Figure 1.--We see boys wearing tights as casual wear in the 21st century. We are not sure where this photograph was taken, but the boys look rather American. A reader tells us, "This photograph is fake. The boys are not wearing tights." HBC attempts to filter out faked photographs, but this one fooled us. In looking at it again, we agree. First Americn boys in the 2000s did not commonly wear tights like this. Second, the colors are not right for tights.

Modern tights appeared after World War II. Conventions varied from country to country. They were worn by girls in America but both boys and girls wore them in Europe. They were at first generally worn for formal occasions or for formal occassions. By the early 21st century this had changed. We no longer see boys wearing tights for formal events, although Japan may be an exception. We see boys wearing tights informally, although this was not common. We also note usages like gymnastics, wrestling, and Winter sports. There continue to be significant differences as to wearing conventions. Northern European boys seem much more willing to wear tights than American boys. Gender conventions still vary widely, but as far as we can tell are not well defined. It is still not common in America for boys to wear tights, but we do see them being worn for gymnastics and wrestling. Conventions and the popularity of tights vary widely in Europe. Tights are not common in southern Europe, but are popular in several northern European countries. Climate appears to be the principal factor involved. Some images suggest that boys are wearing tights as casual clothing even when the weather is not cold. This does not seem to be a common convention, but available images suggest that it is occurring.

The 2000s

Modern tights appeared after World War II. Conventions varied from country to country. They were worn by girls in America but both boys and girls wore them in Europe. They were at first generally worn for formal occasions or for formal occassions. By the early 21st century this had changed. We no longer see boys wearing tights for formal events, although Japan may be an exception. We see boys wearing tights informally, although this was not common. We also note usages like gymnastics, wrestling, and Winter sports. There continue to be significant differences as to wearing conventions. Northern European boys seem much more willing to wear tights than American boys. Gender conventions still vary widely, but as far as we can tell are not well defined. It is still not common in America for boys to wear tights, but we do see them being worn for gymnastics and wrestling. Conventions and the popularity of tights vary widely in Europe. Tights are not common in southern Europe, but are popular in several northern European countries. Climate appears to be the principal factor involved. Some images suggest that boys are wearing tights as casual clothing even when the weather is not cold. This does not seem to be a common convention, but available images suggest that it is occurring. Tights for boys entered mainstream in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific for swimming and sport fitness. Companies like UnderArmor (www.underarmour.com) and Skins (www.skins.net) supply tights for men, women and children as part of standard sporting "compression" apparel. Swimwear companies like Nike, Arena, Axis and Speedo supply swim tights for men and boys after research by Speedo revealed an improved level of performance thanks to both the smooth fabric passing through the water, and augmented performance due to blood flow encouraged by the garment's firm fit.

The 2010s

We continue see boys wearing tights in the 2010s, but in a relatively small number of countries. In this regard, tights are rather unusual. Children fashions are increasingly standard around the world. Boys in America, Brazil, Russia, and even China wear essentially the same stles one climatic and socio-economic factors are filtered out. The one major area with destinctive clothing is the Middle East, and even here Western clothing is common. Tights are one of the few Western garments that are not part of the increasingly standardized modern pan-European fashion. They are worn in a number of countries, but are not worn in other countries, at least not by boys. They are coommonly worn in Russia, Japan, and Korea. We believe that they are worn in several other European countries, includinng German, Switzerland, Poland, and the Baltics. We are nor sure about Scandinavia. They may have been worn in some other countries. The are all northern lattitude countries where tights help children stay warm in the winter. They might also be worn for formality, but warm is the primary function and theyvwere mostly worn durig the winter. In Canada and America, however, despite the cold weatgher only girls wear tights.

Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronologies] [Countries] [Style Index]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [Frequently Asked Questions] [Links] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: 2:12 AM 4/21/2005
Last updated: 2:04 AM 8/27/2010