear tights during the cold winter months. They are commoly worn to school or at home in the evening, rather like American boys wear pajamas at home in the evening. Kneesocks were also commonly worn during the inter-War era and during the 1950s, but gradually declined in popularity. By the 1970s most boys were wearing ankle socks, except for younger boys wearing tights. Here are information is somewhat limited by the fact we do not know what kind of hosiery boys in long pants were wearing. Unlike Western countries there were no mail order catalogs during the Soviet era which can be used as sources of information on underwear and hosiery.

The 1900s

Russian boys in the early 20th century wore long stockings. For the most part children seemed to have worn black long stockings. We notice a photograph of the famed author Leo Tolstoy as a very old man chatting with two school children in 1905. The boy wears black long stockings with bloomer knickers.

The 1920s

We see many Russian boys wearing both kneesocks and long stockings in the inter-war era of the 1920s and 30s. I'm not sure abput the colors during the 1920s. Kneesocks were also commonly worn during the inter-War era.

The 1930s

We contgibue to see boys wearing long stockings and kneesocks in the 1930s. We note images of boys wearing what look like tan or beige long stockings. A good example is a snap shot of three unidentified boys, although we are not sure just when in the 1930s that the phptograph was taken.

The 1950s

We note Russian boys wearing sandals after World War II. Some wore them without socks, but with socks seems to have been more common. Knee socks were still worn in the 1950s, but gradually declined in popularity.

The 1960s

We also see some Russian boys wearing knee socks. They were seen as a kind of dressy style. More common were ankle socks. Ankle socks seem to have been the most commonly worn hosiery. They were alsomost universal during the warm summer months. Long stockings were still commonly worn by primary-age children in Russia during the winter. This was the case for most of the 1960s. Long stockings rapidy disappeared in Central Europe during the 1950s. Not only were they seen as old fashioned, but they were replced by tights. This process began in Germany where long stockings had been very common. It also occured in Scandinavia. The Soviet Union and to a lesser extent Polnd, was some of the few countries where long stockings were worn in the the 1960s. Both boys and girls continued to commonly wear them, both with short and long pants. We are not etirely sure about the ge of the children wearing them. Wecthink that they were fairly common for children through 10 years of age. We are less sure about older children. This did not begin to change until 1969 when tights were finally introduced.

The 1970s

Long stockings rapidly disappeared after 1969 when tights were first introduced. An example is the Russian boy here (figure 1). A reader writes, "HBC is probably right to say that the boy on the left is wearing tights with his short pants. but they look so loose and wrinkled that I wonder whether they are not long stockings. Even after tights became common in the late 1960s, I think some boys continued to wear long stockings. HBC has archivedf a photo showing an unidentified boy in long stockings as late as 1967. Tights usually fit much more closely than we see in this photo. See how form-fitting the Russian tights are in this photograph of an unidentified boy from the 1970s. How old do you think the boy is? He certainly looks school age to me--I would say at least 6 or 7 years of age." As HBC understands the situation, long stockings were commonly worn by Russian boys during the 1960s. Tights first appeared in the Soviet Union during 1969 and rapidly replaced long stockings. The image here is undated, but our Russian reader thought it was the 1970s or 80s which would suggest the boys is wearing tights. They do, however, seem a lottle baggy for fights. The boy does seem to be aschool age, about 6 or 7 years old. I know that Soviet schools were crowed and ran morning and afternoon sessions. This may explain why he is not wearing a school uniform. Younger boys commonly wore tights during the cold winter months. They are commoly worn to school or at home in the evening, rather like American boys wear pajamas at home in the evening. By the 1970s most boys were wearing ankle socks, except for younger boys wearing tights. Here are information is somewhat limited by the fact we do not know what kind of hosiery boys in long pants were wearing. Unlike Western countries there were no mail order catalogs during the Soviet era which can be used as sources of information on underwear and hosiery.

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Created: 12:59 AM 3/31/2006
Last updated: 7:12 AM 4/23/2008