Figure 1.--Here we see three American brothers, two of them wearing matching white sailor suits. The older brother wears a dark above-the-knee knicker suit. This seems to be an example of age-grading in the 1920s. We don't have the exact date of the photograph, but it is designated as the 1920s in a group of photographs from that decade. The two younger boys seem to be about 6 and 8 years old, while the older boy looks as though he is about 10 or 11. The boys in the white sailor suits are wearing white three-quarter socks or knee socks which have either fallen down or have been deliberately scrunched down for greater informality and comfort. The older boy dresses in a more grown-up, dressy style with his dark double-breasted suit with white collar and tie. But his suit has above-the-knee knickers which he wears with the usual black long stockings. It was considered acceptable in respectable families in the early 1920s to let very little boys appear with short pants and bare knees. But older American boys (from about 8 years upwards) were supposed to have their legs and knees covered--in the present case by knickers and long stockings. This boy would have probably worn knickers until at least 16 during the 1920s and 1930s. Notice the thin black band around the left sleeves of the sailor suits and also the lanyards and dickeys.

We note kneepants which were once so common largely disappear in the 1920s. We still note them being worn in the early 1920s, especially for younger boys. A good example here are younger boys' wash suits offered by an American department store in 1922. We also notice kneepants persisting in formal suits that might be worn for First Communion or confirmastion. Short pants becamevery common in Europe, less so in the United states. Younger boys might shot pants, but most boys wore knickers. A good example is the the three brothers here with he younger boys wearing short pants sailor suits and the older boy wearing a knicker suit (figure 1). Especially baggy plus-four knickers become fashionable. We notice an older boy wearing a short-pants suit with cuffed knee socks, perhaps English but probably German, in the 1920s. The short length of his trousers and the lack of ornamental buttons means that these are really shorts rather than knee pants. The newer style of short pants being adopted in the United States is well illustrated by three California brothers, who all wear them. The youngest boy wears shorts with beige long stockings (notice the supporters showing) while the middle boy wears the more conservative black stockings. The oldest boy has switched to knee socks with cuffs. By 1925 knee pants had almost totally been abandoned. We note button-on outfits in the 1920s. Here we see German brothers wearing button-on outfits. The two boys are dressed in a coordinated way with what look to me like button-on matching suits (although with different neckties). They were knee-length short pants with white long stockings and strap shoes. Their father is apparently a Lutheran pastor (note the preaching tabs). The two boys seem to be about 5 and 8 years old.