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we see increasingly informal clothing trends in the 1920s. They do noy look so informal to us tody, but the comparison to make is with the more formal trends before World War I on the 1900s and 10s. School caps were becoming increasingly common, but we still see some flat caps. One notable change is that we see fewer boys wearing the classic stiff Eton collars and more and more soft collars. Short pants and knee socks become virtually universal. The shorts continue to be long. We still see some sailor suits, but not as many as before the War. Sailor suits were more common on the Continent. We no longer see long stockings, at least for boys. We see purpose-made knee socks, but rolled down long stockings. Long stockings were still common in many countries on the Continent. We see knee socks with bands. We see many boys wearing sandals. We still see high-top shoes, but sandals were becoming popular. Families continued to dress up for outings that today would call for casual wear.
A 1920 post-card back snaspshot provides an insight into fashion trends at the beginning of the 1920s decade. We do not know the family name, but we know their first names and ages. They are pictured in more than a back garden, but some kind of estate, meaning that they came from a well-to-do family. Compare is to a middle-class backgarden family. snapshot. Notice the rug laid down for the children. Grace was almost 2 years old and wears a basic white dress. John was 5 and a half, almost ready for school. It is difficult to make out his outfit, but is a white short pants outfit, we belive a sailor suit with white socks. Sydney was 7 suggesting that he he had begun school, but we had no idea whst kind of school. This is not what he would have worn to school. He wears an open lapel jacket and blouse with a large collar. It looks like a soft collasr not an Eton collar. He also wears short pants, but they do not seem to match the jacket, and white socks. Armando was 9 and a half and wears what could be a chool outfit, a short pants suit with knee socks. Note how long the shorts are. He was probably attending a prep school. Joyce and Betty 10 and a half and 13 and wear similar dressess and long stockings. This looks what they might have attended at school.
This is a postcard back snapshot showing what looks like a family group. We are not sure just who is who, but would guess there are the parents, son, gradmother and perhaps an aunt. A friendly pooch completes the imge. The women wear blouse-skirt, a dress, and a jacket-skirt outfits. Father wears a suit. The boy wears is wearing a sailor jacket and white shirt underbeah,n long dhort pants, knee sicks, and high-top lace-up shoes. He look to be about 9-years old. The portrait is unhdated, but we would guess was taken in the early-1920s. (The late-1910s is poossible.) The postcard has a divided back, but no stamp box.
This is an unidentified English family portrait which looks to us was taken in the 1920s. We are unsure just what the family grouping is. We think it is probably a father and mother and mostly adult children, perhaps with the wife of one of the adult children. It is difficult to be sure. There is one younger boy who looks to be about 13-14 years old. He is wearing a short pants suit, grey school shirt, and banded knee socks indicating school socks. The portrait seems to mark some event, perhaps an anniversary. Notice the men and the boy are wearing butionaires of some sort. This is a postcard back portrait without a stamp box.
Here we have a family portrait which looks to us was taken in the 1920s. We are not sure about the country. We think it is British, primarily because of the bands on the boy's knee socks. We have seen German boys with these kneesocks, but not very commonly. We note British boys wearing these socks for both school and Scouts. The socks here look raher like school socks to us. The family, however, could be German. The gentleman to the left looks German rather English to us. The woman's dresses we think could have been worn in either Germany or England. Perhaps HBC readers might have some ideas here.
Here we see another unidentified British family, a little boy about 5 years old and his big sister who looks to be about 13 years old. We might have thought that the portrait was taken in the 1910s, but the boy's short pants it seems to us are more likely a 1920s fashion. The boy wears a white sailor suit and white dickey with colored detailing. I assume the detailing is done in blue. The sailor suit was orginally a British fashion. By the 1920s, however, only younger British boys wore them. Sailor suits were more popular in Germany. A bit ironic since the Royal Navy had played a major role in Germany's defeat in World War I. The little boy's big sister wears a dark-colored dress with flounces. I'm not sure what color it would have been.
The Turner family was a Norwegian-English family. An English chemical engineer, Maurice Russel Turner, emigrated to Norway and settled there about 1910. He married a Norwegian woman, Aslaug, by whom he had three children, Per, Sylvia, and John. A family snapshot probably taken in the 1920s. It shows shows children who seem to be about 6, Sylvia about 4, and John 8 years. Turner became the director of an aluminium factory. This prosperous family lived in Stangfjorden, located in southern Norway. The photo was apparently taken outside their residence. Maurice remained the head of the plant until 1940 when Germany invaded neutral Norway during World War II. The Turners were able to get out safely to England. Their son John distinguished himself during the war as an officer in the Green Howards, the Norwegian section of the Secret Service in London. He was rewarded for his services by being given the Norwegian War Cross, a very high honor.
Here we have a family post-card portrait from Skegness in Lincolnshire (figure 1). Skegness is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire on the North Sea coast. Most of the land in the modern center of Skegness was part of the estate of the Earl of Scarbrough. He and agent H. V. Tippet had the idea that the long sandy beach could be an attraction for vacationers from the industrial Midlands, a clientele already being developed by Thomas Cook. He planned the town as a resort (1877) and it expanded rapidly. Of course North Sea vacationers had to be a heary lot even in the summer. After World War II when economy vacation packets to Spain became available, Skegness and similar English resort town declined. Here we have a working-class family that we think were taking their vacation in Skegness. Note how they were dressed, it is not what we would call summer vacation wear. Notice the flat caps which is why we think they are a working-class family. The three boys look to be about 9-15 years old and wear identical suits, except for the pants. All three boys have round badges. We are not sure what they are. The portrait is undated, but looks to have been taken in the 1920s. The studio was Geo. Farmer on Wainfleet Road in Skegness. Wainfleet Road lead directly to the rail station and the beach.
Here we have a large unidentified group of adults od all age and one boy and his faithful pooch at the center resting his head on the boy's keee. The boy looks to be about 10 years ols and waers a shoirt poants suit. It is an undated postcard back portrait. It looks like the 1930s to us based on the clothing that the adults are wearing. We have no idea what the group is. The only thing that comes to mind is a family reunion. We are mot convinced, but we are unable to come up with another possibility. And you would think that there woild be more children in such a large family reunion. There may be another group, perhaps raesers may have some thought on this.
We noticed a family portrait a family portrait. It may have been taken in the home, but we are not sure. It look to have been taken in the late-1920 we think bcause of the Eton collars the boys are wearing. Eton collars were going out of style, but still worn in the inter-War era, the 1920s more tan the 30s. The early-30s is possible but we think somewhat less likely. The boys are wearing identical short pants suits. They even have identical English shields on their lapels. That may be some kind of Anglican pin. The only difference seems to be their ties and the banded knee socks the older brother is wearing. Banded knee socks are usually associated with school wear, but the boys seem to be wearinf suits abd nit school uniforms. The boys look to be about 9-13 years of age. They are pictured with a rather elegant looking mother and an adorable fox terrier who seems to be taking a interest in the photographer.
This family snapshot looks to show some kind of family outing. We do not know the circumstances or the name of the family, but the posture involved suggests that the boy's parents are the man and woman on the right. Notice how every one is dressed up for the outing. This would make for a small one child family. We are not sure about the other ladies. They could be aunts or just other prople on some kind of outing, perhaps a bus tour of somekind. They help date the snapshot to the 1920s, we would guess the late-1920s. The early-30s is possible, but the 20s seems most likely. Here the two cloche hats the ladies are wearing are strongly associated with the 1920s. These are helmet-like close-fitting, bell-shaped hats. It is a French term meaning bell. The boy looks to be about 11-12 years old. He wears a short pants suit and looks to be holding a standard peaked cap. It coud be a school uniform. Some schools had suits as uniforms rather than blazers, but we are not sure. There are no school badges. The knee socks have bands on the turn-over bit which commonly suggests school socks.
Here we have an unidentified English family in their back garden, obvuiusly a middle-class fmily. We see a small, but tidy back garden (the Britih term for back yard). Mother has haulded out a blanket for the boys to sit on. That is something that would be unlikely in America on a well-manacured lawn. This looks to be grandfather's home with two adult daughters, thus an extended family. In fact both men might be grandfathers, here we can only guess. Notice one of the men wears a tie and suit for a backyard event. The two boys are dressed idntically in long-sleeve white shirts, short pants, and long school socks. A concession to summer seems to be white, perhaps canvas shoes (plimsols). They look to be bout 11-13 years old. We would guess they went to the sane private school, presumavly a prep school. The snapshot is undated, but looks like the late-1920s or early-30s to us. The boys don't look very happy to us which is a little inusual in family snpshots. Beyound the social and family insights here, we have a very important historical strategic insight. English families, both working-class and middle-class families tended to live in single-family dwealings. This mean cities which spread out horizontally with relatively low population debsities. This contrasted with Germny where multy-story apartment buldings wre much more common meaning cities with far greater population denisty. This would be an important factor in the coming world war.
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