Figure 1.--This Belgian boy was named Julio.He was 10 ½ years old when this portrait was taken in 1918. The studio was Léon Gillard in Liège which is located in Wallonia close to the linguistic divide with Flanders. His outfit seems more like French styles than Dutch or German styles. This was common in French-speakking Wallonia. We note many Belgian boys and girls wearing three-quater socks in the early-20th century. They were usually white. An enscription is written in French. The enscription on the back of the card reads, "Affectueux Souvenir aux demoiselles Swayne. Julio à 10 ½ ans Novembre 1918." This translates as, "Affectionate memory to the Misses Swayne; Julio is 10 ½ years old. November 1918." He looks more dressed for summer. This of course was quite an eventful month. The Allies finally liberated Belgium from the Germans and Workd War I ended. Liège was located close to the German border and was one of the last areas of Belgium evacuated by the Germans.

Belgian hosiery trends have generally followed those in France, although Flemish boys were also influenced by Germany. HBC still has very limited information on Belgian 19th century hosiery styles. We believe that long over the knee stockings were common, although like in France, not as common in America. This may have especially been the case in the winter. Three-quarter socks seem to have been popular in the early 20th century, especially for younger children. They were usually white. The boy here is a good example (figure 1). We have less informnation on short socks. Long stockings were worn both for warmth and as dress or formal wear. Kneesocks were commonly worn by Belgian boys, especially in the 1910s and after World War I. We see boys wearing white knee socks by the late-1920s. We have less information before the turn of the century. They generally replace long stockings during the 1920s, although some younger boys continued to wear them for warmth during the winter. They continued to be worn after World War II, but began to decline in popularity during the 1950s. Boys in some private Catholic schools wore white kneesocks although I don't think that was common outside of school. Increasingly in the 1950s ankle socks became more common, especially during the warmer summer months. One Belgian observer reports that boys there in the late 1990s are wearing their socks as close to their shoes as possible. He lives in Flanders where this style is reportedly very popular. He is less sure about Wallonia (French speaking Belgium) and neighboring countries. The boys turn down regular socks but it's often difficult to see because they turn over their socks. It is mostly teenagers who wears them like that. I haven't seen younger boys wearing their socks so short. The fashion is extremely new! It started in Spring 2001. It's becomming very popular and they turn down their socks so far, you often can't see that they are wearing socks. Our Flemish observer also reports that teenage boys mostly wore white athletic socks in Flanders in former days (about 5 years ago). Now, athletic socks are still very popular but more and more boys are wearing colored socks (mostly blue, black ones) nowadays. He is unsure if boys in neighboring countries also are beginning tp wear colored socks.

Created: 11:39 PM 9/22/2011
Last updated: 9:39 PM 9/23/2011