Figure 1.--American boys did not wear school uniforms, but they were sent to school in much more formal clothes than is common today. This little boy wears a large formal white collar, presumably being dressed in his best suit to have his photograph taken. This probably was not how he was normally dressed for school.

American children in the early part of the 20th century did not wear school uniforms. They did, however, dress more formally for school than children do today--at least in urban areas. Children did not, however, have the extensive wardrobes that they have today. Rural children dressed much less formaly. Overalls and bare feat were common for the boys, at least in the warmer months before cold weather and snow made coats and boots necessary. Of course this varied substantially by region. Cold weather clothes were less necessary in the South.

Styles

America boys dressed more formally for school in the early 20th Century than is the case today. While boys were not normally sent to school in formal velvet Faunteroy suits, many nothers did insist on adding large ruffled collars to the outfits of their sons. One of the most common outfits was the sailor suit.

Garments

Suits

Urban boys commonly went to school in suits. Wearing suits was much more common for boys at the turn of the century than is the case today. Younger boys might wear sailor suits, especially in the 1900s, but less commonly in the 1910s.

Figure 2.--This boy's mother dressed him in a large ruffled collar for school. The photograph was probably taken about 1905.

Collars

Younger boys might still wear large ruffled collars with their suits in the 1900s, although floppt bows were becoming less popular. Boys in private schools might wear Eton collars. Most boys, especially by the 1910s wee wearing soft collars.

Pants

Kneepants were common at the turn of the century, but by the 1910s, most american boys were wearing knickers to school. Many boys in the 1910s wore above the knee knickers. Mothers who began buying knickers rather than kneepants did not like the idea of their sins buckling their knickers below the knee. American boys did not, however, commonly wear short pants to school. Overalls were more common in rural schools, but not commonly worn in city schools.

Stockings

Boys and girls commonly wore dark long stockings to school. Even as knickers began to become popular in the 1910s, boys continued wearing long stockings. The stockings were almost always solid coloted, dark stockings. Kneesocks with patterns did not begin to replace long stockings until the 1920s.

Headwear

Most boys wore somekind of cap to school. Wide-brimmed sailor hats were not worn. Some boys wore English stled peaked caps, but this was not common. More prevalent was another type of peaked cap--what we now call a golf cap.

Figure 3.--This boy wears typical school clothing during the 1910s. Note the characteristic cap, knickers, and long stockings. The style that buckled below the knee shown here was more popular with the boys.

Chronology

Schoolwear in the 1900s and 1910s was quite similar. By the early 20th century, most boys were attending elementary school although relatively few still went on to secondary school. While styles in both decades were similar, there were some differences.

The 1900s

Boys in the 1900s were still mostly wearing kneepants with long stockings to school. Almost all elementary-age boys wore kneepants.

The 1910s

The primary shift in the 1910s was the significant shift to knickers rather than plain kneepants. Even with knickers, boys continued wearing long stockings rather than kneesocks.

Related Links: Careful this will exit you from the Boys' Historical Clothing web site, but both sites are highly recommended.

Apertures Press International Project: Pictures at schools in different countries and a book on British schools
Apertures Press New Zealand book: New book on New Zealand schools in progress.
School Uniform Web SiteInformative review of British school uniforms with some excellent photographs
Boys' Preparatory SchoolsLovely photographic essay of British preparatory schools during the 1980s containing over 200 color and black and white photographs.

Created: June 5, 1999
Last updated: December 10, 1999