We only see sandals after the turn-of-th 20th century. This was part of a general shift to more casual styles. And at that time we note boys wearing sandals in both the photographic record and in period cataogs. They seem to be mostly double strap cloesd-toe sandals. They were referred to as barefoot sandals. They appeared in the 1900s, although the photographic record suggests that they were not widely worn in the 1900s. We think that they were beginning to become popular by the end of the decade. They seem to have been fairly popular in the 1910s. They were commonly worn with hosiery, but we also see them being worn without hosiery. Sandals declined in popularity after World War I in the 1920s. This was especoally the case for boys. We note by the 1930s that virtually no American boys wore sandals. An exceotion seems to be boys from affluent families whose parents were influenced by British fashions. Sandals were worn in America, but almost always by girls. This gender division did not begin to change until after World War II. Sandals seemed more popular in California than the East Coast. We see more sandals in the 1990s. Footwear companies broughout the sports sandal. The open-toe sandals did not the image of little boys/girls foot wear and acquired the image of leisure wear for both boys and men.
We only see sandals after the turn-of-th 20th century. This was part of a general shift to more casual styles. And at that time we note boys wearing sandals in both the photographic record and in period cataogs. They seem to be mostly double strap cloesd-toe sandals. They were referred to as barefoot sandals. They appeared in the 1900s, although the photographic record suggests that they were not widely worn in the 1900s. We think that they were beginning to become popular by the end of the decade.
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Sandals seem to have been fairly popular in the 1910s. We see quite a number of both boys and girls wearing sandals. This seems to have been the decade in which sandals were most popular for boys. We note both light- and dark-colored sandals, but the black-and-white phoograophy of the day makjes it difficult to assess actual colors. We even see some older boys sand men wearing them. They were commonly worn with hosiery, but we also see them being worn without hosiery. We see quite a few boys and girls wearing sandals in the 1910s. They seem most common with affluent families, bu\t thids social class factor seems to be prevalent than it became in subsequent decades. The most popular style seems ro have been the double-bar strap sandals. They seem popular with many of the styles younger boys wore, including tunic suits, sailor suits, and Oliver Twist suits. We see boys wearingthem both without hosiery as well as with hosiery, commonly long stockings. We see sandals offered in mail order catalogs througout the 1910s. A good example is Sears barefoot sandals in 1915. The sandals the boys are wearing here look like the Seaers barefoot sandals.
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Sandals appear to have declined in popularity after World War I in the 1920s. We still see some boys wearing them, but not nearly as many as in the 1910s. We are not entirely sure why this was. This decline in popularity was especially the case for boys. Sandals or strap shoes became astandard styles for girls. The same style was worn for botyh casual abd dress hoes. The casual style was essebtuakly sandals. That actually was probably a factor in the decline of sandals among boys who began to see sandals as girls' shoes. We see some younger boys wearing them, but fewer than in the 1910s, and rarely to school. Boys only wore the casual or sdanal type. We see very few boys wearing them in the photographic record nd only the double bar type. And they were much less likely to wear them with long stockings. This decline in popularity of sandals among American boys was in sharp contrast to British boys. Sandals became very popular for British boys, becoming known ass school sanals. American and British fashions had been similar in many ways, but for some reason diversed sharply in the 1920s.
Conventins for sandals changed dramtically in the 1930s. We note by the 1930s that far fewer American boys wore sandals, except for very young boys and boys from affluent families. Most all the boys we have noted wearing sandals are pre-schoolers except or boys from affluent families. With affluent families we see somewhat older boys wearing sandals. School portrait in public schools almost never show boys wearing sandals to school. Boy from affluent families were more likely to attend private schools. A good example is the Tucker boys at a society garden party in 1937. Often affluent parents were more likely to be influrencd by British fashions. The photographic record shows that this was a relatively small number of boys. Sandals were worn in America, but almost always by girls. They were a very popular school style for girls.
This sharp gender division did not begin to change until well after World War II. Sandals seemed more popular in California than the East Coast. We see the Kennedy children wearing closed-toe sandals including John-John wearing sandals, an example of how they were woirn by children of affluent families. But they were not at all popular with most American boys. We understand thst boys in Californisa began wearing open-toe sandals, but we have few deails.
We see more sandals in the 1990s. Footwear companies broughout the sports sandal. The open-toe sandals did not the image of little boys/girls foot wear and acquired the image of leisure wear for both boys and men.
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