|
Something happened in 1907-08 that we do not fully understand. Several major changes occurred in boys' fashions. And we do no know why they occurred or who was responsible. We do not even know if anyone was actually responsible. Perhaps it was just happenstance. But it does seen strange that such monumental changes took place at the same time. The changes not only affected major fashion trends that were in place for decades, but occurred with stunning rapidity. Never before or since have such major changes occurred in so short a period of time. We would be interested if readers have any ideas as to just what was responsible for this. And this only seems to have affected boys' fashions. Girls fashions for whatever reason were largely unaffected. The only noticeable changes in girls fashions was the degree to which hair bows appeared in the 1910s. There were three major observable changes. First, the straight-leg knee pants that American boys began wearing in the mod-19th century literally overnight were replaced with knickers. Knickers were never universal, but they were about as coon as imaginable without being universal. Second, rural boys began wearing overalls. Overalls also appeared in the mid-19th century, but they were not boys' wear. They were wonn first by miners and then became factory wear. Only later did they appear on the farm. We do not see boys in rural areas wearing them to school to any extent until 1908. They quickly became if not universal, standard at rural schools. Thirdly, flat caps became standard boys' wear. Earlier we se a variety of boys wear, but by 1908, the flat cap became an iconic boys head wear style. We see all of this very clearly in school photography and mail order catalogs. Until this point there were considerable similarity between American and European boys' wear. Beginning with these changes, we begin to see basic differences. We are attempting to see major changes in America that might lead to fundamental changes in boys' wear. There several fundamental events. There was an historic financial crisis (1907). It was prevented from getting much worse by the intervention of J.P. Morgan. The financial panic of 1907 affected the American economy for a year (May 1907-June 1908). Ironically at least fir fashion history, it was set off by a run on Knickerbocker Trust Company. Yet at this very time, knickers were replacing straight-leg knee pants in America. The Federal Government did little, but the scare would lead to the creation of the Federal Reserve a few years later. Henry Ford introduced the Model 'T' (1908) which would have an enormous impact on America society over time, but I do not see an immediate fashion impact. Politically, little changed. President Roosevelt helped William Taft get the Republican nomination and the transition went smoothy -- at first (1908). Henry Ford introduced the Model 'T' Tin Lizzy (1908). The financial crisis may have affected farm incomes, perhaps forcing families to economize, but we do not see any major events at the time impacting families and fashion.
Something happened in 1907-08 that we do not fully understand. Several major changes occurred in boys' fashions. And we do no know why they occurred or who was responsible. We do not even know if anyone was actually responsible. Perhaps it was just happenstance. But it does seen strange that such monumental changes took place at the same time. The changes not only affected major fashion trends that were in place for decades, but occurred with stunning rapidity. Never before or since have such major changes occurred in so short a period of time. We would be interested if readers have any ideas as to just what was responsible for this.
This only seems to have affected boys' fashions. Girls fashions for whatever reason were largely unaffected. The only noticeable changes in girls fashions was the degree to which hair bows appeared in the 1910s.
There were three major observable changes in boys' fashions.
First, the straight-leg knee pants that American boys began wearing in the mid-19th century literally overnight were replaced with knickers. Knee pants were a fashion standard for decades. Knickers were never universal, but they were about as common as imaginable in Americza without being universal. What occurred was stunning, both in how quickly knichers appeared, but in how quickly knee pants disappeared. A reader writes, "It maybe that men were wearing Knickerbockers around 1900 and that was the attraction and it just reached a tipping point by 1908 and with the panic of 1907 parents were conservative so the style was in vogue for a prolonged period. We are not sure about that. Our impression is that knickers were worn by a small minority of relatively well-to-do men, the country club set playing gulf. A more likely influence might hve been baseball players who haf knicker style uniforms.
Second, rural boys began weaning overalls. Overalls also appeared in the mid-19th century, but they were not boys' wear. They were worn first by miners and then became factory wear. Only later did they appear on the farm. We do not know when farm boys began wearing overalls. But we do know that boys in rural areas wearing them to school to any extent until 1908. They quickly became if not universal, standard at rural schools. A factor here may have been the expansion of denim production. The primary use of denim ast the time was in the production of overalls. The Cone brothers invested $50,000 in the C.E. Graham Mill Manufacturing Company of Asheville, North Carolina (1887). The Cone brithers expanded further (1905). They built White Oak Cotton Mills in Greensboro, N.C. calling it Proximity Manufacturing Co. By 1908 they were the world’s largest manufacrurerv denim. They produced heavy-duty blue denim. Moses Cone bcame known as the 'Denim King'. The supply and cost denim may have beenn a factor inn populoarizing denimm overalls in rural areas. The Cone brothers began supplyig denim fabric to Levis Strauss (1915). 【Joseph】 A reader writes, "The timing seems correct for a major price drop among denim manufacturers to capture market share. TYhis may have made overalls more attractive to rural cobnsumers.
Thirdly, flat caps became standard boys' wear. Earlier we see a variety of boys wear, but by 1908, the flat cap became an iconic boys head wear style. Before this, boys wore a large variety of caps, after this the flat cap became the dominant style. We see all of this very clearly in school photography and mail order catalogs. Until this point there were considerable similarity between American and European boys' wear. Beginning with these changes, we begin to see basic differences.
We are attempting to see major changes in America that might lead to fundamental changes in boys' wear. There several fundamental events. There was an historic financial crisis (1907). It was prevented from getting much worse by the intervention of J.P. Morgan. The financial panic of 1907 affected the American economy for a year (May 1907-June 1908). Ironically at least for fashion history, it was set off by a run on Knickerbocker Trust Company. Yet at this very time, knickers were replacing straight-leg knee pants in America. The Federal Government did little, but the scare would lead to the creation of the Federal Reserve a few years later. We suspect that Baseball which was becoming increasingly popular at the time may have been a factor as baseball uniforms had a type of knicker pants. Baseball began to be played at mid-century. At a fairly early point most teams began adoptuing a knickers uniform (1870s). Players first played in long pants. Knixckers poved more practical. Knickers still provided the same protection as liong pants, allowed more freedom of movement and alleviate the tripping over own pant legs. Atv this point, teanms began adopting colordul socks still reflected in
team names. This would, however, not explain the sudden change in boys' wear. The New York knickerbockers played an important role in the history of baseball, but no longer existed at this time. Henry Ford introduced the Model 'T' Tin Lizzy (1908) which would have an enormous impact on America society over time, but I do not see an immediate fashion impact. Politically, little changed. President Roosevelt helped William Taft get the Republican nomination and the transition went smoothy -- at first (1908). Henry Ford introduced the Model 'T' Tin Lizzy (1908). The financial crisis may have affected farm incomes, perhaps forcing families to economize, but we do not see any major events at the time impacting fashions.
Joseph, Joel D. "The demise of American denim," The Progressive Populist 24.22 (December 15, 2018).
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main United States 1900s page]
[About Us]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
