Figure 1.--Here are some of the tops and shorts offered ny Sears in their 1973 summer catalog. Notice the wide white belt.
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Figure 1.--Here are some of the tops and shorts offered ny Sears in their 1973 summer catalog. Notice the wide white belt. |
American boys no longer wore short pants suits, although younger boys wore Eton suits. There was a major shift in the 1970s. Many American boys never wore short pants except when they were very young. In the 1970s in became very common for boys to wear short pants during the 1970s. One popular style was camp shorts. Shorts were often worn with with tube socks. Bellbottom trousrs became all the rage. The 1970s was known for the use of polyester.
A HBC reader has provided us an ad for summer wear. Unfortunately the ad is incomplete and we do not not know the source. We think it is from a 1970s newspaper, probably a department store ad. It shows an older boy wearing a tank top and camp shorts. Unfortunately the ad copy is missing.
All the major mail order catalogs offered camp shorts in 1971. Penney called them "camping style shorts". They were stylistic differences among the shorts offered. The Penney's camp shorts seem to be cut a little shorter than the Sears camp shorts. We note a 1971 Penney's ad for pogo sticks. the boy on the pogo stick is illustrated wearing camp shorts.
We have some information on 1973. mostly from Sears. Camp shorts were a very popular style os short pants in 1973. Sears was one of the retailers offering them. The cut was still relatively long. The Sears summer catalog offered several styles of shorts. Besides camp shorts, there were also cut-offs, walking shorts, and other styles as well as a wide variety of types.
We notice an Ohio Deparment store newspoer ad for a white tennis outfit, a white shirt and shorts. These knit shirts in the polo style or a popular preppy garment and have remained popular for decades.
A popular style of short pants were camp shorts. They were worn by boys of all ages. All the major retailers, both catalog stores and actual stores offered them. K-mart, a discount retailer, offered camp shorts in a wide range of sizes . -Boys' play wear in the 1970's reflected that decade's growing informality and more relaxed attitudes towards modesty. The short denim shorts shown here are typical of what American boys under 12 years typically wore on hot summer days by the end of the decade. Here is an ad from Zayre's department store, circa 1978, for boys' shorts and tees.
Camps shorts were featured in sizes for boys from 8-20. The most popular color was blue.
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