Figure 1.--This photograph was taken near Ithaca, New York, of a 12-year-old boy wearing a short sleeve shirt, knickers buckled below the knee, long black stockings, and hightop shoes. He may be standing outside a rural school. The picture was taken in 1920. Blacl long stockings were still widely worn in the early 20s.

Many photographs from the 1920s show boys wearing black long stockings, primarily with knickers. This was especially true of the early 1920s. The New York boy here is a good example (figure 1). This was especIn this decade we begin to get more long stocking ads with actual illustrations of the product sold. In 1922 Wards was offering long stockings for boys and girls in black, white, and dark brown. Presumably white would be chosen mainly for girls or for quite young boys (as a dressy alternative to darker shades), but black was still a very important color. Double-knee hosiery for boys (a standard school stocking) was available only in black. In 1923 black, brown, dark brown, and white long stockings were available for sale, but black dominated the Sears and Wards markets for boys, especially older boys who wore black stockings with above-the-knee knickers. The Saturday Evening Post covers of the 1920s tend to show boys wearing black long stockings. One of the covers shows a girl in white stockings. In 1924 black was offered more often than any other color in the catalogs although brown, dark brown, sand (grayish tan), buff (light tan), birch (light tan) and white were offered in several of the ads. We see boys wearing light-colored long stockings in numerous images. An example is a 1926 Kodak d. The black and white photographt of the day makes it impossible to dertermin just what color they were. We think tan or other brown shades were yhe most common.

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In this decade we begin to get more long stocking ads with actual illustrations of the product sold. In 1922 Wards was offering long stockings for boys and girls in black, white, and dark brown. In 1923 black, brown, dark brown, and white long stockings were available for sale, but black dominated the Sears and Wards markets for boys, especially older boys who wore black stockings with above-the-knee knickers. In 1924 black was offered more often than any other color in the catalogs although brown, dark brown, sand (grayish tan), buff (light tan), birch (light tan) and white were offered in several of the ads.

Black

Black long stockings was the dominant type of hosiery in the early 20th century. This was especially true in the 1890s-1910s. They were also quite xommon in the 1920s. Many photographs from the 1920s show boys wearing black long stockings, primarily with knickers. This was especially true of the early 1920s. The New York boy here is a good example (figure 1). Another example is the noted author Ross Lockridge, Jr., as a boy in 1922. Double-knee hosiery for boys (a standard school stocking) was available only in black. The Saturday Evening Post covers of the 1920s tend to show boys wearing black long stockings.

Brown/Tan

We see boys wearing light-colored long stockings in numerous images. A family portrait of Wister Morris shows him wearing light-colored long stockings, probably a light tan, with a casual sailor suits in 1921. We note a 1926 Kodak d. The black and white photographt of the day makes it impossible to dertermin just what color they were. We think tan or other brown shades were the most common. We note one of the Richie boys wear wearing very light-colored long stockings about 1925.

White

We note far fewer images of boys wearing white long stockings in the 1920s. Presumably white would be chosen mainly for girls or for quite young boys (as a dressy alternative to darker shades), but black was still a very important color. One Saturday Evening Post cover shows a girl in white stockings. We notice one boy wearing white stockings for a beautiful baby contest held in Muncie, Indiana during 1924. This was a very middle class event. He seems to be the only boy in the group that does. Perhaps formality is not so much the issue here, since the children and parents are at something rather like a picnic--at least an outdoor gathering. The white long stockings here are simply the mother's idea of elegant fashion--a way of making her boy stand out from the others as cuter than the rest. Note again that the season has little to do with the choice. The boy doesn't need long stockings for warmth. Another point: notice how long the stockings have become by 1924. We note both boys and girls wearing white kneesocks and white long stockings as part of a band uniform in 1923.

Created: 11:44 PM 3/9/2005
Last updated: 7:16 PM 4/13/2006