Figure 1.--Here we see three German siblings, we believe in the 1930s. The two boys are almost identically dressed with dark gray Lederhosen, halter tops, white shirts, and tan ribbed long stockings. We can't see the older boy's legs, but presumably he is wearing the same kind of stockings as his younger brother. The boys seem about 6 and 8 years old.

We have noted many German boys wearing long stockings with Lederhosen, but this seems less common than boys wearing knee socks with Lederhosen. Several factors were involved. A major factor was seasonality. We mostly see German boys wearing long stockings during the winter and cool weather. This basic trend was true for Lederhosen like other types of short pants. In the early and mid-20th century, German boys wore short pants all year round, not just in the summer. Thus when the weather got cold, mothers insisted on long stockings. A good example is an unidentified family in the early-50s. We see another example in the 1950s. Long stockings declined in the 1950s and virtually disappeared in the 60s. They were worn mostly in East Germany during the 60s. And for some reason we do not see tights being worn with Lederhosen like long stockings were, at least the short pants Lederhosen. Another important factor was age. We see mothers outfitting all the children in long stockings, especially if they were close in age. Here the long stockings were often more common than the Lederhosen. Many older boys wearing Lederhosen no longer wore long stockings. Also as Lederhosen were becoming increasingly common, long stockings were becoming less popular. Still we see a number of boys wearing them. Georg in his personal experience account tells of wearing long stockings with lederhosen. One aspect that is difficylt to assess is color. We see both light and dark stockings, but it id sifficult to assess the actual color.

Popularity

We have noted many German boys wearing long stockings with Lederhosen, but this seems less common than boys wearing knee socks with Lederhosen. Here the long stockings were often more common than the Lederhosen.

Seasonality

Several factors were involved. A major factor was seasonality. We mostly see German boys wearing long stockings during the winter and cool weather. This basic trend was true for Lederhosen like other types of short pants. In the early and mid-20th century, German boys wore short pants all year round, not just in the summer. Thus when the weather got cold, mothers insisted on long stockings. A good example is an unidentified family in the early-50s. We see another example in the 1950s.

Chronology

Long stockings declined in the 1950s and virtually disappeared in the 60s. They were worn mostly in East Germany during the 60s. And for some reason we do not see tights being worn with Lederhosen like long stockings were, at least the short pants Lederhosen. Also as Lederhosen were becoming increasingly common, long stockings were becoming less popular.

Age

Lederhosen are mostly assocuated with knee socks and lofels. When boys begab wearing Lederhosen you begin to see long srockings as so many boys wore lonf stockings, especially in the winter. Thus another important factor was age. We see mothers outfitting all the children in long stockings, especially if they were close in age. Many older boys wearing Lederhosen no longer wore long stockings. Still we see a number of boys wearing them.

Color

One aspect that is difficult to assess concerning Lederhosen and long stockings is color. We see both light and dark stockings, but it is difficult to assess the actual color shade, other than black and white. We see some boys wearing white long stockings, but white knee sovks were more common, especially for older boys. A problem here is that the beige long stockings that appeared in the 1920s or sometimes difficult to differentiate from white, especially if they had been layndered a few times. We think that the lighter shades were mostly beige/tan shades, but there were also grey long stockings. We do not know if mothers attempted to match the long stockings and Lederhosen colors. We do not see boys wearing black long stockings with Lederhosen. Black even more than white as associated with dressy, formal wear. Thus we have never seen boys wearing Lederhosen with black long stockings We see boys wearing Lederhosen with suit jackets, but often with Bavarian Tracht jsckets, never with formal jackets. We do see dark colors, but we are not sure just what those dark colors were.

Personal Experiebces

Georg in his personal experience account tells of wearing long stockings with lederhosen.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to Main German lederhosen clothing page]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Links] [Registration] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: 11:40 AM 2/10/2011
Last updated: 11:41 AM 2/10/2011