Figure 1.--Most boys wore knickers in the 1920s. This changed in the 1930s. We see boys commonly wearing short pants, knickers, and long pants. We even see younger boys wearing long pants. This was not very common in the early-30s, but fairly common place by the end of the decade. This family snapshot was dated May 1932.

We see a ranhe of pants types during the 1930s. Age was the principal factor. Fashion trends and age conventions shifted substantially during the decade. Knickers were very commonly worn by American boys in the 1930s. This is apparent from both the photographic record abd period retail catalogs. Most boys at the beginning of the 1930s wore knickers. Knee pants were no longer common in the early-30s and had disappeared by the end of the decade. Knickers were especially common in the early-30s. Older boys except for yourger tenagers were less likely to wear them, but they were still very common. Older boys began to wear long pants and by the end of the decade many younger boys had also began to wear longs. We begin to see a few younger boys wearing lon pnts in the early-30s and by the lte-30s long pants were very common but not universal even for little boys. Younger American boys might wear short pants, especially during the summer. This was very common for pre-school and younger school-age boys. Here regional and social-class factors were involved. Most American wanted knickers or as the decade progressed, long pant, after they began school.

Created: 5:34 AM 10/3/2012
Last updated: 5:34 AM 10/3/2012