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Suits were still commonly worn by American boys, although there was a clear decline during the 1920s. We notice American boys wearing both single and double-breasted suits. Lapel size varied, but we do not see any large lapels.
Wenolonger see knee pas suits. Most American boys wore knickers and knicker suits in the 1920s. We note a prestige up-scale retailer offering English style short pants suits. This was a style more common with well-to-do families. There were short pants suits for younger boys, but most boys wore knicker suits. This is conformed in the photographic record. Older biys wore long poants. By 1926 more and more boys were wearing long pants at high school, although not all boys were wearing suits to high school. Suits were still common, but no longer nearly universal. We notice a range of material.
We notice an ad for De Pinna boys' suits. DePina was one of the classier outfitters in New York City and patronized by eastern affluent families. The ad appeared in Parents' Magazine for October, 1926, p. 51. You can see the British influence on American boys' clothes quite distinctly. Note the dressy pocket
handkerchief, the peaked school cap carried in the boy's hand, the ribbed and cuffed knee socks, and the white shirt and neat tie. The hightop shoes are interesting also.
I'm not sure when corduroy became popular for boys' clothes. During the 1930s they were widely used for boys' school knickers. These suits are obviously dressy and offered as a Christmas specialty but at the same time suitable for school and play. Notice that the suits are made in Norfolk styling and have above-the-knee knickers. You can tell this by the way the blousing comes only to the knee and not below. The black long stockings also suggest above-the-knee style knickers. These suits are shown being worn with dress shirts and ties. The ad in the Ladies Hoime Journal was from a manufacturer of corduroy rather than suits. There is a suggestion that cprduroy was a new fabric in 1926. That was not the case, but corduroy did grow greatly in populsrity in America during the 1920s.
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