Figure 1.--This photograph at the Škoní Rok School in Czechoslovakia 1975 is the last time we noted boys there wearing H-bar pants. This was a first grade class. shows one boy wearing H-bar long pants. Only the youngest boys at the school wore them.

We note both long and short pants (but not knickers) made with H-bar suspenders, but shorts seem to have been the most common. We are not sure when H-bar pants first appeared. Boys' shorts with H-bar suspenders were worn in the early 20th century, but we are not sure when they first appeared. They certainly were being worn by the 1920s after World War I. We do not yet have any images before the War in our archives, but we suspect that they exist. We notice quite a few boys wearing H-bar pants, mostly shorts in the 1950s, especially in Germany. One example was the former royal family in 1952. The H-bar style appears to have declined in popularity during the 1960s and became very rare in the 1970s. The last we note the style is Czech 1st graders wearing H-bar long pants in 1975. After that the place of h-bar suspenders was taken by bib-overalls. We also notice Czech boys wearing long-alls, one piece garments similar to American short-alls, but done with long pants. There are ever now and then reappearances of H-bar pants, such as the London boy seen here in 2002 (figure 1). Such instance involve fashionable clothes bought in expensive botiques rather than mass market clothing. For the most part, however, H-bar pants are rarely seen anymore.

The 1900s

Boys' shorts with H-bar suspenders were worn in the early 20th century, but we are not sure when they first appeared. We do not yet have any images before the War in our archives, but we suspect that they exist.

The 1910s

We are not sure if H-bar pants were worn in the 1910s, but do not yet have any images in our archive. We suspect that the style eisted, but does not seem to have been very popular.

The 1920s

We see H-bar pants being commonly worn in the 1920s after World War I. Most of the images we have found are German. We believe, however, that H-bar shorts were worn throuhout central Europe and even in the Soviet Union. They do not seem very common in America or Britain. We note a German boy, probably in the 1920s. We note a boy at a Czech school wearing an H-bar attachment on his pants in 1922. (This might be a 1912 image, but we think it is 1922.). The number of dated impages we have been able to find are limited, but we seem to note many more H-bar images from the late eather than the early 1920s.

The 1930s

We notice quite a number of boys wearing H-bar shorts during the 1930s. It seems to have been an especilly popular German style, but was common throughout central Europe and even the Soviet Union. We note younger German boys in a Christmas image during the 1930s. A good exanple is ethnic German boysl in Romania during 1930. More boys are wearing H-bar shorts at the same school in 1931. We notice an unidentified Latvian boy during the 1930s. A stylish German mother had all three sons dressed in matching H-bar shorts during 1939.

The 1940s

H-bar pants were worn in the 1940s. We see boys in a number of countries wearing H-bar pants, especially short pants. They seem to have been especially common in Germany and neighboring central European countries, but we see them in other countries as well. We notice a very young Swedish boy wearing H-bar shorts in 1942. Gerally speaking, H-bar pants were not very common in Sweden. We note a lot of boys at a school in occupied Poland during World War II wearing H-bar shorts. These seem to be German boys and Polish boys under going Germininaztion in NAZI controlled schools. We note a German boy and his mother. We are not sure of the date, but we believe the portrait was taken in the early 1940s.

The 1950s

H-bar shorts seem to have declind in popularity during the 1950s.We notice quite a few boys wearing H-bar pants, mostly shorts in the 1950s, especially in Germany. One example was the former royal family in 1952. We also note a Finnish boy wearing H-bar shorts, probably in the 1950s. We notice a few Swedish boys wearing H-bar pants in 1953. Besides actual h-bar shorts, we also notice German boys wearing short pants with Lederhosen halters. An exxample are German brothers.

The 1960s

The H-bar style appears to have declined in popularity during the 1960s, at least as an item of general wear. We note Soviet kindergarten children wearing suspender shorts and skirts about 1960. We note boys at a Czech school wearing both H-bar and suspender pants in 1963-64. After the mid-60s, we no longer commonly see H-bar pants even in countries like Czechoslovakia wear the style was popular. After the 1960s H-bar pants become a style sometimes used in expensive botique clothing. We notice a boy at a Dutch school in the 1960s. They are still worn today, but are not common.

The 1970s

H-bar pants became very rare in the 1970s. The last we note the style is Czech 1st graders wearing H-bar long pants in 1975 (figure 1). After that the place of h-bar suspenders was largely taken by bib-overalls orbib-front pants with overall styling. We also notice Czech boys wearing long-alls, one piece garments similar to American short-alls, but done with long pants.

The 1980s

The 1990s

The 2000s

There are ever now and then reappearances of H-bar pants, such as the London boy in 2002 on aprevious page. Such instance involve fashionable clothes bought in expensive botiques rather than mass market clothing. For the most part, however, H-bar pants are rarely seen anymore.