Figure 1.--Here we see an uidentified boy wearing a knee pants suit. it is also undated, but would have proably been taken about 1900. It was CDV portrait, not common ast the time iun America. We do not know where it was taken, other thsn it was in the south. Written on the back is 'From diown South'. .

Teenagers in the 19th century mostly wore long pants. This only began changing in the 1880s and more commomly in the 1890s. We see younger teens wearing knee pants, at least in urban areas. And during the 1890s we see more older teens wearing them. By the turn-of-the 20th century we see quite a number of older teens wearing knee pants. Unlike younger boys, knee pants were not universal for older teens, but the number we see are notable. This varied from counry to country, but was especially the case in America. And we are able to follow it in greatrer detail in America because of our substantial American archive. By about age 15 at mid-century, long pants were more common. Many boys got long pants suits by about 15 years of age, but this was not always the case. This varied from family to family. We note G. Ward Hogan having a graduation portrait taken with his sister in 1907. He was 14-years old, about to turn 15 years old. We do not know if he got his first long pants suit at 15 or a month later when he entered 9th grade and high school. Or it could have been even later. Unfortunately, most of the photographic record consists of portraits which do not indicate the ages of the boys. We thus have to estimate ages. This in inprecise, but we believe can be done within a year or so. We welcome reader input here. A good example is an unidentified Pennsylvania boy. We think about 1905. While he looks quite young, we think his height suggests he may be about 15 years old. We need to mention at the time children reached puberty a little later han modern children.

Created: 2:21 PM 7/13/2023
Last updated: 5:00 AM 11/23/2024