Shorts were adopted by the British Scouts in 1906 and after World War I became very common for European boys of all ages. This was much less true in America. Quite old boys might wear kniclers, but shorts were generally seen as more suitable for younger boys. Knickers were very common for American boys, bit less so in the 1930s. Short pants were even less common, although they were more commonly worn in the southern states with the warm climate. Short pants declined in popularity even further in the 1950s. The old custom of keeping boys in short pants until puberty went quite out of fashion in America after World War II, and although little boys in some upper-class families were seen dressed in short pants suits and a few elite boys' schools did maintain their tradition of short pants uniforms, the common attitude from the 50s into the 70s was to allow a boy to wear long trousers. Even pre-schoolers often wore long pants. Only in the 1960s did the attitudes of American boys begin to change and shorts began to become acceptable for casual wear by boys of all ages. Shorts are now "cool" here as daily casual dress for both men and boys. Shorts became the "in" fashion. In the 1970s and 80s quite short shorts were worn, but by the 1990s long, baggu shorts (at least for boys) became all the rage. Here in America the craze is to look (or at least affect looking) youthfull by appearing athletic which is heavily exploited by the fashion sports industries. The current style fad of long, baggy shorts appears to have been accepted all over the world, except the Islamic world where shorts are seen as immodest.

The 1900s

Short pants appeared in America during the 1900s. They did not prove popular even with the new Boy Scout movement that also was imported from England. American Scouts wore knickers, although at cmp they wore shorts. Some younger boys wore shorts, but no older boys. Much more common were knee pants and knickers. The shorts we see were knee length. They were essentially knee pants without the decorative buttons at the knee.

The 1910s

Short pants continued to be realitively uncommon in America during the 1910s. we do see some younger boys wearing them, but not older boys. The shorts we see are essentially knee pants without the decorative hem buttons. They were done in the same knee length that had become standard for knee pants. A good example is 5-year old Garland Miller Heck, we think in the 1910s. Shorts as far as we can tell evolved from knee pants. Here Europe, especially Britain was an influence. Gradually we begin to see shorter lengths by the end of the decade. Knee pants were ever done in lenhths much above the knee. Knee pants declined in popularity, but few boys switched to short pants. We can see that in the school photography that had become coomonplace. Mostly boys switched to knickers. We see some exceptions in the very early primary years. Unfortunately many photographs were undated. Thanks to the explosion of family snap shots, there are a lot of images, but amall percentafe are dated. Given that we see short pants in the 1920s, it is likely that they were being worn by the late-10s. We can make some estimates as to the dates, but of course that is not as definitive as a dated image.

Figure 3.--This American boy in the 1920s wears a very dressy short pants outfit.

The 1920s

Younger boys mostly wore knee pants or knickers in the early 1920s, but kneepants declined sharply in popularity after the first few years of the decade. Younger boys up to about 9 or 10 years of age instead of kneepants and long stockings began wearing short pants and kneesocks. Some boys a few years older might wear them in the South. They were also more common for boys from affluent families or in European ethnic communities. Many American boys didn't like thenm and would have much preferred to wear knickers or long pants.

The 1930s

Short pants were commonly worn in America at the time, but they were more common in the South than the North. Most younger boys wore them. A good exampole is Ohio kindergardeners in 1935-36. Many older boys preferred knickers or long pants. Short pants were used for school wear, but knickers and long pants seem more common. This varied as the decde progressed. This can be followed in school portraits. They were also still worn as part of dress-up suits, although they were beginning to become more popular for warm weather wear. One popular style was self-belted shorts, often sold with coordinate shirts. A good example is the boy here in 1937 (figure 1). A reader writes, "In my own case the European influence was probably significant because my parents travelled abroad quite a bit and had friends in England and on the Continent in countries such as Germany and Switzerland. My mother particularly disliked knickers although I wore them occasionally. She thought the look was rather bulky and ugly, partly because the knee socks were always falling down. And the knee socks that kids wore then tended to be rather boldly patterned, which she thought a bit too flashy and conspicuous. She thought the German and British look was neater and dressier (including the formality of long stockings). But I had friends who wore both short trousers (for dress-up occasions) and knickers (for general school wear). As I recall, there was some variety in regard to knickers and short trousers in my part of the country (Pennsylvania and New England). But we didn't complain about short trousers in our childhood. They were less of a bother than the knickers and more comfortable to wear."

Figure 5.--We note American boys wearing short pants in thecearly 1940s, but this seems much less common by the end of the decade. We are not sure what caused this shift. Even for casual wear, wecsee mnyb more boys wear long pants jeans.

The 1940s

We see American boys wearing short pants both for casual wear and when dressing up as well as for school, but not as commonly as in the 1930s. Short pants were used for school wear, especilly at the beginning of the decade. This can be followed in school portraits. A few boys still wore knickers at the beginning of the decade. Long pants seem much more common, especially among older boys. Here there were social class differences as well as regional differences. Short pnts during the decade seem to have definitively shifted from a year rounud garment for some boys includiung dresswear to a casual garment for summer wear. The only major exception seems t be short pants suit that some mothers insistd on, especially well-to-do families. Knickers disappeared during the early 1940s, but most bous seem to have shifted to long poants rather than short pants. Short pants seem to become much less common after World War II. This is particularly noticeable in schools. We see boys wearing shorts and knickers to school in the early-40s, but by the late 40s boys are mostly wearing long pants to school. Jeans became very popular in elementary (primary) schools. The movies were an important influence, but so was World War II. We are not sure just why the shift toward long pants occurred. There were regional and demographic differences. Some boys did wear casual summer play shorts. And shorts were commonly worn at summer camps. Lengths varied quite a bit, more so thn most decades. Shorts were adopted as an option for Scouts. A few Cubs wore shorts, but long pants became more common, even during the summer.

Figure 6.--A summer vacation had become an increasingly widespread tradition in the inter-war period. After World SWar II it became a virtual ritual and was usually a road trip. These American brothrs are dressed alike for a summer vacation trip. They are visiting the North Pole Santa's Village in New York state. We notice tht for some reason that boys were more likely to wear short pants for vaction trips than was normally the case. These boys look to be aboutb8-10 years old.

The 1950s

Short pants were still worn when dressing up in the early 1950s, but this was much less common at the end of the decade, except for very young boys. Short pants were not very popular for school wear, especilly by the end of the decde. This can be followed in school portraits. Here there were notable class differences. Shorts were also worn for cassual summerwear, but less so than the 1940s and by younger boys. We are not entirely sure whu this shift occurred. This varied significantly around the country. Here both climatic and social class factors were involved. One reader writes, "I grew up in Washington D.C. and we all wore jeans rather than short pants, even when it got hot in the Summer. I remember when we moved south and was surprised to see boys my age weaing shorts." A HBC reader, Eric, whose father was in the Air Force remembers wearing shorts as a boy, but notes that they were much more common in Italy tham America. Actually I recall that when we moved to Montgomery, Alabama near an Air Force base that the boys from many of the Air Force families commonly wore shorts. Shorts were also more common in California. There seems to have also been a difference between suburbs and cities. Shorts were also worn at summer camps. There seems to have been some greater popularity for shorts, at least casual sjorts by the end of the decade. This shift seems to have occurred first on college campuses with the popularity of Bermuda shorts.

The 1960s

Short pants continued to evolve in America. The number of boys dressed up in short pants suits continued to decline as did the age of the boys doing so. We note yonger boys wearing Eton suits hen dressing up. As part of the ongoing shift toward ingormality, we see younger boys wearing shirt pants outfits for smart casual occasions whwre they may have worn suits earlier. This included shorttalls and short sets. Short pants were still not very common for school wear. Some schools even banned them. This can be followed in school portraits. There were distinct regional differences. Short pants were still worn. In fact we see more boys wearing short pants in the 1960s. We see several different popular types, including camp shorts and jean cut-offs. Cut-offs were a curious inovation. We are not entirely sure hy they were so popular, perhaps because they seemed to projhct the image of infornmalilty--not real shorts, but shorts cut down from jeans. We even see high school boys wearing shorts, although not to school. Bermuda shorts were also worn by college boys. This was the case as they were becoming popular summer casual ear. As a result, short pants were more common in the South than in the North. Here the wamer weather was a factor, but also the larger numbers of months that it was warm. Shorts were epecially common in California. There were also demographic differences. Shorts were more common in he suburbs than the city and still more popular with more affluent families. We see more Boy Scouts wearing horts bt for some vunknown reason, fewer Cubs. We no longer see many boys wearing knee socks when shorts. The major xceptions were younger boyswearing Eton suits and Boy Scouts. Shorts were increasingly seen as summer wear. And we see them commonly worn in summer camps, both Scout and regular camps, often by boys who did not commonly wear shorts. Some private summer camps still had uniforms.

The 1970s

Short pants were becoming increasing popular for casual wear in the 1970s. We seemore boys wearing short poants to school, especially by the end of the decade. Thi can be followed in school portrait. Some boys, however, still did not wear them. The lengths were a bit above the knee at the beginning of the decade, but had become much shorter by the end of the decade. An American reader writes, "I grew up in the 1970s. My mom purchased two pairs of short pants for me from J.C Penny. I remember thinking that looked very girlish and I protested that they were "sissy shorts". The ones mom bought were a light green and baby blue color. What I didn't like about them particularly was that they were very short--only about a 2 inch inseam if that. They had no back pockets, no belt loops, and the legs had about a 1 inch cuff on them. They were more like the hot pants that girls wore at the time. I did not wear them much and I only saw one other boy ever wearing them. They came in boys sizes 6 to 20. Mom thought I looked cute in them which of course did not endear them to me. I felt the other way about wearing them. They were however nice to wear if you wanted a full legg tan, rather like swim trunks at the time. And I have seen Cindy Brady in the early episodes of the "Brady Brunch" wearing what looked to me like the very same style of shorts and the same color too. So its no wonder I thought of them as girls shorts. I was 12 years old at the time."

The 1980s

Short pants became standard wear for American boys in the 1980s. Boys no longer wore short pants suits to any extent. Dressy shorts were no longer common although we see some exceptions like wedding outfits for younger boys or First Communion suits. What we do see is a wide rnge of casual shorts. There were many different styles such as camp shorts or OP cord shorts. And a wide range of athletic shorts in various styles and bright colors. A factor here was the increasing popularity of basketball and soccer, two sports with short pants uniforms. The style was short cut Boys wore tube socks with colored bnds, a item that became popular for wwear with casul shorts. shorts, shorter than the Bermuda shorts that were popular in the 1960s and 70s. The Boy Scouts changed their uniform and the new shorts, camp shorts with cargo pockets. Cubs had blue shorts abd Scouts brown shorts. Boys began wearing shorts to school again. This was virtually inknown in the late-1950s through the 70s. Shorts began to appear first in California and the South. Gradually we begin to see shorts being worn in primary schools. The shorts worn to school did not differ much from play short except that the school shorts tend to be purchased new and the play shorts were the older shorts. Some public schools by the 1980s had begun to adopt uniforms. the long and short pants wirn with the uniforms were amore deressy. And then we begin to see shorts in secondary schools, first in California. by the 1990s in secondary schools. A 1983 California block party gives some idea of the casual short pants American boys weee wearing in the 1980s. A home snapshot again in 1983 shows a boy at home wearing blue OP cord shorts. By this time girls were also wearing shorts and pants, altough skirts were also common. Dresses began to decline in popularity.

The 1990s

Created: 3:16 AM 6/4/2007
Last updated: 6:19 PM 1/29/2020