Figure 1.-
|
Figure 1.- |
Short pants eventually became a standard for boy's wear. They were rapidly adopted by countless mothers as a practical and attractive garment for boys. This was especially the case in Europe, less true with America where another style of shortened length pants were more common--knickers. Short pants had features that were popular both among parents and some boys--although here there was some resistence as one aspect of short pants for many years was to differentiate boys and and men's clothing. Shorts were in particular a radical departure from Victorian standards which believed in cobering up as much of the body as possible. The Victorians were especially interested in covering up the female figure, but men and boys were also affected by Victorian prudery. This was accomplished with kneepants and knicvkers by wearing long over-the-knee stockings. This was less easily accomplished as short pants became shorter after World War I (1914-18). There are a variety of reasons that short pants grew in popularity. We are not entirely sure just how important these various factors were.
Short pants eventually became a standard for boy's wear. They were rapidly adopted after World War I by countless mothers as a practical and attractive garment for boys.
This was especially the case in Europe, less true with America where another style of shortened length pants were more common--knickers. Before World war I there was considerable similarities between American and European boys' clothing. After the War considerable differences evolved. The most pronounced was the varying popularity of short pants. American boys were much less willing toi wear short pants. We are njot at all sure why this difference developed.
Shorts were in particular a radical departure from Victorian standards which believed in cobering up as much of the body as possible. The Victorians were especially interested in covering up the female figure, but men and boys were also affected by Victorian prudery. Considering how the Victorians loved to cover as much skin as possible, the development of very short shorts in the 1930s is remarkable. The sole examples I've found of such brief pants before World War I are the trunks worn by circus strongmen.
Modesty during the Victorian era was possible even with shortened-length pants. This was accomplished with kneepants and knickers by wearing long over-the-knee stockings. This was less easily accomplished as short pants became shorter after World War I (1914-18).
early short pants were for the most part knee length. They essentially looked the same as the kneepants that were worn for decades in both America and Europe. By the 1930s, however, much shorter cut shorts appeared, especially for younger boys. The actual length has baried from knee-length to almost no inseem. An aexample of extrenmely short shorts can be found in French clothing advertisements during the 1930s. Here fashion has varied over time, but older boys have at times also worn these shorterlength shorts. The fashionable length since the mid-1990s has been a longer lenhth, sometimes even below the knee.
Short pants had features that were popular both among parents and some boys--although here there was some resistence as one aspect of short pants for many years was to differentiate boys and and men's clothing. There are a variety of reasons that short pants grew in popularity. We are not entirely sure just how important these various factors were.
Extreme modesty is a social more that rapdly changed after World war I, especially by the 1930s. This was the decade in which comic book superheroes were invented. These comic book heros seem morte a factor in America than Europe. Superman's trunks probably find their origin in strongmen's costumes. This was also the decade in which men's swimwear no longer required a top, and men's swim trunks became as brief as a strongman's.
Short pants had been practical aspects. For houswives encumbrered with demanding houshold tasks, short pants and other simple garments lowered the laudering work. Laundry was a huge task before washing machinmes became common applliances. =Not wearing heavy pants asnd long stockings were a great boon to women. Another practical mastter was that the knees were a real point of wear in boys's trousers. Toirn knees, either of stockings or pants were common. Thus short pants were helpul in reduciung damage tio cvlothes as a result of the hard wear of chilkdren.
After World War I it became accepted to have toddlers run around in just a diaper rather than garments like dresses or rompers. I think that it was considered more healthful for small children to get as much sun as possible, as science had recently discovered the role of sunlight in the production of vitamin D in the skin, and how vitamin D helps the body incorporate calcium into growing bones.
This was especially important for the youngest children, as human breastmilk doesn't contain enough vitamin D to sustain healthy growth without an assist from the sun. So if public health professionals were advising parents to expose their children's skin to sunlight, this would explain the rising popularity of children's clothing styles that revealed more skin than a Victorian would have been comfortable with seeing. It might also explain why the smallest boys and girls had the shortest shorts and dresses. Nowadays, health professionals warn parent to keep their children out of the sun to prevent skin cancer. This has led to sun-safe clothing which covers up the chikldren to an extent that might have made a Vuictiorian psarent happy. Instead of getting vitamin D from sunlight, children are supposed to get it from vitamin pills and vitamin-fortified milk. The result is a neo-Victorian trend in boyswear, covering up what had been
uncovered many decades before.
Mid-20th-century French mothers loved making their children look as juvenile as possible, so babyishly short shorts and rompers were worn by boys who were not exactly babies any more. We are not enbtirely sure as to what brought this about. One would assume that the hooror of world war I and the desire to hold on to children may have been factors here. And it is not just the French that were affected by World War I experiences. Another factor to be considered here is the enfranchisement of women and other changes in laws that gave women greater standing in the family. Perhaps our French readers can provide some insights here. Whatever the reason, the importance of France as in the world of fashion probably played a role in populasizing the look shorter sjhorts.
Another factor is wearing comfort. Long trousers can be uncomfortable during the Summer. Short opants are much more comfortable to wear in hot weather.
At the same time, shorter shorts came to be seen as more sporty, so school-aged boys took to cuffing their shorts to make them shorter. German Lederhosen even had a ferature wich made that vert easy. Eventually the shorts themselves were made shorter.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main short pants page]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Literary]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossary]
[Satellite sites]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]