Figure 1.--This cabinet card portrait shoes an older teenagrer wearing a kneepants . The portait is undated, but the the mount suggests about 1900 or the very early-1900s decade. The studio looks to be C.H. Gallup in Poughkeepsie.

Around the turn of the 20th century from the late-1890s into the 1910s wer note quite old boys wearing knee pants suits, including older teens. Knee pants were most common with younger boys, but this varied from family to family. Beginning with 15-years olds we begin to see substantially more noys weating knee pants suits and this contunue with the remaining high school years (17 anf 18 year olds). And each year after 15 we see fewer andfewer boys wearing knee pants suits. By the time of graduation at age 18-19 years of age, almost all boys were wearing long pants. While some boys at bage 16 years were wearing knee oants suits, the majority at by this ager weer wearing long pants suits. We mention high school becausde the older boys wearing knee pants suits were virtually all boys still in school. And at the turnn of the 20th centiry and the 1900s decade, monly a minority of boys went to high schhool. Most children ended their education with 8th grade meaning 13-14 years of age. Many elementary (primary) schools were 8-year schools. nother complicvation is that around 1908-09 American boys began shifting from knee pants to knickers. This did not have an immediuate impact on usage. We see older tennes at the time wearing the new knicketrs style, but in the 1910s we see a gradual trend of more and more older teens wearing long trouser suits.

Created: 3:44 PM 2/18/2022
Last updated: 3:44 PM 2/18/2022