Figure 1.--The photograph here shows three boys in Moscow during n 1967 looking into the public fountain in Pushkin Square in the midst of Gorky Street. Perhaps they are looking for coins, but we can't be sure what the attraction is. The variety of dress is interesting. All three of the boys, aged about 6 to 10, are dressed differently. Notice the younger boy wearing long stockings.

A Russian reader tells us that long stockings began to be worn in Russia during the 1880s. This was when kneepants began to be more commonly worn by boys instead of the long trosers boys wore earlier in the 19th century. Older boys wore long stockings before World War I than was the case after the War. Long stockings were common winter wear in Russia. Many younger boys wore them with short pants. Older boys might wear them under theor long pants in cold weather. Soviet school books commonly show both boys and girls wearing long stockings. A Russian reader reports that long stockings were commonly worn through the 1960s, but that after tights appeared about 1969 they rapidly replaced long stockings. They were little seen in Russia after 1972.

Photograph

The photograph here shows three boys in Moscow during n 1967 looking into the public fountain in Pushkin Square in the midst of Gorky Street (figure 1). Perhaps they are looking for coins, but we can't be sure what the attraction is. The green foliage of the trees suggests a spring day, probably late April or May--or possibly late September or early October. The variety of dress is interesting. All three of the boys, aged about 6 to 10, are dressed differently. The boy on the left wears short pants and knee socks with a light-weight jacket. The boy in the center wears a long-sleeved checked shirt and long trousers. The third boy (on the right) seems to be wearing suspender shorts with long tan stockings and supporters. All three styles were fairly common in 1967 Moscow for a day when the weather was pleasantly cool but not cold enough for winter clothing. The boys are wearing play clothes obviously. They may have had to wear uniforms or something a bit more formal to school.

Decades

A Russian reader tells us that long stockings began to be worn in Russia during the 1880s. This was when kneepants began to be more commonly worn by boys instead of the long trosers boys wore earlier in the 19th century. Older boys wore long stockings before World War I than was the case after the War. Long stockings were common winter wear in Russia. Many younger boys wore them with short pants. Older boys might wear them under theor long pants in cold weather. Soviet school books commonly show both boys and girls wearing long stockings. A Russian reader reports that long stockings were commonly worn through the 1960s, but that after tights appeared about 1969 they rapidly replaced long stockings. They were little seen in Russia after 1972.

The 1880s

A Russian reader tells us that long stockings began to be worn in Russia during the 1880s. This was when kneepants began to be more commonly worn by boys instead of the long trosers boys wore earlier in the 19th century.

The 1890s

The 1900s

Older boys wore long stockings before World War I than was the case after the War. Long stockings were common winter wear in Russia. Many younger boys wore them with short pants. Older boys might wear them under theor long pants in cold weather. We note a photo of an unidentifiefd boy wearing black stockings in 1905. He is with a group of children speaking with Tolstoy as a very old man. The boy's bloomer-like short pants and the black stockings are probably typical of what Russian boys from the better classes wore at the very end of the 19th century in Russia.

The 1910s

The 1920s

The 1930s

Wev note three unidentified boys wearing beige or tan long stockings during the 1930s. A reader writes, "It's interesting that we see the new beige colored stockings in Russia in the 1930s. My impression is that Russia was a bit more slow to adopt new fashions than Western Europe, but this photo shows that they were keeping abreast of the new colors, although I'm not sure about the 1920s."

The 1940s

The 1950s

We note Soviet magazines in the 1950s still commonly showed boys and girls wearing long stockings. We have a Soviet popular magazine dated 1956. It shows a boy about 9 or 10 years old. He is not wearing school clothes. The photograph was edited by the magazine formatting employee and designed to be part of a montage of Soviet life in late spring or early summer, 1956, when schools were letting out and the children were being released for their vacations at home. The location is not named, but the setting of the montage images is obviously urban--probably Moscow.

The 1960s

We note Soviets boys wearing long stockings throughout the 1960s. A street portrat taken in the early 60s shows two Soviet boys, probably brothers, wearing long stockings. Soviet school books commonly show both boys and girls wearing long stockings. The photograph here is a Moscow scene in 1967 showing boys still wore long stockings (figure 1). Most of the images from the 1960s show realtively younger boys wearing long stockings, at least with sgort pants. Nost od the stockings lookto be flesh tones like beige. A Russian reader reports that long stockings were commonly worn through the 1960s, but that after tights appeared about 1969 they rapidly replaced long stockings.

The 1970s

Tights appeared in Russia in 1969. They proved very popular and rapidly replaced long stockings which were little seen in Russia after 1972 at least in the larger cities. We suspect that they persisted for a few more ydears in small towns and rural areas.