Figure 1.--Here we see a group of German boys having fun with a waggon, we think in the late-1920s. The boys are wearing low-cut shoes and sandals. High-top shoes like the ones the boy at the frint of the waggon is wearing were also quite common at the time.

Germany boys after the turn of the century, especially after World War I (1914-18), increasingly wore low-cut shoes or a variety of closed toe sandals. There seems to have been age-based differences. We still see many boys wearing the sturdy high-top shoes prevalent for younger boys going to primary school. Older boys going to secondary school more commonly wore the low-cut shoes. This was, however a gradual process. We still see many boys wearing high-top shoes in the 920s. Gradualluy as the decade progressed the low-cut shoes became more popukar for the older boys. They still seem fairly standard, however for the younger boys. We have been discussing this with a German reader. She tells us, "High-top shoes were surely very common but I am not so sure about the"prevalent". We note many boys and girls wearing sandals and strap shoes in the 1920s. We see these styles worn more for play and curiously dress wear than schoolwear, at least for the boys. We are not sure why strap shoes were popular for boys in Germany. They seem more popular than in other countries such as America, England, France, and other countries, although "T"-strap shoes sandals were popular in England. In most other countries, these strap shoes were mpre of a girl style. A reader writes, "Yes it woild be interesting to know why strap shoeswere so poplar. Were they cheaper than oxfords (i.e. made out of canvas), did they like the appearance, or was it that they were easy to put on and take off, especially for children that couldn't tie shoes laces? I'm trying to assess this footwear for my book."

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Created: 9:41 PM 10/22/2008
Last updated: 8:00 PM 10/23/2008