American boys have worn a wide variety of pants, including knee breeches, kneepants. knickers, short pants, and long pants. We have begun to collect basic images on eacxh of these different types of pants. Some are still worn by boys while others have now largely disappeared. Knee breeches were commonly worn in America throughout the 18th century. While knickers are an English creation, probably no where were they more widely worn than in America. HBC begins to notice knickers in America during the 1870s, but they did not become popular as a boys' garment until after the turn of the 20th century. American boys began wearing kneepants after the mid-19th century. We see younger boys wearing kneepants in the 1860s, but the fashion did not become widespread for even older boys until the 1890s. Younger boys commonly wore bloomer bloomer knickers. They were most common with garments like tunics, especially from the late 1890s through the eraly 1920s. Short pants first appeared in the 1900s, primarily as a European export, especially British. They did not prove as popular in America as in Europe. Some young boys wore them, but most older boys insisted on knickers. Long pants in American towns and cities rapidly replaced knee breeches for boys in the early 19th century, although it took longer for men to make the transition.

Figure 1.--American boys commonly wore bloomer knickers with tunic suits. Many had bodies and elasticized knee hems. They were commonly wirn with long stockings. This boy's named was Arthur. He was born in 1909 so this photograph was taken about 1914.

Bloomer Knickers

Younger American boys commonly wore bloomer bloomer knickers. We also see them being widely worn in Europe. Here the pattern varied chronolgically. American trend in the mid-19th century seem basically a refection of European trends, We see younger boys wearing a variety of fancy suits with bloomer knickers. By the late-19th century we see destinctive Anerican trends. We note many American boys wearing bloomer knickers with tunic suits at the turn of the 20th century. Tunic suits with bloomer knickers were one of the most popular styles for younger boys. We believe that many were made with bodicies, although that can not be determined by the photographic record. The elasticized knee hems are easier to make out. Almost always American boys wore their tunic suits with bloomer knickers. They were wudely wirn from the late 1890s through the eraly 20s. Bloomer knickers were commonly worn with the same above the knee long stockings worn wuith knee pants, but some boys wore them with socks. HBC is not precisely sure what the contemporary term for these pants was. We notice catalogs using various terms. At the time that tunic suits became popular at about the turn of the 20th century, most American boys wore knee pants, but by the 1910s, knickers were more common, especially for older boys. We are not sure to what extent bloomer knickers were worn other than with tunic suits. We see boys of all ages wearing knickers, but it is not always clear if they are bloomer knickers or regular knickers.

Drawers

Tounger boys wore pantalettes, both with skirted garments and kneepants. Pantalettes could be quite fancy. Drawers were a plainer version. Boys sometimes wore drawers as a kind of transition between pantalettes and proper trouswrs. They were normally made of a lighter material than the material used for trousers. A good example is an unidentified American boy in the 1850s.

Knee Breeches

Knee breeches were commonly worn in America throughout the 18th century. This was the dominant style in Europe and as a result were worn in European colonies like America. Some long pants made have been worn by frorntiersmen in the back woods, but we are not sure how common this was, but we know it vexisted. Men and boys in polite sociey throughout the colonial and early republicam era wore knee breeches, normally with three buttons at the hem. Only during the late-18th century, mostly in the 1790s did some boys begin wearing long pants as part of skeleton suits rather than knee breeches. This was a European style that began to be wirn in nAmeruca as well. We are unsure at this time how commonm this was.

Figure 2.--These three boys in the 1900s wear knee pants with black long stockings. This was standard boys wear for several decades.

Knee Pants

Defining knee pants is somewhat complicated. This is because they are essentially short pants. The two are divided chronologally. You see knee pants mostly in the 19th century and short pants in the 20th century, especilly after World War I. The time-line differs somewhat from country to country. American boys began wearing knee pants after the mid-19th century. We see younger boys wearing knee pants in the 1860s, oftern rather long knee pants cut at calf level. The the fashion did not become widespread for even older boys until the 1890s. Early knee pants were long, often cut at calf level. Knee pants by the 1880s began to be cut shorter at knee level. By the 1890s even older boys were wearing then. This varied, however, from family to family. Not all boys wore knee pants, although they were very common. Social class factors were involved. In the 1910s knickers began replacing knee pants, but kneepants were still worn in the early 1920s, but primary by younger school-age boys. Knee pants were commonly brought as part of a suit. They could be purchased separately. But the area of catalog space devoted to suits as compared to just the trousers suggest that knee pants were mostly purchased as suits. Wearing suits was much more common at the time than currently. Early knee pants were long, often cut at calf level. Knee pants by the 1880s began to be cut shorter and by the 90s knee level was the standard. The cut of knee pants tended to be rather form fitting. They were often referred to as straight-leg knee pants into contrast to the more baggy knickers. Suit decorations like embroidery, frogging, piping, and other elements were mostly on the jackets. But we see some some decoration on the pants/trousers as well. The primary decoration we see are a narrow vertical stripe, but these were not the only decoration. We also see emroidery, commonly matching embroidery on the jacket. We note lace being used, but this was not very common. The age of American boys wearing knee pants varied over time. At first in the mid-19th century they were worn by younger boys. By the 1890s even older boys were wearing knee-length knee pants. This began to change again during the the 1910s when mostly younger boys wore knee pants, older boys more commonly wore knockers or long pants. In the 1910s knickers began replacing knee pants, but knee pants were still worn in the early 1920s, but primary by younger school-age boys. Knee pants were very widely worn by American boys. This varied, however, from family to family. Social class factors were involved. Some boys wore long pants even in grade school. Demofraphics was also a factor. We see more rural boys wearing long pants than in the city.

Figure 3.--Most American boys wore knickers during the 1920s-30s. This boy with his sister was probably photographed in the 1920s.

Knickers

While knickers are an English creation, probably no where were they more widely worn than in America. HBC is not sure why theu were so popular in America. We have not noted that they were particularly popular with boys. For some reason they appear to have appealed with American parents. Knickers are often confused with knee pants, but differ from knickers because they were unclosed at the hem and did not have the three ornamental buttons commonly associated with knee pants. HBC begins to notice knickers in America during the 1870s, but they did not become popular as a boys' garment until after the turn of the 20th century. Even through the 1900s knee pants were more common than knickers. We pnly begin to see large numbers at the end of the 1900s decade. And the shift from knee pants and knickers occurred very abruptly. And we have no idea why. Was itba fashion shift launched by clothing companies. We see no great interest among Amrtican boys in their patents in changing from knee pants or for that matter resistance to the change. By the 1910s, however, knickers had largely replaced knee pants as standard boy's wrar. Sone younger boys continued to wear knee pants and than short pants. Social class factors were involved. Boys from affluent families were often mpre likely to wear short pants, especially school-age boys. Knickers continued to be the dominant trousers for American boys in the 1920s and into the 30s. Unlike Europe where short pants were more common, Americam boys wore knickers--even Boy and Cub Scouts wore them. Through the early 1920s they were mostly worn with long stockings, but by the mid-1920s, knee socks had become more popular. The age of boys wearing knickers varied substantially over time. Although knickers had once been pervasive for boys, they declined in popularity very quickly in the early 1940s. It is unclear to HBC just why this major fashion shift occurred so abruptly. World War II may have been a factor. We have only limited information at this time as to how knickers were fastened at the knee. It is difficult to tell from the photographic records. The knickers commonly worn by American boys tended to be voluminous and thus hung down over the closure. The first knickers seemed to have used buckles and buttons to close the leg hem at the knee. We do not yet have any actual images of the fastening arrangements. The over lap onssured the fact that the knickers commonly buckled above the knee. Some knickers had enough material that they could be buckled below the knee if the boy so chose. Boys apparently preferred to do this, but some parents objected. There ppears to have bben a fabric band that bucked that could be moved up or down. Knickers in the 1920s seem to have been made with less bloucing, but we have not yet found an image showing the bucklng arrangement. We note knickers with elastiised web knee bands in the 1930s, but are not sure when they first appered. Some catalogs suggest that this alternative was very popular.

Figure 4.--American boys commonly wore long pants during the 19th century, except by the 1890s. This boy was 13 years olds in a perforated edge cabinent card, probably taken in the 1870s.

Long Pants

Long pants in American towns and cities rapidly replaced knee breeches for boys in the early 19th century, although it took longer for men to make the transition. America at the time had a very rural population. Long pants were more common in riral areas than breeches even before this fashion shift was made in the towns. Long pants were particularly prevalent on the frontier. American boys commonly wore long pants through the 1950s. Knee pants began to appear in the 1850s, especially for boys from affluent city families influenced by European fashion. The average American boy did not begin wearing kneepants, however, until the 1870s. By the turn of tghe 20th century it was common to see even older tennagers wearing kneepants or knickers. A boy's first pair of long pants became a major ecent--at least for the boy. Fashion choices for boys varied among families. Some quite young boys might wear long pants, but until the 1940s many American boys did not wear long pants until they were 13-16 years old.

Pantalettes

Pantalettes were commonly worn by American boys, especially boys still wearing dresses and younger boys wearing tunics during the first half of the 19th Century. Older boys wearing tunics would wear long trousers. Of course boys wearing dresses never wore trousers under them. Boys in skeleton suits also occasionally wore pantalettes. I believe the American fashion trends with pantalettes were mostly a reflection of European styles, probably English or perhaps French. Pantalettes were still worn after mid-century, but they became less increasingly less common. In the latter oart of the CEntury the boys still wearing pantalettes were boys wearing dresses are the increasingly common kilt suits and other kilted outfits. There are many literary references to pantalettes in America. A good example is Mark Twain's description of Becky Thacher. Almost always they are described as part of a girl's outfit. Tom Sawyer of course would not have been caught dead in them. We know from available images, however, that they were worn by American boys as well as girls.

Rompers and Romper Suits

Rompers first appeared in America during the late-1890s as dresses became less common for younger children, especially boys. Rompers were mostly worn by boys who previously still worn dresses. I do not know the origins of rompers, but assume they were an imported European fashion. Boys wearing rompers commonly wore them with short socks. Long stockings were still common, and rompers were one of the first garments, except dresses, to be worn with short socks in America. There was some similarity with the bloomer knickers worn by boys with tunic suits. Romper suits were, however, one-pice suits. Some of the early rompers appeared to have been dressier than was commonly the case by the 1900s. Dressy rompers may be made of velvet and have embroidered trim and smocking. Rompers in America, however, were mostly play clothes. They were worn by both girls and boys. I do not know if there was any difference between boys and girls rompers or if they were more commonly worn by one gender. Rompers in America were most common in the 1910s and 20s. They were commonly worn with strap shoes. We note both boys and girls wearing them, but we are unsure about the gender conventions. They were worn by pre-school children. We are unsure to what extent this was a an American fashion or a fashion imported from Europe. Rompers evolved into a girl style, worn at summer camps and as gym suits. It also became a casul summer style for girls. Rompers also became an infant style.

Figure 5.--Here we see boys at a birthday partly in July 1960. Children used to dress up for birthday parties.

Short Pants

Short pants first appeared in the 1900s, primarily as a European export, especially British. They did not prove as popular in America as in Europe. Some young boys wore them, but most older boys insisted on knickers. Even Scouts in America wore knickers rather than short pants. Theu were generally seen as a garment for younger boys. There were also reguional and social class differences. Only in the 1960s did the attitudes of American boys begin to change and shorts began to become acceptable for casual wear by boys of all ages. American boys did not commonly wear the short pants that became widely accepted in England and Europe, especially in the years after the 1920s. American boys much prefered knickers. Some American boys, however, did wear shorts. They were acceptable for little boys, especially before they began school. They were also more accepted in the southern states and California where the weather was warmer--especially during the summer. Notably, even in the South, shorts were not commonly worn in rural areas. Short pants were also worn by boys from wealthy families more intuned with European fashions and able to send their boys to private schools, some of which required short pants uniforms. Families from European immigrant families were also more likely to dress their boys in shorts. This began to change in the 1960s when short pants as casual wear became increasingly accepted. The introduction of cutoffs and the increasing popularity of soccer and bnasketball (sports with short pants uniforms) were important factors. American boys by the 1980s commonly wore shorts as casual wear, elementary boys would even wear them to school. Quite short styles were popular. Styles began to change in the early 1990s as influenced by hip-hop fashions, shorts begame long and baggy.

Created: 7:40 PM 11/9/2006
Last updated: 1:00 AM 12/30/2010