Figure 1.--This photograph of an American boy, Frank J, was taken in September 1942. He looks to be about 6-7 years old.

A popular style in the 1930s and 50s were pants, especally shorts, for younger boys, with self-belts. They were a practical solution for trouser suspension with young, slmi-wasted boys. They were less cimbersome than suspendrs and more effective than builts. We notice self-belts during the 1920s-50s. We do not have a complete chronology yet, but we first see these self-belts in the late 1920s and note them as late as the early 60s. They were most common in the 1930s-40s. Self-belts were made in the same material and color as the trousers. They were commonly made in sizes about 5-10 years, but we know they were made in sizes up to at least 12 years, perhaps slightly larger. This was a style particularly popular in America. Many were often made as sets with button-on shorts, but they were made for regular shorts as well as long pants. They seem to have been less common for kickers. Pants were made with self-belts in play/casual, school, and dressy styles. A good example of of dressy self-belted shorts are those worn by Jack for his Santa portrait in 1930.