Figure 1.--Here we see a New York City boy making a chalk drawing on the sidewalk in front of a tenement house on 36th Street, (May 12, 1948). By his time most American boys were wearing long pants.

Kinickers were still worn in the early-1940s, but rapidly declining in popularity. Quite a few younger boys wore short pants, especially during the smmer. Long pants were, however, the dominant style for American boys, especially teenagers. After World War II in the 1940s, knickers disappeared. War production regiulations may have been a factor, but knickers were declining in popularity even before the War. Some boys wore short pants especially during the early 40s, but during the late-1940s most boys wore long pants. Short pants suits were also declining, but here there was a socil vlass fsctor. Jeans became very popular with younger boys. Here returning service menwere a factor as well as the widely popular Western movies. They may have also recalled having to wear knickers with little enthusiasm when they were boys. The Cubs and Scouts did away with knickers and replaced them with short or long pants. Almost all boys chose long pants. Shorts were woirn at camps, but oyher thn csmp midt Scouts wore long pnts. We begin to see nostalgic pieces in magazines and other places about this change. An example is a piece from of all places, a funeral home. Most American boys of all ages were wearing long pants by the end of the decde for play, school, and dress occassions. There were some social class and regional differences. Boys from the South or nore affluent families were somewhat more likely to wear short pants than most American boys. I began school in 1949 and I do not recall any boy wearing short pants in our Washington, D.C. school--even 1st graders. And we also wore long pants, mostly jeans, even during the summer. You can see school trends in available 1940s school portraits. Virtually all the boys were wearing long pants.

Created: 10:48 PM 7/23/2022
Last updated: 10:48 PM 7/23/2022