Figure 1.--. |
|
GI's returning from the Second World War in the 1940s had, brought
back jeans.
It was not long before boys were asking form them. At the time they were called dungarees. Boys wanted them to play in. Many boys much preferred them to short pants for play. Jeans were worn during the summer and then for the winter flannel kined jeans were available that showed at the cuff. While many mothers insisted on shorts. Short pants were more common in some areas such as the South and California. They were also
more common for boys from affluent families, especially if they went to private school.
More affluent boys would often have a short pants suit for dress occasions, but rarely for boys over 11 or 12. Older boys did generally not wear shorts, even for casual wear in the 1940s or 50s. By the 1950s almost all American boys were wearing jeans for play and any where that they were allowed to wear them. Public elementary schools generally allowed boys to wear jeans. Secondary schools did not.
We are not yet fully sure just how World War II affected children's fashions. We do know that many servicemen wore jeans as part of fatigue uniforms. Thus returning service had grown acustomed to them as comfortable casual wear. Before the war, jens or overalls were commonlyworn in rural areas, but noy in urban areas. fter the War, jeans became common for boys in urban areas as well. World War II also helped introduce chinos, a type of militry trousers.
GI's returning from the Second World War in the 1940s had, brought back jeans. It was not long before boys were asking form them. At the time they were called dungarees. Boys wanted them to play in. Many boys much preferred them to short pants for play. Jeans were worn during the summer and then for the winter flannel kined jeans were available that showed at the cuff.
While many mothers insisted on shorts. Short pants were more common in some areas such as the South and California. They were also more common for boys from affluent families, especially if they went to private school. More affluent boys would often have a short pants suit for dress occasions, but rarely for boys over 11 or 12. Older boys did generally not wear shorts, even for casual wear in the 1940s or 50s. By the 1950s almost
all American boys were wearing jeans for play and any where that they were allowed to wear them. Public elementary schools generally allowed boys to wear jeans. Secondary schools did not.
A new style of slacks became opular after World War II--chinos. Chinos were commonly worn for school. They were called chinos because they were made from a khaki material made in Manchester and exported to China. The whiley Chinese, however, began selling the fabric to Americans stationed in the Philippines during the 1930s. The Aericans thus reffered to the material and pants made from it as chinos. These comfortable trousers have become summer classics for boys and young adults. Chinos in the mid-1950s, for some reason, came with a little ornamental belt at the
back.
Pants in the 1940s were often full cut styles. By the 1950s many boys had come to see thi look as rather baggy an old-fashioned. Teenagers in particular prefered a more trim, form fitting style. As a result, teenagers, especially boys would have their pants prgged. This mean that the vertical sem was taken in making the legs tighter. Thi was especially common with jeans.
HBC has been developing the catalog section to help archive details showing chronological trends in different countries. Catalogs and other clothing advertisements offer a great deal of information about the clothing styles, including differnt styles of pants, worn by American boys during the 1950s.
The 1940s-50s: Sneakers and jeans
The 1950s: Beaver Goes Shopping
The 1950s: Jeans, Jeans, Jeans
William Graebner, Coming of Age in Buffalo (about 1990).
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