Figure 1.--Knickers became standard for American boys by the 1910s. Most boys in the 1910s and 20s wore them with long stockings. Black long stockings were very common, but we also see colors, mostly dark colors. |
|
American boys have worn a variety of hosiery with knickers. We see boys wearing long stockings, knee socks and ankle socks. Most boys wore dark long stockings, in part dark suits were very popular when knickers began to become popular. Mothers commonly attempted to match the color of the suit and stockings.
Some boys went barefoot when wearing knickers, but this was not as common as for boys wearing knee pants. At first most boys wore long stockings almost entirely. Black long stockings were especially common. This began to change in the 1920s. By the 1930s knee socks with bold patterns were more common. We see major changes in the 1930s. We note boys wearing light-colored long stockings with dark knickers. We note boys wearing ankle socks during the 1930s, especially during the summer. This appears to have been because knee socks were becoming less popular with boys.
American boys have worn a wide variety of hosiery with knickers. The hosiery seems more varied than was the case for knee pants. The most common were long stockings, but knee socks were also worn, especially in the 1930s.. We see boys mostly wearing long stockings. Black long stickings were common, but we also notice colors, mostly dark colors which might match suits. For a realtively brief period, mostly in the 1930s, knee socks were connonly worn. We see knee sovks in the late-1920s, but became much more common in the 30s. And unlike long stockings which were mostly flat colors, we ee knee socks done in baried pattrns andbright colors. Much less common were ankle socks. Boys in the summer would wear ankle socks, but this was mostly in the late 30s and early 40s as knickers were going out of style. We do not note many boys wearing three-quarter socks with knickers. Quite a few boys went barefoot during the summer when wearing knickers, but this seems even more common for boys wearing knee pants, especially in the 19th century. This is difficult to assess before famiy snap shots became common. Boys were usully dressed up for the studio portraits taken in the 19th century.
Knickers appeared in the late 19th century, but were not very common They were worn with long stockings. We do not notice knickers being commonly worn until the late 1900s, often with blacl long stockings. Knickers were commonly worn in the 1910s, almost always with long stockings. Almost all boys except pre-school boys are the very youngest elementary (primary) school boys wore knickers. American boys in the 20th century wore a variety of hosiery with knickers. This vafied by decade. Almost all of the boys wearing knickers in the 1910s wore long stockings, usually stockings matching the color of the pants. Mothers commonly attempted to match the color of the suit and stockings. Black stockings were also still very common. Some boys went barefoot when wearing knickers, but this was not as common as for boys wearing kneepants. At first most boys wore long stockings almost entirely. This began to change in the 1920s. We note some boys wearing knee socks with above-the-knee knickers showing their knees, but this was not very common. By the 1930s knee socks with bold patterns were more common. We see major changes in the 1930s. We note boys wearing light-colored long stockings with dark knickers. We note boys wearing ankle socks during the 1930s, especially during the summer. This appears to have been because knee socks were becoming less popular with boys.
American children wearing long stockings usually wore some kind of stocking supporter to hold them up. This included boys wearing knickers. Knicker closures were usually not tight enough to hold
stockings in place without some sort of gartering. Knickers were closed either with a strap and buckle or with knitted cuffs, and neither kind of closure would be sufficient to keep stockings from
slipping down the leg. Stocking supporters would be the surest way of keeping long stockings up, but some boys undoubtedly preferred rounds of elastic worn around the leg. There is no way of knowing which
method would be used, but I suspect that almost all boys, even in their teens, wore supporters when the knickers closed above the knee. And we have some evidence of this from HBC photos already on file--images
where the supporter clasps can actually be seen or reasonably inferred. The evidence is harder to come by later on (in the 1930s) when knickers started being born below the knee. My guess is that boys up
to about 12 or 13 might still wear supporters but that boys from fourteen onwards would used elastic rounds like those worn with knee socks in England.
Curiously we note that the long stockings worn with knickers were almost always solid colors, commonly dark or muted colors. On the other hand, the knee socks worn with knickers were often bold, colorful patterns. We do not understand why this diffeence existed.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main U.S. knickers page]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Cloth and textiles]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Topics]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
Navigate the Historic Boys ' Clothing Web chronol ogical pages:
[The 1900s]
[The 1910s]
[The 1920s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1950s]
Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web style pages:
[Jackets]
[Long pants suits]
[Blazers]
[Kilts]
[S ailor suits]
[Short pants suits]
[Ring bearer/page costumes]
[Eton suits]