Figure 1.--Here we see two Los Angeles brothers, probably about 1910 dressed up for some kind of specual occassion. You can clearl;y see the leh closing band on one boy's knickers. |
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The first knickers seemed to have had a band of material of material designed to fit snuggly around the leg. This was necessary to close the knickers and keep them from falling down. There was no way go close the bloused knickers unless the leg opening could be narrowed. This band was done in the same color and material as the rest of the knickers, although I think it was two or three oply for strength. There were buckles and buttons on this band used to close the leg hem at the knee. The overlapfrom the fully bloused knickers tended to cover up this band. We have, however, some photographs with knickers that were not so fully blouced that clearly show this band. We do not yet have any images of the actual fassening arrangements. The overlap obscured the fact that the knickers commonly buckled above the knee. Some knickers had enough material that they could be buckled below the knee if the boy so chose. Boys apparently preferred to do this, but some parents objected. There appears to have bben a fabric band that bucked that could be moved up or down. Knickers in the 1920s seem to have been made with less bloucing, but we have not yet found an image showing the bucklng arrangement.
A British reader tells us, I used to have to wear plus-fours or knickers occasionally in shows I was in. These were actual vintage trousers, not recently made costumes. Regardless of length, they were buckled above the knee. If they had been buckled below, they would have slipped down within minutes. The
kneecap kept the material in place. I remember the buckle straps being of the same material as the trousers,
about an inch wide and about four inches long, with the material pointed at the end (but I don't know how standard this was). The material was always of a double thickness. The buckle itself would, of course, have been sewn onto the bottom part of the trouser leg. There were no buckle holes or grips, the strap was simply pushed over and under a thin bar in the buckle and pulled tight to keep it in place."
The first knickers seemed to have had a band of material of material designed to fit snuggly around the leg. This was necessary to close the knickers and keep them from falling down. There was no way go close the bloused knickers unless the leg opening could be narrowed. This band was done in the same color and material as the rest of the knickers, although I think it was two or three ply for strength. There were either buckles and buttons on this band used to close the leg hem at the knee. The overlap from the fully bloused knickers tended to cover up this band. On knickers tht were not so fully cut it is more obvious. We have, however, some photographs with knickers that were not so fully blouced that clearly show this band. Sometimes the closing tab cam be seen.
We do not yet have any images of the actual fastening arrangements. This is usually hidden by the overlap of the bloused knee hem. We believe that there was two fastening alternatives. We believe that some were fastened by buttoning arrangements. Others had strap fastening. There may have been other arrangements, but this is all we know of at this time. We are not positive about the chrnology, but believe buttons were used before World war I and the strap fassening appared after the War. This we need to confirm.
The overlap obscured the fact that the knickers commonly buckled above the knee. Some knickers had enough material that they could be buckled below the knee if the boy so chose. Boys apparently preferred to do this, but some parents objected. There appears to have bben a fabric band that bucked that could be moved up or down. Knickers in the 1920s seem to have been made with less bloucing, but we have not yet found an image showing the bucklng arrangement. A British reader tells us, I used to have to wear plus-fours or knickers occasionally in shows I was in. These were actual vintage trousers, not recently made costumes. Regardless of length, they were buckled above the knee. If they had been buckled below, they would have slipped down within minutes. The kneecap kept the material in place. I remember the buckle straps being of the same material as the trousers, about an inch wide and about four inches long, with the material pointed at the end (but I don't know how standard this was). The material was always of a double thickness. The buckle itself would, of course, have been sewn onto the bottom part of the trouser leg. There were no buckle holes or grips, the strap was simply pushed over and under a thin bar in the buckle and pulled tight to keep it in place."
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