Figure 1.--These two German boys were photographed on their first day of school with their gift cones. Notice the one boys with the tasseled knee socks. The other boy's knee socks have fallen down--a common problem. The photograph was undated, but was probably taken in the 1950s. These boys as they were just beginning school would have veen 6 years old.

We note some German boys wearing knee socks with tassels. We frst note tassels in the 1930s when they became a popular adornment for sweaters. Germany was not the only country where tassels became popular, but the photographic record suggests to us that the fashion was especially popular in Germany. We begin seeing tassels on knee socks in the 1940s, especially after World War II. They seem to have been most common on white kneesocks. Many seem to be hand knitted. Both boys and girls son them. We seem to see boys up go about 10-11 years of age wearing these tasseled knee socks. We continue to see them into the 1960s. We thought that these tassels were basically an ornamental fashion without any practical fuction. We wonder though if they were fashioned to serve as garters to hold up the knee socks. A German reader writes, "well, I don't know much about these tassles. For me they do look just somewhat decorative. I have never heard about them being a device of holding stockings up." Yes that is what I also thought, but it is interesting that the boys that have thectasseled knee socks do not seem to have them falling down. Also note that the tasseled knee socks always had two tasses on each sock. Now if the tassels were purely ornamental, why are they always two? Surely there would be some wih only one. The fact that there were always two suggests that there was a utilitarian component--one on each end of a draw string.

Chronology

We note some German boys wearing knee socks with tassels. We frst note tassels in the 1930s when they became a popular adornment for sweaters. Germany was not the only country where tassels became popular, but the photographic record suggests to us that the fashion was especially popular in Germany. We begin seeing tassels on knee socks in the 1940s, especially after World War II. They seem to havebeen most common in the 1950s. We continue to see tasseled knee socks into the 1960s.

Color

Tassels seem to have been most common on white kneesocks. There may have been colored knee socks with tassels, but as far as we can tell from the phoographic record, they were not very common.

Hand Knitting

Many seem to be hand knitted. Both boys and girls son them. We do not notice these tassels on commercially made knee socks.

Gender

We believe that both boys and girls wore these tasseled knee socks. We note quiyte a number of boys wearing them. We are less sure about girls. Or if there were age differences between the boys and girls wearing them.

Age

We note younger boys wearing these tasseled knee socks. This included very young pre-school boys. We also note school-age boys wearing them. This begins with the popular Firt Day school portraits, We seem to see boys up go about 10-11 years of age wearing these tasseled knee socks.

Number

Most of the photographs we have found of German boys wearing tasseled knee socks seem to show two tassels on each sock. We can not at this time prove that they all had two tassels, but as far as we can tell, this was almost always the case. A reader writes, "You could certainly be right about the draw strings. But are there always too tassles? I'm not sure about the consistency of two. Do our other examples bear you out?" Well we do not a huge archive of children with these tasseled knee socks, but the ones we do have do seem to show two tassels per sock.

Purpose

We thought that these tassels were basically an ornamental fashion without any practical fuction. We wonder though if they were fashioned to serve as garters to hold up the knee socks. A German reader writes, "well, I don't know much about these tassles. For me they do look just somewhat decorative. I have never heard about them being a device of holding stockings up." Yes that is what I also thought, but it is interesting that the boys that have thectasseled knee socks do not seem to have them falling down. Also note that the tasseled knee socks always had two tasses on each sock. Now if the tassels were purely ornamental, why are they always two? Surely there would be some wih only one. The fact that there were always two suggests that there was a utilitarian component--one on each end of a draw string.