Figure 1.--This is a small rural school, unfortunately there is no information associated with the snap shot photograph. We ar first thought it might be German, but now think it was Scandnavian, perhaps Sweedish or Finnish. Definitely some place in northern Europe--notice the birch tree. Perhaps readers will have some idea. The children are almost all wearing long stockings which is one reason we think it may be Scandanavian. The younger boys wear knee pants. Ithe snapshot is undated, but looks like the early-1930s, perhaps the late-1920s to us.

Knee pants were worn to school by boys for almost a century. This was mostly as part of ordinary clothing and not required uniforms. They were especially common during the 1880s-1900s. The prevalence and time line varied from country to country. Knee pants first appeared in Europe during the mid-19th century. They were prevalent in both Europe and North America. At first they were worn by boys from comfortable families in fashionable big cities. Gradually they becane standard boys wear. The age conventions and prevalence varied over time and from country to country. They became particularly popular in America and most boys wore them to school by the end of the 19th century. They were usually not worn as part of a uniform. Some private schools in Britain did require them or more commonly knickrs as part of a uniform. Knee pants were still widely worn in America at the beginning of the 20th century. They were replace by knickers during the late-1900s and knickers then became standard for school wear in the 1910s. A similar development ocurred in Europe, but there knee pants were largely replaced by short pants with some older boys wearing knickers. Knee pants and short pants of course were very similar, especially because early short pants were quite long. Short pants did not, however have the decorative buttons at the knee hem. Knee pants rapidly disappeared in America durng the 1910s, but we still see some in the early-20s. They continued to be worn in Europe during the 1930s. Short pants were more common, but some suits were still done with knee pants during the 1930s.

Careful, clicking on these will exit you from the Boys' Historical Clothing web site, but several are highly recommended