Figure 1.--Here we see an Austrian boy and sister in the 1930s. The unidentified children nlook to be about 9-13 yerars old. The boys weares a standard single breasted suit with short pants and knee dsocks. Notice the high-top shoes. His big sister wears a sailor dress..

European boys wore long pants suit into the mid-19th cenntury. Greadualy shortened pants styles, including knickers and knee pants, usually worn with long stockings. At first short pants suits were only worn by younger boys, but gradually older boys began wearing them as well. After the turn of the 20th century we see boys in some countriues wearing knee pants suits with socks rather than long stockings. Only after World War I (1914-18) do we begin to see short pants suits to any extent. There was a gradual shift from knee pants to short pants. Initially the short pants worn were very long. We still see suits with knee pants that had leg buttons. Gtradually the short pants began to be done at shorter lengths. Short pants became standard in the inter-war era throughout Europe and this continued through the 1950s, declig in the 1960s. This all varied country bu country, but was a generl pattern throughout Europe. A factor here was class patterns. Working-class boys generally did not attend secondary schools. Thus after finishing primary school (about age 13) began to wortk. These boys often began wearing long pants suits. Boys continuing on the secondary school often continued wearing short pants suits longer. Only afrter World War II (1939-45) did secondary education become standard. This pattern was the case in all the more industrailized countries (Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands). It was also the case in other less developed countries, but suits in general were less common in these countries. Here the important element was that industrialization meant that incomes were higher meaning that families had more vmoney dor clothing and fashion. It also meant that children were abke to stay in school longer. Climate was a factor, but actually a minor factor.

Austria

Austrian boys generally followed German fashion trends, at least pm Vienna and other cities. Outside the cities economic conditions were poorer and suits less common. We do not have much information on the 19th century. We see boys wearing knee pants and knicker suits in the late-19th century with long stockiings, mostly with long stockings. These pants continued in the early-19th century, but with some boys wearing socks during the spring and summer months. After World War I (1914-18) we begin to see short pamts which became standard for boys This continued throgh the 1950s. Short pants suits were commonly worn with knee socks akthough younger boys wore ling stockings during the winter as in Germany. We begin to see nore boys wearing long pants long pamts suits (1960s). Gradually we vegon to see boys wearing suits of all kinds less commonly. And we see a general European fashion, indluenced by American styles, becoming important (1970s).

Belgium

While knee pants were widely worn in the late-19th and early-20th century. short opants were a 29th century style. We know much more about the 20th century and are gradually building a sizeable archive. Every country has its little peculiarities in the developing photographic record. The Germans like the Americans and British took huge numbers of family snapshots which added to the more formal studio photography. There seem to be fewer Belgian snapshots avialble. Of course Belgium is a small country, but still there seem to be an unusually large numbr of formal studio portaits. At least that is what we have found to date. As a resut, we know a great deal about how boys dressed up and the suits they wore, at least for the 20th century. Short pants suits seem very common after World War I for boys through their early teens. At first they were long linke knee pants. For formality, boys still might wear knee pants suits. We also see boys wearing knicker suits, commonly teenagers in the inter-War era. Age conventions were a factor which also varied over time. Some older boys wore knicker suits. On the previous page we see a boy wearing a single breasted jacket and short pants in 1925. Here we see a boy wearing a double-breasted short pants suit, we think in the 1930s, but we are not sure (figure 1). Notice the popular Shiller collar and high top shoes. We notice two unidentified boys wearing single- and double-breasted jackets with short pants in 1933. Knee socks see very common with short pants suits, generally conservative solid color socks, but we note some argyles and other patterns as well. For especiallay formal occasions or famiklies which insisted on formality, long stockings were also worn. After World War II, especially by the 1960s we see more boys wearing long-pants suits, including some younger boys. Short pants suits seem to have remained more popular in Belgium than some other European countries, reflecting a conservative outlook of some parents.

Figure 1.--English boys after the 1960s less commnonly wore short pants suits. Some schools, however, continued to use grey suits as a school uniform. Most private schools had blazers rather than suits.

England

I have no historical information on the origin of short pants worn with knee socks leaving the knee bare. They appear to have first appeared in England after the turn of the century. They were given great popularity by Lord Baden Powell and the nascent Boy Scout Movement. The original shorts were generally worn quite long, often faling to the middle of the knee. English boys continued to wear long, relatively baggy cut shorts until the 1960s. The continental cut shorter cut became common in the 1970s. At the same time it became less common for older boys to wear shorts. Plain grey suits were especially popular in England and these suits were also adopted by some schools as a school uniform.

France

French boys soon adopted the short pants which appeared in England and by the 1910s were commonly wearing shorts--albeit rather long shorts. Shorts became the dominate fashion for boys in major European countries. The length was similar to the length worn by English boys. By the 1930s, however, shorter lengths had become increasingly common. In many, especially France and Italy, the fashion for increasingly shorter shorts became wide spread. Shorts were commonly worn by European boys, even quite old boys through the 1950s. It was very common for boys' suits to have short pants. This changed in the 1960s and by the end of the decade short pants suits were only seen on younger boys.

Figure 2.--This German boy was named Walter. The snapshot outdide his homeis undated. We do know that he was 12 years old. He wears a double-breasted short oants suit.

Germany

German boys since World War I (1914-18) have commonly worn short pants suits. They did not wear uniforms at school so they had proper suits, not blazers like many British boys. I think the primary style was single breasted suits. Double breasted suits appear less popular than in France or America. The shorts were relatively long in the 1920s, but had become shorter by the 1930s. Not all boys wore short pants suit, but most did. Some boys might havr a pair of longs to wear in the cold winter weather. Quite old boys wore short pants suits. After World War II it was common to see boys as old as 16 or 17 wearing short pants. This appears to be older boys than commonly wore short pants with suits before the War. This was partly due to the strained economic situation of Germans after the War. Many families probably had to delay buying their sons a new suit, so the old short pants suit may have been worn a year or two longer than usual. Short pants suits were still commonly worn in the 1950s, although the age of the boy began to decline by the late 1950s and the suits became less common in the 1960s. Short pants suits for boy went out of style in the 1970s, although some younger boys might still wear them.

Hungary

We see Hungarian boys wearing the same basic types of pants as in Austria and Germany. The pants worn with the suits included short pants, knee pants, knickers, and long pants. Knee pants and short pants were common during the late-19th and early-20th centuries. This was at first for younger boys, but eventually teen agers, especially younger teens, also wore the shortened-length pants. As in other European countries, after World War I and especilly after the 1960s, long pants became standard for all but the youngest boys. These are all trends that followed if not mirrored fashion tends in Austria and Germany.

Italy

Italian boys began wearing short pants after the turn of the century. Most boys wore shorts by the 1920. The length was fairly long at first, only slightly shorter than kneesocks, but began to become shorter in the 1930s. Quite old boys wore short pant suits in the years before and after World War II. I have little information on Italy. Hopefully a HBC visitor will eventually provide some information.

Netherlands

Dutch boys have worn several different types of suit pants, including kneepants, short pants, knickers, and long pants. The popularity of these types varied over time and among boys of different ages. Trens were simikar to nrigboring countries, esoecially Britain and Germany. Boys wore long pants with skeleton suits in the eaely-19th century. We begin to see various types of shortened-pants worn with suits at mid-century by younger boys from fashionable families. By the late-19th century we begin to see older boys wearing knee pants and knickers. After World War I, short pants began widely worn through the early-teens. Short pants suits were widely worn in the inter-War and post-World War II period. A good example is Jongetje Lanen in 1970. Short pants suits declined in popularity during the 1970s. By about age 15 years we see most boys wearing knickers or long trouswers. Some boys continued wearing short pants into their teens. A good example is 16-year old Frans Leferink in 1927. There were many variations such as the length of the knee, short, and knicker pants and the cut of the long pants. The time line of these different suits types varied. To some extent one type relaced the other, but often to the extent they overlapped. There were age conventions associate with the choice of pants, although since the 1960s, most boys have worn long pants suits.

Portugal

Portugal was one of the poorest in Europe. Many boys as a result came from families that could not afford suits. Portugal's war climate may have also been a dactor. For some reason we also see Portuguse boys wearing long pants, in many cases heavily parched long pants. We are not entorely sur why that was, but we sispevt that many bpys had to leace primar school early to help support the family. This often mean that they were more likely to wear long pants s=as they became more independent. Boys from peosperius urban families were more likely to wear short pants, including short pants suits, following wider European fashion trends.

Russia

Russia befopre the Revolition was a split society. Prosperois families in urban areas were influenced by European fashion, including suit styles. Traditional Russian styles were akso worn, Our 19th century archive is limited, but we see more long pants suits in Russia than other countries. In the countryside. tradition serf syles were still common. With the Revolution, this changed. Fashion was seen as a bourgeois capitalist concept. And the poberty generated by the Revolution meant that few families could pirsie fashion even if they were allowed to do so. We seen even impirtant Soviet leaders weating baggy, poorly tailoted suits, So boys were less cpmmly outfitted in suits. We see some boys wearing suits, byr fewe than in Western Europe. And despite the climate wer see some boys weationg short panmts suits. Economic conditions improved after World War II, nut never approached the prosperoty of the capitalist West. We see some short pants suits in the 1960s, nut few after that. Even before the demise of the Soviet Union (1992), Russian boys had begun to adopt the wider European fashion treds.

Serbia

Serbian in the Balkans emerged as a enemy tothe Auhstro-Hungarian Empire which came to cintrol Bisnia with its substantial Serbian ethnic population. Even so, as it emnerged from the Ottoman Empire, the Western fashions that were modt popular were Autrian-German trends. This was because, durto Gepgraphy, the Euyropoean countries most imprtant to the Serbian economy were German. The large German fashion industry was also a major factor. This continued after World War I when Serbian became the cebter of Yugoslavia, combiming the Slavic states pf the Balkans. German styles including short pants suits were very common in urban areas. In the country side, especially in Serbia and Macedonia, traditional peasant styles. After Workd War II, we continue to see short pants suits. into the 1960s. Then the general European styles also became commomn in Serbia and the other Yugoslave provinces that achieved independence (1990s).

Spain

Spain was out of the European mainstream as a result of the Inquistion. This continued into the 19th century, although our archive is limited. Spain was not as poor as Portugal, but still less prpsperous than the rest of Western Europe. We see many Spamish boys wearing short pants. Suits were less common because of the realtively poor economy and perhaps the climate. We do nseen some short pants suits among prpsperous urban damilies. Finally Spanish boys adopted the wide generalk European fashions in which suits of all types declined in usage.

Created:10:00 AM 3/14/2020
Last edited: 10:00 AM 3/14/2020