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A very popular style for younger boys were pants with elastic wastes. This made dressing theselves easy for young people and it made other stles of trouser suspension (suspenders or button-on styles) unecessary. The idea of an alasticized waust band was born in 1925 with bioxing trunks. The idea was quickly adopted by the clothing indudtry, especially for undepnts. They were becoming standard (1930). Elastic waists were first commonly made for underpants. Boys' short panbts soon followed. They included full elastic all around with shorts without flys--commonly play shorts. There were also partial elastic waists for more formal shorts with flys. These are often referred to as boxer shorts, referring to the trunks worn by boxers (prize fighters). The term boxer shorts is now more commonly used for short pants-like underwear. While the term "boxer" was most commonly used for short pants in the 1950s, we also noted advertisements for boxer long pants jeans in the 1950s. We have never noted elasticized waist knickers or kneepants. An American HBC reader remembers from 1960s jeans with elastic in the back to hold up pants. This style was for boys probably until age 8 or so though he remembers one boy (it was unusual that is why he remembered it) who was very thin and wore them up until age 11 or so. English readers remember velvet short pants, some even made in velveteen, that were popular for younger boys in the 1970s.
A very popular style for younger boys were pants with elastic wastes. This made dressing theselves easy for young people and it made other stles of trouser suspension (suspenders or button-on styles) unecessary. Suspenders were difficult for little ones to handle as wll as being restrictive. Button-on shorts required specifically made button on shirts. They could not be worn, for example with casual styles like "T"-shirts.
We are not sure when elastic first appeared ib clothing as trouser suspension. We think in the 1930s, but this needs more investigation. Elastic has a much longer history. Engishman Thomas Hancock devised uses for elastic in clothing (1820). He patented elastic fastenings for gloves, suspenders, shoes, and stockings. As a result, elatic was used in clothing for most of the 19th century. The most important item was surely suspenders which became a major way for men and boys to hold up trousers. They were more important than belts during the 19th century. What Hancock and others did not invent was elasticized waistbands to hold up pants and trousers, including underpants.
This step occurred a cenbtury later. Jacob Golomb, founder of Everlast, designed elastic-waist trunks to replace the leather-belted trunks then worn by boxers (1925). They were described as 'boxer trunks' Trunk mean a person's body apart from the limbs and head. It became wasoociated with the waist. Trunk hose in medieval times went up to the waist. Elastic waiss also solved the problenm created by the decline of the tops for swim suits going out of style. It is why swimsuits became called swim trunks. Very quickly elastic waist bands were appeard in other clothing. The most important early adoption was underwear. Boxer underpants soon appeared and were becoming standard in the 1930s. Until the 1930s and 40s, people had to find others mechanisms to hold their pants and undergarments in place. manufacturers began replacing cinch ties and button yokes with elastic waistbands. Another very early adoption was cuffs for knicker leg hems. This may have begun before boxer shoes. We are not entirely sure about that. One clothing expert asks the question--what took so long? He answes, "Some of it was a sort of fashion inertia -- if it ain't broke, don't fix it -- but some of it was industrial necessity. Textile manufacturers either had to adapt their operations to produce elastic or find partners that could supply it economically. Either way, making elastic looked no different than making other woven fabrics. It required a loom, which was a machine that allowed lengthwise threads known as the warp to be interlaced with widthwise threads known as the weft. In normal woven fabric, those threads would consist of yarn derived from natural fibers, such as cotton or wool. But in elastic, strands of yarn were laced together with strands of natural or synthetic rubber." [Harris] An American HBC reader remembers from 1960s jeans with elastic in the back to hold up pants. This style was for boys probably until age 8 or so though he remembers one boy (it was unusual that is why he remembered it) who was very thin and wore them up until age 11 or so.
We have noted suspender shorts and longs. There may have been suspender knickers or kneepants, but we can not yet confirm this.
Elastic waists were commonly made for short pants. This began with boxing trunks (prize fighters) that first appeared (1925). Elastic had been used in vlothing for over a century, but this was the first waist band. We see underpants with elastic waist bands soon after. They were becoming standard in the 1930s. The great benefit of this was for younger children learning to dress or toilet training. Modern children have mo idea of the develish contraptions younger childten had to ciontend with including all kind of buttons in hard to reach places. Elaticised waisted mean that underpants and plants could be put on with a simpl pull and taken of with a quick tug. We are not sure when the first boxer short pants appeared. We note them n the 1940s, but some may have appeared in the 30s.
These waists included full elastic all around with shorts without flys--commonly plauy shorts. There were also partial elastic waists for more formal shorts with flys. These are often referred to as boxer shorts, referring to the trunks worn by boxers (prize fighters). The term boxer shorts is now more commonly used for short pants-like underwear. English readers remember velvet short pants, some even made in velveteen, that were popular for younger boys in the 1970s.
While the term "boxer" was most commonly used for short pants with elasticized waists, there were also in the 1950s, we also noted advertisements for boxer long pants jeans in the 1950s.
Harris, William. "How elastic works," howstuffworks.com, undated.
