Figure 1.--This American boy's name was Earnest. His little sister was Claudine. He wears his above-the-knee knickers with dark kne esocks. Unfortunately the image is undated. It looks to us as if it was takern in the mid-1920s. Ernest apparently teased his liitle sister about having crosseyes when the prints were developed. Click on the image for a fuller description.

Knickers became standard wear for American boys (1910s). A first they were worn with long stockings. Knee socks gradually became more common (1920s). Knickers at first were cut to be buckled above the knee, but the knee was covered by the long stockings. Gradually the cut of knickers became longer, designed to be cut below the knee. This occurred at the same time that knee socks were becoming more common (1920s). We mostly see boys wearing knickers with brightly patterned knee socks (1930s). Toward the end of the decade we see knickers being worn with ankle socks during the summer. During the interim period between long stockings and knee socks and netween shorter snd longer-length knickers we see boys wearing knickers with theitr knees showing. This was not real common, but we see a number of instrances,primarily during the late-1910s snd early/mid-1920s. The boy here is a good example (figure 1).

Knicker Length

American boys for several decadeds commonly wore knee pants. Knickers were mot very common. Knee pants were almost universal (1890s-1900s). We begin to see knickers commonly in the late-1900s. Knickers became standard wear for American boys (1910s). Knickers at first were cut to be buckled above the knee, but the knee was covered by the long stockings. Gradually the cut of knickers became longer, designed to be cut below the knee.

Accompanying Hosiery

Jnickers like the knee pants they replaced were at first worn with long stockings. Knee socks gradually became more common (1920s). The longer cut of knickers occurred more or less at the same time that knee socks were becoming more common (1920s). This shift did not oiccur all at one time. Thus in the lsate-20s and early-30s we see noth long stockings and kjnickers being wiorn wiuth knickers. Here age was a factor. Younger boys were more lkikely to wear loing stockings. We mostly see boys wearing knickers with brightly patterned knee socks (1930s). Toward the end of the decade we see knickers being worn with ankle socks during the summer.

Interim Period

During the interim period between long stockings and knee socks and between shorter and longer-length knickers we see boys wearing knickers with their bare knees showing rather like short pants. This was not real common, but we see a number of instrances, primarily during the late-1910s and early/mid-1920s. The boy here is a good example (figure 1). The boy's name was Ernest. By the early-1920s, as knee socks had begun to replacece long stockings, some boys continued to buckle their knickers above the knee leaving the knee bare when worn with knee socks. This looked almost like the short pants generally (at least in America) worn by younger boys. This tendency persisted only for a brief period in the late-1910s and early-1920s. Othrer boys would buckle their knickers below the knee so their knees would not show. Gradually this becme unecessary as longer cut knickers became more common. Here we are a little uncertain about the time line because many of the images that we have found are undated, making it hard to establish a time line for this fashion. Some of the available images look to have been taken into the mid-1920s, but we rarely see it in the late-20s or 30s. Many of the images showing boys wearing knee socks and above-the-knee knickers are studio or family snapshot portraits. They often look to be occassions where the boys are dressed up t be photographed. It seems less common for play or school. We have only noted American boys wearing above-the-knee knickers with knee socks and it appears to be an primarily an American style. They may have been worn in other countries as well, but we have not noticed it. This may in part be due to the fact that by the 1920s when knee socks had become standard wear in Europe, knickers had become a garment worn by older boys and younger boys wore short pants. As a result, most photographs of boys in knickers show them wearing long stockings with knickers or below-the-knee knickers with knee socks.

Bloomer Knickers

We do notice American and European boys wearing bloomer knickers rather ghan proper knickers with buckle closures in the early-20 the century (1900s-10s), but they were worn with long stockings or threequater socks, not knee socks.

Catalogs

Knickers were widely advertized in catalogs during the 1910s through the 1930s. Almost always the ads depicted boys wearing either long stockings or knee socks with the knickers buckled below the knee. A complicating factor her is that many kniclers beuckled above the knee but the often baggy material fell down over or partially over the knee giving the impression that they were longer. Very rarely do we see above the knee knickers worn with knee socks depicted in the catalog illustrations. One exception is Wearpledge Palm Beach suits in 1920.

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] [Sailor suits] [Short pants suits]
[Ring bearer/page costumes] [Eton suits] [Long stockings] [Knee socks]

Created: 4:58 PM 1/17/2005
Last edited: 5:07 AM 5/1/2018