Figure 1.--Countless images from the late 19th and early 20th centuries sho both boys and girls wearing black long stockings. Here we see an American 5th grade class in 1907.

White stockings were common in th mid-19th century. Many portraits from the 1860s show boys wearing white or light-colored long stockings. The great majority of portraits taken during the late 19th century, however, show boys wearing black and other darl colored long stockings. The black and white photography of the day make it difficult to destinguish between black and dark shades and to determine just what color of stockings were being worn. Thus HBC can thus not determine just how common black stockings as opposed to dark colors were. Many boys it seems to us were wearing dark shades that matched their suits rather thsan black long stockings. We note boys in the 1870s and 80s wearing dark colored long stockings that seem to match their suits. A good example is an American boy about 1890. We note in the 1890s that more boys are wearing obviously black stockings. Three are many examples archived on HBC. A good American example is the Sanborn boy about 1890. We note in the 1890s children began wearing black stockings with sharply contrasting white outfits. A factor here is that black stockings were so common. Some mothers may have seen the contrast an attractive fashion. A good exampple is the Balfour boy in Canada during 1898. The Russel children. We can see the stockings worn by the boy's sister, but we would guess thjat they are also black. We have a few color imaghes that show some of the dark stockings were colored. A good example is a Austrian-German boy with blue stockings in 1911. The lighter tan tones worn after the 1920s were not worn in the late-19th century.

Chronology

White stockings were common in th mid-19th century. Many portraits from the 1860s show boys wearing white or light-colored long stockings. The great majority of portraits taken during the late 19th century, however, show boys wearing black and other darl colored long stockings. The lighter tan tones worn after the 1920s were not worn in the late-19th century.

Shades

The black and white photography of the day make it difficult to destinguish between black and dark shades and to determine just what color of stockings were being worn. Thus HBC can thus not determine just how common black stockings as opposed to dark colors were. We have a few color imaghes that show some of the dark stockings were colored. A good example is a Austrian-German boy with blue stockings in 1911. A good example of how difficult it is to destinguisj color shdes rom black and white portraits is an Italian boy wearing red stockings.

Conventions

Many boys it seems to us were wearing dark shades that matched their suits rather thsan black long stockings. We note boys in the 1870s and 80s wearing dark colored long stockings that seem to match their suits. A good example is an American boy about 1890. We note in the 1890s that more boys are wearing obviously black stockings. Three are many examples archived on HBC. A good American example is the Sanborn boy about 1890. We note in the 1890s children began wearing black stockings with sharply contrasting white outfits. A factor here is that black stockings were so common. Some mothers may have seen the contrast an attractive fashion. A good example is Bert Dodge wearing a light-colored kilt suit with black long stockings, we believe in the 1880s. Another example is the Balfour boy in Canada during 1898. The Russel children. We can see the stockings worn by the boy's sister, but we would guess that they are also black.

Countries

We note black long stockings were very common in the Inited States. We see them being worn in many other countries as well. We notice Arne Sohlstrom, a Swedish boy in 1928.