Figure 1.--This CDV portrait shows an unidentified American boy, probavly photographed in late-1860s or early-70s. The white stockings suggest it was not later in the 70s. Notice the tape used to create stripe detailing on both the cut-away jacket and knee pants. Notice the top roll hair style. The studio was Cramer Gross & Co.

We have noted a variety of decorations on boys' pants. They tend not to be very common, but they do exist. Perhaps the most common decoration is stripes. We see boys with striped pants, most commonly for some reason in the 1860s and 70s--at least in America. A good example is the Van Dusen boys in 1870. This wa a military style, perhaps the Civil war was an influence. They were widely used in military school uniforms. We also see them in American summer camp short pants during the mid-20th century. Many summer camps at the time had uniforms. One popular fad futing the 1950s-60s was a little simulated belt on the back of slacks. I think this was an exclusively American style. It disappeared as jeans became more standard in American schools. We notice some pants done with ruffles. This ws most associated with the Fauntleroy craze, but was not very common. It is a little complicated to see because some times boys wore pantalettes with Fauntleroy suits. We probably see more examples in costumed commercial postcards than actual photographs. The large French post card industry created quite a number of examples. We see jeans being decorated with sequins and other aplique beginning in the 1970s, but this was more for girls than boys. We do see apliue used on pants for younger boys, often bib-front pants.