Figure 1.--Here we see a portrait of Fred Arthur Rowe in 1903. The portrait was taken in Spencer, Iowa. He wears a knee pants suit with long black stockings.

Long stockings were quite common in the ealy 20th century for boys of all ages in America, but somewhat less so in Europe. A good example is Harvey Eldridge Hannaford in 1901. We do see younger children wearing short socks, especially during the Summer. Long stockings were, however, very common. This was especially the case of older boys. A good example of contemprary conventions in the Wards 1914 catalog. Younger boys wearing Russian blouse tunic suits are shown mostly in short socks, only slight older boys wearing sailor blouses are shown wearing long stockings. When the new knicker style began to become more popular after the turn of the century, long stockings were still worn as the knickers were worn above the knee. Here we see an Iowa boy in 1903 (figure 1). Note the black long stovkings which were very common. The boy here wears kneepants. Boys also wore long stockings with knickers. We note the Moon family wearing long stockings in 1907, even though it appears to be a warm day. Another good example is a boy on a family camping trip about 1915. Boys of all ages wore them. An example of a younger boy is Floyd Van Horne about 1915. Boys by the 1920s increasingly buckled their knickers below the knee. This tendency and the increasing popularity of short pants caused boys to shift to kneesocks. After the mid-1920s long stockings were not commonly worn in America or Britain, although they did not disappear. Boys might still wear them for formal occasions, but this was primarily for formal occassions.

The 1900s

Long stockings were quite common in the ealy 20th century for boys of all ages in America, but somewhat less so in Europe. A good example is Harvey Eldridge Hannaford in 1901. We do see younger children wearing short socks, especially during the Summer. Long stockings were, however, very common. This was especially the case of older boys. A good example of contemprary conventions in the Wards 1914 catalog. Younger boys wearing Russian blouse tunic suits are shown mostly in short socks, only slight older boys wearing sailor blouses are shown wearing long stockings. When the new knicker style began to become more popular after the turn of the century, long stockings were still worn as the knickers were worn above the knee. Here we see an Iowa boy in 1903 (figure 1). Note the black long stovkings which were very common. The boy here wears knee pants. Boys also wore long stockings with knickers. We note the Moon family wearing long stockings in 1907, even though it appears to be a warm day. While black long stockings were standard, we do see some children weating white stockings. Quite a few girls wore white long stockings, but we see a few younger boys as well.

The 1910s

Long stockings continued to be widely worn in the 1910s. We do see some notable difference from the 1900s. Boys still wore long stockings, primarily black long stockings, but with knickers rather than knee socks. Lomg stockings were mostly woen when dressing up, but we see a lot more boys wearing three-quater socks during the summer, mostly younger boys. A few younger boys wore white long stockings. Seasonality was an increasingly important factor, although even in warm weather most boys wore long stockings. Quite a few younger boys wore three-quarter socks ratherv than long stockings. Most boys, however, wore long stiockings even during the summer. The Boy Scouts appeared in the 1910s, but few boys wore short pants as in Europe. American Scouts wore knee socks rather than long stockings, but with breeches so the knee was covered up. The Model-T made family camping possinle. And even when camping we see long stockings. A good example is a boy on a family camping trip about 1915. Boys of all ages wore them. An example of a younger boy is Floyd Van Horne about 1915. Boys by the 1920s increasingly buckled their knickers below the knee. This tendency and the increasing popularity of short pants caused boys to shift to kneesocks. After the mid-1920s long stockings were not commonly worn in America or Britain, although they did not disappear. Boys might still wear long stockings for formal occasions, but this was we begin to see more variability for casual wear.

Created: 3:14 AM 3/26/2005
Last updated: 11:43 PM 12/16/2020