Figure 1.--This cabinet card portrait shows a Minnesota family with two sons. The boys look to be about 6-10 years old and wear identical knee pants suits. The portait according gto the dealer was taken in 1899, a date roughly confirmed by the whicker chair and mother's dress style. . The studio was Christman and Sons in Waterview, Minnesota.

We see 10 years olds commonly wearing knee pants suits, but this varied over time. When knee pants first appeared they were mostly for younger boys. This varied from family to family and social class was a factor. They were much more common among fashionable urban families than in rural areas. Some 10-year olds may have worn them in the 1860s, but we mostly see long pants. By the 1880s, knee pants suits were fairly standard for American 10-year olds, but still not as common in rural areas as in the cities. The photographic record shows the great majority of 10 year olds wearing knee pants suits. By the 1890s, knee pants suits were almost universal. And this continud in the 1900s, although knickers suddenly replace knee pants at the end of the decade. Knee pants suits did not totally disappear in the 190s, but they were not common and we do not see boys oler than 10 years wearing them.

Created: 8:01 PM 2/24/2018
Last updated: 8:01 PM 2/24/2018