Long pants in American towns and cities rapidly replaced knee breeches for boys in the early 19th century, although it took longer for men to make the transition. America at the time had a very rural population with much of the population with much of that population have only minimal access to fashion information. Our information on the early 1800s is limited, but as far as we can tell, boys in the 1830s and 30s mostly wore long pants. We are not sure when shortened-length pants for younger boys first appeared, perhaps in the 1840s, but they were not very common. We know much more about the 1850s. American boys still commonly wore long pants through the 1850s. A good example is the Wallis brothers in 1852. Shortened length pants were worn in the 1850s, but they were still not very common. Often younger boys after they were breeched wore suits with bloomer knickers. This would have been only fashionable families, mostly in eastern cities. We note knee pants in the 1860s, but long pants were still very common. A good example is C. Stewart, a very young by in 1865. Another example is Ollie Vail,an American boy about 7-8 years old. An American school portrait in the 1860s show most of the boys wearing long pants. The average American boy did not begin wearing knee pants, however, until the late-19th century. Even in the 1870s and 80s, most boys wore long pants, even in fashionable big cities. We see boys wearing knee pants, but mostly younger boys. Only in the 1890s do we see most boys wearing knee pants. By the turn of the 20th century it was common to see even older tennagers wearing kneepants or knickers, mostly kneepants. Long pants were also worn, but they were much less common. Catalogs at the time often only offered knee pants for younger boys.

The 1800s

Long pants in American towns and cities rapidly replaced knee breeches for boys in the early 19th century, although it took longer for men to make the transition. America at the time had a very rural population with much of the population with much of that population have only minimal access to fashion information. A reader writes, "Very interesting write up. From my research I certainly agree about boys wearing long pants in the early half of the 1800s."

The 1820s

Our information on the early 1800s is limited, but as far as we can tell, boys in the 1820s and 30s mostly wore long pants.

The 1830s

As far as we know, in the 1830s boys after beeching wore long pants. The one variation hee is that some boys wore longh pantalettes with dresses and tunics. The Raymond childrenStephen Ball Alling in 1839. The difference between the panatlettes and proper trousers wee the material. Photogaphy did not yet exist. We have to rely on paintings and drawings here. And we also have some vintage clothing. We note a brown tunic suit with long pants or pantallettes worn by 4-year old Octavius Eastmanin in 1837. And we notice Francis Thomas Sully Darley also wearing long pants with brown long pants about 1839. Paintings are especially helpful as they often can be dated with some percission. The Rankin boys seem tio be wearing a tunic and suit with long pants in 1839.

The 1840s

Most American boys in the 1840s wore long pants. We note a young teenager wearing fashionable bold checked pants in the 1840s. We are not sure when shortened-length pants for younger boys first appeared, perhaps in Europe during the 1840s. At least we see younger boys depicted wearin them them in fashion plates. We have not yet, however, found evidence of shortened-length pants in the American photographic record. We can not say with crtainty uet that theu did not exist, but they certainly were not very common. Obtaining images on 1840s boys wear is somewhat difficult. Photography was invented in France (1839). Early pghotographs were almost all Daguerreotypes. It quickly spread to America where it flourished. A problem here is that most Dags were undated and it is difficult to separate 1840s from 50s Dags. We have found a number of Daguerreotypes. The problem is most are undated and it is difficult to determine if these dags are from the 1840s or the 1850s. As far as we can tell, Almost all American boys after they were breeched wore long pants in the 1840s. We do not yet have an example of shortened-length pants in America from the 1840s.

Figure 1.--Most American boys like thesev boys from Newport, Pennsylvania in the 1860s wore long pants. Some younger boys wore knee pants or bloomer knickers, but this was mostly in fashionable families in the eastern cities.

The 1850s

We know much more about the 1850s than the previous decades of the 19th century. Not only do we have more Dags from the growing photographic industry, but in additiin Ambrotypes appear in 1855. By matching fashionsm we can date some of the dags. The photographic record shows that American boys still commonly wore long pants throughout the 1850s. A good example is the Wallis brothers in 1852. Shortened- length pants were worn in the 1850s, but they were still not very common. Some younger boys after they were breeched may have wore suits with bloomer knickers. But it is clear from the photographic record that it was not very common. We suspect the boys wearing shortened-length pants would have been from fashionable families, mostly in eastern cities. Almost all the Dags and Ambros we have found show even young boys wearing long pants. Mst boys once they were breeched wore long pants. The grear bulk of Dags and Ambros we have found show boys wearing long pants, although many are shot with children sitting down so that it is difficult to determine pants type. While the photographic record shows some boys wearing shortened-length pants, it probably over states the proportion of boys wearing knee pants and bloomer knickers. This is because most of the available photographs were of city dwellers. Many rural people did not have the money or opportunity fora photograph amd almost all breeched boys in rural areas wore long pants. A lot of portraits from the 1850s show American boys wearing jackets and pants that do not match. An example is a group of unidentified American boys about 1850. Another example is an unidentified boy, we believe in the late-1850s. Most of the pants we have found in the photofraphic record seem to be button-on pants. We do not see suspenders and belts that would subsequently become so common. This can be seen better in the 1850s than later because so many boys were photographed in blouses without jackets. By the 1860s most boys are wearing suit jackets in studio portaits.

Figure 2.--Most American boys like thesev boys from Newport, Pennsylvania in the 1860s wore long pants. Some younger boys wore knee pants or bloomer knickers, but this was mostly in fashionable families in the eastern cities.

The 1860s

For the first time, in the 1860s we have a vast photographic record, thanks to the nexoensive and easily reproduceable CDV. As with earlier periods, most of the photographic record is still studio portraits. We note knee pants in the 1860s, but long pants were still much more common. All older boys and most younger boys still wore long pants. A good example is C. Stewart, a very young by in 1865. Another example is Ollie Vail,an American boy about 7-8 years old. An American school portrait in the 1860s show most of the boys wearing long pants. The average American boy did not begin wearing knee pants, however, until the late-19th century. Not only did most boys of all ages wear long pants, but when you most outside the fashionable cities, long pants were still almost universal. Shortened length pants somewhat more common by the end of the decde, but long pants were still still the dominant trouser type for American boys. And even younger boys common wore long pants after breeching. Aood example is two American brothers. The photographic record clearly shows that most boys, even younger boys wore lonbg apnts in the 1860s. Shortened-length pants seem to have been mostly worn by yojunger boys from fashionable, well-to-do city families. This is even more apparent when we assess photograohic images not taken in the studio. They are not available in the same number as studio CDVs, but some do exist. A good example is a crowd outside a Christian Commission office during the Civil War. Most such images show boys, even younger boys, usually wearing long pants. This conforms what is suggested by the many studio portaits we have archived. Long pants were the standard wear of almost all Amrican boys except for the affluent class with fashion oriented mothers. It is notable that the Lincoln boys wore long pants. Even there notoriously fashion obsessed Mrs. Lincoln dressed her boys in long pants. Here the fact that she came from Kentucky and lived in Illinois and not a major northeastern where European fashions were quicker to take hold may explain how she dressed the boys. And the image that we have collectd on shortened length pants does show that they were mostly from the bog northeastern cities.

The 1870s

Long pants continued to be very common for American boys in the 1870s. Most boys were still wearing long pants, even in fashionable big cities. We see some boys wearing knee pants, but mostly younger boys. Thisd was most common among fashionable, well-to-do families in the major cities. It was much less common among working-class and rural families. Most boys abov 10 years old and virtually all teenagers wore long pants in the 1870s. A good example is Bernard Doswell in 1874. He looks to be about 20 years old.

The 1880s

We see many younger boys wearing knee pants in the 1880s. Fauntleroy and sailor suits wee mostly made as knee pants suits. Fauntleroy suits were mostly made for pre-school boys, but sailor suits were made for school age boys. We notice knee pants suits, but most were made for pre-teen boys. Most boys by their teens and even before their teens were still wearing long pants. This varied somewhat demographically and by social class.

The 1890s

Only in the 1890s do we see large numbers of boys boys wearing knee pants. An exception here was rural areas especially older boys. Knee pants first became fashionable in the fashionable cities. Long pants persisted as the common tyoe of pants for all older boys in rural areas and even some younger boys. Although because fashions were set in the cities, mail order catalogs mosly offered knee pants for boys thus affecting the clothese worn even in frural areas. We see younger boys wearing knee pants in rural areas, but teenagers even younger teens still commonly wore long pants even in the 1890s. After the turn of the 20th century it was common to see even older tennagers wearing kneepants or knickers, mostly kneepants. In the 1890s we see younger teen agers wearing knee pants, but not many older teens. This varied substantially from family to family. Some parents insisted that even younger teens wear knee pants while others had less fixed ideas about boys wear. Social class was another factor. Boys in school were more likely to wear knee pants. Boys who had begun to work were more likely to wear long pants. American catalogs at the time often only offered knee pants for younger boys. We see knee pants and knee pants suits for boys up to about 13-14 years of age. The catalogs are probably a good indicator of popular conventions.

Created: 3:36 AM 9/4/2007
Last updated: 11:30 PM 1/3/2014