There were various ways for a boy to suspend his trousers. Younger boys had a range of options, depending on his age and the types of pants he was wearing. Younger boys might wear a bodice, such as those worn with bloomer knickers. Underwaists were also used to hold up pants as well as long stockings. Button-on clothing was another option. There were also suspender pants--although this was not as popular in America as it was in Europe. Related options here were bib-front and h-bar pants. Shortalls were another option. Some pants had elasticised waists which were referred to as boxers. There were pants such as camp shorts which often had partially elasticized waists. Comparable long-alls were not as popular. Older boys might wear suspenders or belts. Suspenders were common in the late-19th and early 20th century, but by the mid-20th century began to be seen as old fashioned. Since World War II, belts have become increasingly common. Here age was a factor. Suspenders or suspender pants were seen as some appropriate for younger boys.

Belts

I am not sure to what extent belts were worn in the 19th cetury. We see a lot of boys in the mid-19th century wearing button-on clothing. And we see bdlts being used as ornsmental devices. A good example is an unidentified boy wearing a belt with a tunic suit about 1850. An intersting question is to what extent pants and trousers came with belt loops. This is a useful indicator of to what extent belts were We think that belts were worn in the 19th century, but our information is very limited. One interesting observation is the use of belts as a purely ornamental item on tunic suits at the turn of the 20th century. We know that by the mid-20th century, belts were the primary way that boys kept up their trouses. An interesting indicator here is tha many button-on shorts game with self-belts. These self-belts we purely decorative and hid the fact the boy was wearing button-on pants.

Bodice

Younger boys might wear a bodice, such as those worn with bloomer knickers. We are more familuiar with the bodice kilts younger boys wore. As far as we know, the only bodice pants were the bloomer knickers worn with tunic suits. Here azre information, however is still preliminary.

Figure 1.--Here we see two pre-school boys in 1944. One boy wears bib-front shorts and the other boy more dessy button-on shorts.

Button-on Clothing

Button-on clothing was another option for younger boys. The major purpose for button-on clothing was to hold up a boy's pants. The skeleton suit was essentially an early example of button-on styling. We think the first example of button-on clothing we know about. The skeleton began going out of style in the 1830s, but the introduction of photography shows many examples of American boys wearing button-on clothing in the mid-19th century. Button-on styling was a major style throughout the remainder of the 19th century. The buttons were part of the styling with skeleton suits. As boys began wearing more modern pants types, the buttons were less commonly used as part of the styling. Boys often we blouses rather than shirts. And the blouses had buttons sewn on at waist level. These buttons were engaged with openings on the pant at waistline, holding the pants up. We see boys often wearing blouses rather than shirts with tails. In fact, the buttons were often covered over so that they can not be seen leaving one to wonder what was holding the pants up. This is often difficult to pick up on because for studio portraits which were the bulk of 19th century photography, boys by the 1860s usually wore suit jackets making it impossible to make out the suspension method. A kind of waist flap or other device was commonly used. We are not sure why all of a sudden it was seen as necessary to cover over he buttons. This was very common throughput the second half of the 19th and very early-19th century. We also see a lot of button-on outfits after World War I when Olver Twist styling became popular. in he 1920s which continued to be popular through the 1940s. We note button-on outfits made to about size 10. They were done in a wide range of styles. The style was less common for girls because dresses were one piece garments and did not require suspension. Girls were ore likely to be done with suspenders like boy suspender pants.

Elasticized Waists

Some pants had elasticised waists which were referred to as boxers. We think this was because of the boxing trunks actual boxers wore. The boxers boys wore were much simpler shorts. They were mostly dome in light materila for summer wear. Marraila mon cud easily wash. These pants seem to have appeared in the 1940s, alhough we do not yet sure anout the 1930s and do nt yet have actual details. have catual details. We know hat these elasticized boxers were commonly worn throughout the 50s into the early 60s. Thse tended to be very simple shrts done as play shots fr yongr bys including primary age boys. hey were ofen done wihout pockers in a wde range of colors. We see many examples in period vatalogs. There were both shorts and longs made as boxers, but the shorts were more common. The boxers were fully elasticized waisrts. There were alo pants such as camp shorts which often had partially elasticized waists.

Shortalls

Another seuspension option was shortalls. They were very popular for younger boys in America from the 1940s into the 70s. They were mosly worn by pre-school boys, althouhgh the youngest primary boys might wear them, but usually not to school. First lady Jackie Kennedy added to heir popuarity when she dressed John-John in shortalls. She had a huge impact on American fashion. They were primarily a play outfit for pre-school boys, but were made for boys up to about 7 years. They could also be woirn for more formal events when paired with a dress shirt or blouse. Shortalls were a particularly popular style in America. We see them in other countries, but they were more popular in America than any where else. They are still made, but mostly an infant or todler style. Comparable long-alls were not as popular. This is not exactly a suspension method as a garment. It is actually related to suspender pants.

Figure 2.--Suspender shorts including H0bar shorts were popular for younger boys during the 1940s. This boy with his mother was on a picnic with his mother during 1944. Sich outings were a rare treat during World war II wis gasoline was rationed.

Suspender Pants

There were also suspender pants. This was a very common way of supporting boys' trousers, although it was not as popular in America as it was in Europe. Suspender pants appear to be a 20th century style. I can't find examples until after World war I (1914-18). They seem especially common during the 40s. There were not only less common in America, but tended to be worn by youngr boys. They seem to have been mostly worn by pre-school boys in America. Girls wore comparale styles with skirts. This seems to have been more common than suspender pants, at least for school-age children. There were several different kinds of suspender pants, both the suspension and the trouser types. Related options here were bib-front and h-bar pants. Bib-front pants were a particularly popular alternative in America. We note both short and long pants suspender pants. The shorts seem the most common. We don't note knockers commonly done as suspender pants. We seem to see suspender shorts in America during the 30s and 40s. There were also some examples that were not very obvious, such as the suspender shorts worn with juvenile Eton suits in America.

Figure 3.--American boys commonly wore susperders in the first half of the 20th century. Here we see two brothers in 1939. The younger boy is wearing suspenders for what look like suit pants. The car is a 1934 Nash. There is a long tradition of photographing the kids in front of the family car.

Suspenders

Older boys might wear suspenders. Suspenders were common in the late-19th and early 20th century, but by the mid-20th century began to be seen as old fashioned. Since World War II, belts have become increasingly common. Here age was a factor. Suspenders or suspender pants were seen as some appropriate for younger boys. Boys frequently wore suspenders to hold up their trousers during the early 20th centurys--both with knee pants, knickers, long and short trousers. This snapshot here is interesting, not only for the Nash automobile, but for the suspenders worn with long trousers (figure 1). Note that both the father and the son (older brother?) wear suspenders. Father wears the traditional type of elastic suspenders with leather button-hole ends for attachment to the inner waistband of his trousers. The boy has his hands folded in a manner that obcures the attachment of his suspenders. These might have been just a junior version of his father's style, but many boys during the 1930s wore clip-on suspenders that were easier to attach and detach and that didn't require separate buttons sewn onto the trousers. These were especially popular for boys. Apparently buttons egan disappearing on boys' pants before men's pants. A Sears ad of 1939 shows the popularity of clip-on suspenders for boys which (because of their elastic construction) were featured on the same page as the ads for garter waists. We notice colorful suspenders, but do not yet have full details over time.

Underwaists

Underwaists were also used to hold up pants as well as long stockings. Long stockings were commonly worn hsoiery for both boys and girls for a century beginning in the mid-19th century as shorened-length pans for boys began to become popular. The underwaist was a widely worn garment in America and Canada. Something was needed to hold up the long stockings. And undewaists were used fir boh hat and holding up pans as well. More makeshift arrangements were common in Europe.

Created: 7:09 AM 8/9/2007
Last updated: 2:51 PM 12/27/2024