Figure 1.--

Boys mostly wore knee pants or knickers in the early-20th century. We are not entirely sure when what we now call short pants appeared. We think it was in England. The new Boy Scouts organized by Baden Powell wore a short pants uniform with kmee socks rather than long stockings (1908). The novement qickly spread to America (1909), but American Scouts there at first wore Army-like breeches rather than shorts. An exception was camp where shorts as in Enghlan and othr European conytie were worn. Almost surely some shorts were worn in America during the 1910s, but we do not see much evidence of that in the photographic record. We mostly see Ameican boys wearing knickers. Some younger boys still wore stright-leg knee pants. It is not until the 1920s that we see any number of American boys wearing what we now call short pants in the photographic record or in catalogs/adverrtisements. They tended to be long-cut short pants. Knee pants 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 kneep pants and long stockings began wearing short pants, mostly with knee socks. Some boys a few years older might wear them in the South. They were also more common for boys from nopper-incomed affluent families wih a Brirish orientation. Many American boysfor some reason didn't like thenm and preferred to wear knickers. Few American boys wore long pants. An exception here was boys in rural reas. Here overalls and lomg pants predominated. We ae not sure why shorts and knickers were no commonn in rural aeas.

1920

1921

1922

We note younger boys wearing short pants. Older boys mostly wore knickers. A good exampole is two unidentified St. Louis brothers in 1922.

1923

1924

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1929

Short pant were worn by younger boys from about 3 to 9 or 10 years of age. Knickers were also available for this age group, but long pants were still not very common. Shorts were mostly worn with kneesocks although some boys still wore long stockingsespecially during the winter. Some boys a few years older might wear them in the South. They were also more common for boys from affluent families. Better mens' outfitters might have shorts for slightly older boys then the mass market stores. Shorts were also more commonly worn in European ethnic communities. Many American boys didn't like thenm and would have much preferred to wear knickers or long pants.

Created: March 16, 2000
Last updated: 9:53 PM 2/18/2010