Figure 1.--Long stockings were widely worn in Czechoslovakia. Here we see a 9-year old Czech boy in 1941. Of course in 1941, Czechoslovakia no longer existed, having been dismembered by NAZI Germany in 1938-39. The boy is rather well dressed for the World war II era.

We believe that long stockings were quite commonly worn in Czechoslovakia. Our Czech archive is still fairly limited, but we believe that hosiery trends were very similar with those in Austria and Germany. This includes both the 19th century when what became Czechoslovakia was ruled by Austria and becme part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Hosiery conventions seem to have continued to be similar to Germany and Austria after World War I when the country became independent. This probably reflects both cultural ties as well as economic ties with Austria abd Germany. We know that long stockings were still worn in Czechoslovakia after World War II, We are not sure just when they disappeared, but suspect that the time line followed that of East Germany rather thn West Germany. We do not yet have sufficent data to address this topic in detail. Here is an example of long stockings in tee country. Here we see a 9-year old boy in 1941. Of course in 1941, Czechoslovakia no longer existed, having been dismembered by NAZI Germany in 1938-39. The boy is rather well dressed for the World War II era. Czechoslovakia was one of the countries plundered by the NAZIs. The boy wears a woolen pullover sweater with an open-necked shirt. He wears tweed short trousers with tan long stockings, obviously held up by supporters. Note the T-strap sandals. This example also gives us a good idea of the length of long stockings in the early 40s. He seems to be sitting on an overturned farm container of some sort in a field. Long stockings in Czechoslovakia seem to been similar to those worn in Germany.

Popularity

We believe that long stockings were quite commonly worn in Czechoslovakia. Our Czech archive is still fairly limited, but we believe that hosiery trends were very similar with those in Austria and Germany. The small number of imazges we have archived conforms this, but we need a larger number to draw any valid conclusions.

Chronology

We note Czech boys wearing long stockings in both the 19th and 20th centuries. We are unsure about the early 19th century, but we note Czech boys wearing long stockings in the late-19th century. The Czech lands were ruled by Austria throughout the 19th century. This includes both the 19th century when what became Czechoslovakia was ruled by Austria and becme part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Hosiery conventions seem to have continued to be similar to Germany and Austria after World War I when the country became independent. This probably reflects both cultural ties as well as economic ties with Austria abd Germany. We see Czech boys wearing long stockings in the inter-War era. A hood example is two unidentified Prague brothers in 1936. We know that long stockings were still worn in Czechoslovakia after World War II, We are not sure just when they disappeared, but suspect that the time line followed that of East Germany rather thn West Germany. We do not yet have sufficent data to address this topic in detail. Here is an example of long stockings in the country. Here we see a 9-year old boy in 1941 (figure 1). Of course in 1941, Czechoslovakia no longer existed, having been dismembered by NAZI Germany in 1938-39. The boy is rather well dressed for the World War II era. Czechoslovakia was one of the countries plundered by the NAZIs. The boy wears a woolen pullover sweater with an open-necked shirt. He wears tweed short trousers with tan long stockings, obviously held up by supporters. Note the T-strap sandals. This example also gives us a good idea of the length of long stockings in the early 40s. He seems to be sitting on an overturned farm container of some sort in a field.

Colors

Long stockings in Czechoslovakia seem to been similar to those worn in Germany. This includes color, patterns, and lengths.

Ethnicity

The Czechs were the msjorrity in Czechoslovakia, but there were substantisl minorities, ikncluding Slovaks, Germans, and Jews. As far as swe can tell, there were no substantisl difference anong these groups as to hosiery. Long stickings were very commonly worn among all the different ethnic groups.

Created: 6:04 AM 4/21/2007
Last updated: 11:56 PM 10/18/2009