Figure 1.--Kneesocks were commonly worn by British boys as part of their school uniforms. Ankle socks were worn during the Summer at some schools, but many schools had kneesocks year round for the school uniform. |
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We notice boys wearing a wide range of hosiery for school and as part of formal school uniformss. This has included ankle socks. kneesocks, long stockings, tights, and other hosiery types. I am not sure when ankle socks first appeared, but believe they were widely worn by boys in the early 19th century as long trousers became standard wear. The prevelance of long trousers make it difficult to follow hosery trends, but HBC believes that the dominate form of hosery with long pants is ankle socks. British schools requiring shorts usually also required the boys to wear kneesocks as part of the uniform. There is some variety here. A few schools had the boys wearing ankle socks, especially during the summer--often with T-strap school sandals. Proper kneesocks (a term not used for boys in Britspeak) were turn-over-top socks or stockings. Schools chose several different styles of kneesocks. Many boys in the late 19th century wearing kneepants wore long stockings held up with stocking supporters. American boys, although they did not commonly wear school uniforms, by the 1870s were commonly wearing kneepants and long stockings to school. British schools varied greatly in school uniform requirements. Many schools did not rigidly enforce uniforms. Many school boys wore long pants and thus kong stockings do not appear to have been as common as in the United States. Long stockings began to disappear in the early 20th century as knickers and short pants began to replace kneepants. Tights for children are a relatively new garment, appearing after World War II. They replaced the cumbersome long stockings that children had formerly worn. Tights are primarily associated with girls. They were worn by younger boys in countries like Germany, Poland and Russia. They still are worn by younger boys in a few countries such as Japan, Korea, and Russia.
I am not sure when ankle socks first appeared, but believe they were widely worn by boys in the early 19th century as long trousers became standard wear. The prevelance of long trousers make it difficult to follow hosery trends, but HBC believes that the dominant form of hosery with long pants is ankle socks. We see many boys in many countries, including America and Germany, wearing long stockings in the late-19th and early 20th century. British boys generally wore kneesocks with short pants, but by the 1980s many schools changed to ankle socks during the warmer summer term. I'm not sure when this practice began. Generally boys wore plain grey ankle socks, although a few schools had colored bands on ankle socks as well. We see American boys shifting to anklesocks in the 1930s and they were dominant by the 1940s. Other countries generally made the same transition, but the time line varied from country to country.
Kneesocks were probably most commonly worn in Britain as part of a school uniform. British schools requiring shorts usually also required the boys to wear kneesocks as part of the uniform. There is some variety here. A few schools ha the boys wearing ankle socks, especially during the summer--often with T strap school sandals. Proper kneesocks (a term not used for boys in Britspeak) were turn-over-top socks or stockings. Schools chose several different styles of kneesocks. Kneesocks were also commonly worn to school in France, Italy, and Germany, but not as part of a uniform. American boys also wore them, but generally with knickers.
Many boys in the late 19th century wearing kneepants wore long stockings held up with stocking supporters. This was very common in both Europe and America for both boys and girls. There was some differences from country to country. Here climate was a factor. American boys, although they did not commonly wear school uniforms, by the 1870s were commonly wearing kneepants and long stockings to school. British schools varied greatly in school uniform requirements. Many schools did not rigidly enforce uniforms. Many school boys wore long pants and thus kong stockings do not appear to have been as common as in the United States. Long stockings began to disappear in the early 20th century as knickers and short pants began to replace kneepants. Long stockings continued to be worn to school in several countries with severe winters, the Scandanavian countries, Poland, Germany, Russia, and a few other countries. We also notice long stockungs in Japan. They were worn to school, but usually not as part of a school uniform. We note them declining in popularity in America during the 1930s. We continue to see them in Germanu into the 1950sand in the Soviet Union even in the 60s.
Tights for children are a relatively new garment, appearing after World War II. They replaced the cumbersome long stockings that children had formerly worn. Tights are primarily associated with girls. They were worn by younger boys in countries like Germany, Poland and Russia. They still are worn by younger boys in a few countries such as Japan, Korea, and Russia.
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