Figure 1.--This photograph shows six boys from the same German neighborhood, probably friends with some brothers from the same affluent family. Note the rather impressive Tudor-style home in the background, which is the kind of house that only a rather upper-class family could occupy. All the boys except one wear knee trousers or what had by the 1930s come be called "short trousers" although they are rather long. The exception is one boy in breeches. Four of the boys wear black long stockings, but two have rolled them down beneath the knee to look like knee socks. The other two wear knee socks with ornamental designs around the tops. All of the boys wear pullover sweaters, one with a non-functional belt (which was a style in Germany and Switzerland during the late 1920s and very early-30s). This detail leads us to place the photo about 1931. Except for the smallest boy being carried on the shoulders of an older boy, all these children seem to be between 11-13 years old. They are all of school age. Notice that the boy in the center with the little boy riding on his shoulders is quite formally dressed with a white shirt and tie under his pullover. The other boys wear either open-neck shirts or high-necked sweaters that conceal what sort of shirt is worn underneath. It looks like a bleak fall day (the trees are leafless) and therefore fairly chilly, but only two of the six boys have their knees covered by breeches and/or long stockings. The boys who have rolled their long stockings down probably care less about cold than about being "modern" and perhaps rebellious in a mild way since it was usually parents who promoted the wearing of long stockings as a matter of tradition and propriety.

Knee pants declined in popularity during the 1920s, but we still see themm in the 1930s, mostly for formal wear with suits. Short pants were the dominant type of trousers worn by German boys during the 1930s. They were almost universal for school-age boys and even younger teenagers. Short pants were still quite long in the early-30s, looking rather like knee pants. Most boys wore short pants into their younger teens. This seems a continuation of the conventions for knee pants. The Hitler Youth organization whiv became mandatory was a factor here. And boys wearing short pants into their mid-teens was not unusual. This varied from family to family. Even after getting a long pants suit many boys still often wore shorts for casual or even schoolwear. Some boys got long pants suits for their confirmation at age 13 years. Most but not all boys got long pants suits by age 15 yeats. Some pazrents use knickers as an intermediary step for teengers. The length of the short pants became much shorter in the 1930s, but you see considerable variation through the mid-30s. German boys commonly wore shorts with knee socks, although many boys wore long stockings, especially during the winter months. We also see abkle socks or boys rolling down their knee socks during the summer. Seasonality seems more associated with hosiery thn the pasnts. Unlike Americas, we do not notice any social class distinctions involving short pants. an exception here was the working-class boys that did not continue school beyond primary school aat abpout age 13. These boys were more likely to wear long pants than the boys remasing in school. They were also less likely to wear knickers than middle-class boys.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [Essays] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: 3:23 PM 11/5/2008
Last updated: 7:23 PM 11/5/2008