Figure 1.--Here we se two German brothers wearing short pants with dark flat-weave long stockings. The portraits looks to have been taken in the 1940s.

Here we se two German brothers wearing short pants with dark flat-weave long stockings. The portraits looks to have been taken in the 1940s. The juctaposition of warm wearher knit shirts and long stockings is interesting. Long stockings were often worn for cool wether or dress occassions, bit not uncommonly they were just the standard hosiery for boys what ever the weather. In this occassions we suspect tht mother dressed the boys in knit shirts during the summer, but added their best short pants and long stockings to dress them up a bit for the portrait. Notice how the collasrs are buttoned and the self belts. A reader writes, "I was struck by the fact the the mother thought it was warm enough to dress the two boys in short-sleeved, summer-style shirts but at the same time insisted on long stockings and formal wool pants. This is an interesting mix. Apparently mother decided for some reason not to dress them more formally.