Figure 1.--This boy is dressed up for school in a sweater, short, pants, and long stockings. He looks to be about 8-9 years old. He wears light-colored stockings, probably beige. We would guess the portrait was taken in the early 1930s. We know it was taken in 1931. Click on the image for a fuller discussion.

Our information on the 19th century is still limited, but we know quite a bit about the 20th century. Up until the end of the 1920s, most long stockings for boys were black. Only rarely were lighter colors worn, although white stockings were sometimes worn. The colors of long stockings began to change after World War I in the 1920s for both boys and girls. The colors changed slowly to brown or beige, sometimes to grey, and, sometimes on Sunday, white. The white stickings were much more common for girls than boys. Brightly colored or variegated stockings were very rare and probably mostly knitted by hand. We still see quite a mixture of color shades in the ealy 30s. A good example is an unidentified school class in the early 30s, but by the mid-30s we increasingly see more and more of the lighter beige shades and fewer of the dark stockings. Grey stockings were also worn, but they were much less common than the beige stockings. Boys by the 1940s were no longer commonly wearing the dark long stockings.
>h2>The 19th Century

Our information on the 19th century is still limited.

The 20th Century

We know quite a bit about the German long stocking colors during the 20th century. Up until the end of the 1920s, most long stockings for boys were black. Only rarely were lighter colors worn, although white stockings were sometimes worn. The colors of long stockings began to change after World War I in the 1920s for both boys and girls. The colors changed slowly to brown or beige, sometimes to grey, and, sometimes on Sunday, white. The white stickings were much more common for girls than boys. Brightly colored or variegated stockings were very rare and probably mostly knitted by hand. We still see quite a mixture of color shades in the ealy 30s. A good example is an unidentified school class in the early 30s, but by the mid-30s we increasingly see more and more of the lighter beige shades and fewer of the dark stockings. Grey stockings were also worn, but they were much less common than the beige stockings. Boys by the 1940s were no longer commonly wearing the dark long stockings.

The 1900s

We know quite a bit about the German long stocking colors during the 20th century. Up until the end of the 1920s, most long stockings for boys were black. Only rarely were lighter colors worn, although white stockings were sometimes worn.

The 1920s

The colors of long stockings began to change after World War I in the 1920s for both boys and girls. Blck stokings were still very common, but we begin to see a greter vriety. The colors changed slowly to brown or beige, sometimes to grey, and, sometimes on Sunday, white. The white stickings were much more common for girls than boys. Brightly colored or variegated stockings were very rare and probably mostly knitted by hand.

The 1930s

We still see quite a mixture of color shades in the early 30s, including black stockings. But wesee mostly colored stockings. . A good example is an unidentified school class in the early 30s, but by the mid-30s we increasingly see more and more of the lighter beige shades and fewer of the dark stockings. Grey stockings were also worn, but they were much less common than the beige stockings.

The 1940s

Boys by the 1940s were no longer commonly wearing the dark long stockings.

Created: 4:44 PM 9/3/2007
Last updated: 2:29 AM 11/13/2007