Boys' 20th Century Trousers Chronology: The 1930s


Figure 1--German boys very commonly short pants in the 1930s. This 1930 photograph, appears to be a school group. The boys wear short pants with boyh long stockings and kneesocks. Several boys are barefoot.

Short pants and knickers, however, were still more common than long pants for boys. The wearing of short pants and knickers had almost completely replaced knee pants in the United States. European schoolboys continued to wear short pants throughout the decade. Older boys in the 1930s begin to wear long trousers more commonly, more in America than Europe. We see substantial differences between America and Europe concerning the pants and trousers worn by boys. American boys by the 1930s were fastening below the knee as had become standard by the 1930s. Short pants were more common in Europe. The lerngth of the shorts varied substantially. Some boys still wore long cut short pants in the 1930s, but by the mid-30s we see boys wearung shorter cut shorts, especially in European countries (France, Germany, and Italy). European schoolboys continued to wear short pants throughout the decade. Aome American boys also wore shorts, but knickers werev more common and long pants becoming increasingly popular. Kneesocks were commonly worn in the 1930s. Long stocks were still worn, but declining in poularity. By the end of the decade we see morevboys wearing ankle socks.socks. Knickers were worn with plain long stockings or with patterned knee socks (like golf socks). The knee socks were more popular with boys but quite a bit less formal.

Pants Types

Short pants and knickers were still more common than long pants for boys. The wearing of short pants and knickers had almost completely replaced knee pants in the United States. Knickers were widely worn by American boys in the 1930s, although by the end of the decade were declining in popularity. Boys wore corduroy knickers to school, sometimes with matching jackets, and, for more formal or dress-up occasions, they wore knicker suits. In 1939 Sears offered both informal corduroy knickers and the dressier knicker suits.

Countries

We see substantial differences between America and Europe concerning the pants and trousers worn by boys. European schoolboys continued to wear short pants throughout the decade. We notice a typical German schoolboy in 1931 wearing a sweater, short pants, and long black stockings. Notice that these short pants are more or less the same length as the old-fashioned knee pants, but more informal and without the ornamental buttons. In America smaller boys continued to wear shorts, but knickers continued to be the dominant form of boys' trousers--especially for boys 10 years old or more. Sears in their 1930 catalog advertised the popular knickers that most American schoolboys wore. Short pants were worn in Germany with both knee socks and long stockings. A 1937 photo shows a German gymnasium (secondary school) with boys wearing both kinds of hosiery with their shorts. Note that many of these boys are wearing the quasi-military Hitler youth accoutrements with their school clothes. The fascist influence over schools extended of course to Italy during the 1930s. We notice a 1938 photo of an Italian class of primary school boys at Monferrato. Some of the boys wear the customary smocks over their shorts while others wear their Balilla uniforms. Notice how short the short pants of the boys are and how long the long stockings must be to cover their legs. A few of the boys wear knee socks (notice how they tend to fall down) but most of the boys wear full-length stockings, obviously with garters since the stockings stay up neatly. English schoolboys in the 1930s typically wore short trousers (the English don't say short pants) with cuffed (turn-over-top) knee socks. They were mostly required to wear short pants suits as a uniform with the school tie and grey knee socks with cuffs. A schoolboy in 1937 is a good example.

Length

The length of pants changed during the 1930s. Curiously knickers got longer and short pants got shorter. I'm not sure quite how to explain that. American boys by the 1930s were fastening below the knee as had become standard by the 1930s. We mostly see European boys wearing below the knee knickers. Younger boys might wear short-cut shorts. This was at a time when girl's skirts could be quite short. Shorter-cut short pants were seen as most appropriate for younger boys. Older boys and in Europe even teenagers might wear short pasnts, usually wanted longer-length shorts. There seem to have been some variation here. We see some Hitler Youth boys wearing short-cut short pants, but rarely Boy Scouts. Many boys, often older boys, still wore long-cut short pants in the 1930s, but by the mid-30s we see boys beginning to wear shorter-cut shorts, especially in European countries (France, Germany, and Italy). There were even some boys wearing kneepants. This was mostly boys in some European countries wearing formal suits. Romper suits appeared with shorter pants legs.

Age

Older boys in the 1930s begin to wear long trousers more commonly, more in America than Europe. Younger American boys continued to wear short trousers, either separately or as a part of suits. Notice, for instance, the Barad twins, who wear neatly creased shorts with long stockings for their dress-up photo in 1931. Older boys more coomonly wore short pants in Europe. American boys might wear knickers up until age 17 (the oldest age offered in the ad), but during the 1930s American teenagers began wearing long pants at an earlier age. We note that by 1939 there were more long psntd suits offered and merchants like Sears were appealing to boys' vanity by making knicker suits with an extra pair of long trousers ("longies"). Here families varied as to when and wear the long pants might be worn. Some boys might wear knickers to age 16 or 17, but by the end of the decade this was no longer very common.

Construction

Knickers were fastened with buckles. Other knickers had an elastic cloth band or knitted cuffs that were supposed to hold up the kneesocks or keep the knickers from slipping down the leg.

Suspension

We note a range of approached to trouser suspension. Suspender and belts were common. British boys wore snake belts. American boys commonly wore button-on styles. We note button-on styles in Europe as well, but commonly for younger boys than in America. We also note suspender pants, often suspender shorts. Three German boys in 1939, the sons of the prosperous, middle-class Heim family, were all dressed alike, wearing a common fashion of the day--suspender short pants. They wear suspender shorts with a cross piece across the chest to keep the straps from slipping off. This style of suspender halter is similar to that customarily worn in Germany with lederhosen. These boys' clothes may have been hand-made by mother. Note that by 1939, the shorts are quite short, and that, in typical German fashion, the boys wear what look like brown long stockings with the shorts. Black long stockings had almost disappeared, and most boys had started to wear either brown or beige stockings with their shorts. In Germany, short pants were the customary trousers for schoolboys into their teens.

Conventions

We see all the different types of pants being worn for dress up occassions. We see a few European boys still wearing kneepants suits for formal occassions, even though kneepants had largely disappeared. In a 1935-39 photo we get a glimpse of how boys were dressed in NAZI Germany. A German boy wears his Hitler youth uniform with black short pnts and black knee socks (uncuffed), but, somewhat bizarrely, is carrying white flowers with a prayer book. We also notice age grading. We note a scene at the Perkins school in 1934. One boy is wearing short pants with tan long stockings and the older boy wearing knickers with patterned knee socks. Good illustration of two prominent styles in New England. It sows two kinds of boys' school dress--short with tan long stockings and knickers with patterned knee socks

Accompanying Clothes

We note an American boy of about 8 or 9 wearing a so-called Eton suit (because of the collar and jacket cut) with shorts and cuffed knee socks. This style was an American style popular with well heeled American families, believing it was an English style. Of course Eton suits were an English style, but these junioe Eton suits were not.

Youth Groups

We note that long short pants are the standard trousers for youth groups such as the Boy Scouts in Austria. Long shorts became the standard length for most scouting and youth group organizations in Europe. The shorts were usually worn with cuffed knee socks. The Hitler youth boys usually wore the same length shorts but with white knee socks for special occassions, and very often the white knee socks had no cuffs. American Scouts did not normally wear short pants, but rather knicker-length breeches. American Scouts initiated a Cubbing program in 1930 and adopted a knickers uniform.

Hosiery

Kneesocks were commonly worn in the 1930s. Long stocks were still worn, but declining in poularity. By the end of the decade we see more boys wearing abnkle socks. Knickers were worn with plain long stockings or with patterned knee socks (like golf socks). The knee socks were more popular with boys but quite a bit less formal. See the 1936 Sears ad for these knee socks designed to be worn with knickers in the 1936 catalog. This photo shows how the socks were supposed to cover the knitted closure of the knickers. Some American mothers, however, who thought that the golf-style knee socks looked too sporty and informal, continued to insist that their boys wear plain tan or beige long stockings with knickers, partly because, if worn with the customary hose supporters, the stockings would not fall down as the knee socks notoriously did. A 1936 ad shows a boy wearing knickers with the conventional tan long stockings. This style of stocking was quite persistent. In 1935-36 we see a Pittsburgh boy of about 5 or 6 wearing shorts with tan long stockings to accompany a sleeveless sweater and collared shirt with a necktie. But shorts were getting shorter. Notice that we can see the clasps of the boys' supporters when he is sitting down. A complementary photo, taken in Boston, shows the Holland brothers wearing the same type of shorts with tan long stockings, a sweater and a tie. This was a standard middle-class style for boys for the chiller seasons of the year. American boys tended to commonly wear knickers with knee socks during the 1930s rather than with long stockings that they had worn in the 1920s. For the more formal occasions, however, plain rather than patterned socks tended to be the style. Long stockings continued to be widely worn in Germany, especially for younger boys during the cold weather. Boys by the time they entered the Hitler Youth at age 10 wore them less commonly. Notice a 1930 photo of two school boys at an exclusive American prep school, Western Reserve Academy, in which one boy, probably about 16, already wears long trousers while the other boy of the same age is still wearing knickers (apparently with the old-style beige long stockings). A few years later we see a WRA boy wearing what became the more typical style of patterned knee socks with his knickers. Our photos of American prep schools (secondary often boarding schools) in the 1930s show that boys in their teens were wearing both long trousers and knickers to school. The choice usually depended on how conservative or how progressive the boy's parents were. Except for very young boys, American boys wearing knickers generally shifted to kneesocks rather than long stockings in the 1930s. One comic photo from WRA, made in the mid-1930s, shows some of the students clowning around in semi-undress, in some cases in only their undershorts. This photo is revealing because it shows some of the boys wearing calf-length socks with adult garters (a sure sign that they wore long trousers) whereas other boys still wear knickers, although knickers with the buckles undone in one case for comic effect.






HBC





Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main 20th century trouser chronology decade trend page]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Cloth and textiles] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Topics]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Satellite sites] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]



Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web chronological pages:
[Early 19th century] [Mid-19th century] [The 1860s] [The 1870s] [The 1880s]
[The 1890s] [The 1900s] [The 1910s] [The 1920s] [The 1930s] [The 1940s]
[The 1950s] [The 1960s] [The 1970s] [The 1980s]



Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web style pages:
[Skeleton suits] [Eton suits] [Norfolk jackets] [Kilts] [Knicker suits]
[Blazers] [Short pants suits] [Long pants suits]



Created: 4:13 AM 2/10/2006
Last updated: 9:21 AM 2/12/2006