Figure 1.--This American boy wears a knee pants suit with both sailor and Norfolk styling. The portrait is undated. It could habe been taken in the late-1890s, but the casual styling suggests the early 1920s to us. Note the ankle-style strap shoes.

Knee pants largely went out of style in America during the 1920s. We see younger boys wearing knee pants suits into the 1920s after which boys began wearing short pants. Knickers were, however more common. Most boys in the 1920s had knicker suits, but we see still see some knee pants suits. Most were juvenile styles made for younger boys. We note sailor and Oliver Twist styles. Oliver Twist suits were made for younger boys and done with button-on styling. We see some Norfolk suits for school-age boys done with knee pants in the very early 20s, but mostly we see knee pants suits made in juvenile styles for boys uo to about 6-7 years of age. Older boys wore knicker suits. We also see short psnts suits, but these were more popular in particularly affluent families, often with British connections than the average American family. American trends were somewhat different than those in Europe. Knickers were not near as possible and we see knee pants still being worn, although this varied from country to country. Many boys began wearing short pants suits in Europe, but we note that many boys had knee pants suits for formal occassions. Younger boys might wear ankle socks, but most school-age boys wore long stockings with these suits.

Created: 4:42 PM 12/21/2007
Last updated: 4:43 PM 12/21/2007