Boys' 1920s Pants and Trousers: Age


Figure 1.--We see German boys in their mid-teens still wearing shot pants with kneesocks. We are not sure how common this was, but believe that it was fairly common for boys still in school. The photograph here is a good exampl. The older boys here look to be about 14-16 years old and are wearing short pants, mostly with kneesocks. The photograph is undated, but looks to e taken in the 1920s.

The type of pants worn by a boy in the 1920s was signifgicantly affected by age, but here conventions varied by country and often sociasl class. Some older boys in the United States had begun to buckle their knickers below the knee. One photograph of an American teenager in 1921 shows him wearing below-the-knee knickers but still with the conventional long black stockings. Younger boys, however, continued to wear above-the-knee knickers. We have an interesting photo of the Wright brothers from Louisiana (taken in 1924) showing the two older boys wearing such knickers, while their still younger brothers have been dressed in the newer-style short pants, short enough to expose the hose supporters holding up their stockings. Notice that in 1924 all the Louisiana boys wear the lighter colored long stockings rather than black. American boys of all ages might wear overalls in rural areas. European boys were more likely to wear short pants. Short pants often cut to knee length were common throughout Europe and bioys might wear them even in the winter. Some older boys might wear knickers. While knickers and short pants were commonly worn by boys, some boys also wore long pants. Here a range of factors were involved that affected family preferences. One problem in working with this section is that we often do not know the precise age of the children in availasble photographs.

1 Year Old


6 Years Old

We see American boys of all ages wearing knickers during the 1920s. This included both younger and older boys. An example of a youngwer boy is an American boy at school in a music group. The photograph was taken in the earky 20s. This was much less common in Europe. Not only were knockers less comon, but they were mostly wiorn by older boys.,

8 Years Old

American boys at age 8 might wear short pants, but knickers were more common. Many boys wore their knickers below the knee. Some boys still wore kneepants in the early 20. Most European boys wore short psnts at age 8. Kneepants might ber worn for dress occasions, but after the early 20s were rapidly replaced with short pants. They were often worn with booth kneesocks and long stockings, depending on the season and the boy's age.

9 Years Old

Younger American boys might wear short pants and then graduate to knickers at an age parents thoufht azppropriate. We have an interesting photo of the Wright brothers from Louisiana (taken in 1924) showing the two older boys (age 8 and 9 years) wearing such knickers, while their still younger brothers have been dressed in the newer-style short pants, short enough to expose the hose supporters holding up their stockings. Notice that in 1924 all the Louisiana boys wear the lighter colored long stockings rather than black.

13 Years Old

Many teenagers in America during the 1920s wore knickers. The age varied from family to family as to when a boy would begin to wear long pants. Many boys made the transition at about 13 years of age. This was particularly common in working class families. Boys from more affluent families might wear knickers longer. By age 13 boys wearing knickers would want to wear them buckled below the knee.

15 Years Old

We note one American teenager in 1921 who is wearing below-the-knee knickers but still with the conventional long black stockings. He looks to be about 15 years old.

16 Years Old

Many American boys by age 16 were wearing long pants, but knickers were still quite common, especially in the early 1920s. We see German boys in their mid-teens still wearing shot pants with kneesocks. We are not sure how common this was, but believe that it was fairly common for boys still in school. The photograph here is a good exampl (figure 1). The older boys here look to be about 14-16 years old and are wearing short pants, mostly with kneesocks.






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Created: 2:51 AM 2/13/2006
Last updated: 5:34 AM 2/18/2006