Figure 1.--This is a boy from Dallas, Texas, photographed at about age 10 in 1923. He wears a double breasted overcoat with slash pockets and a rather grown-up looking black hat with a brim set rakishly on the back of his head. Underneath he wears short pants (or possibly above-the-knee knickers) with long black stockings and hightop shoes.

There were major changes in the colorss of long stockings during the 1920s. American boys in the early 1920s were still primarily wearing black long stockingsknickers. Most of the dated images we have found for the early 20s show boys wearing black long stockings. The photograph here of a Texas boy in 1923 is a good example (figure 1). Considerable detail is available in the Sears 1924 catalog. There were, however, still during 1924 a number of stocking choices that were available in "Black only". Both boys and girls wore black stockings. The girls, however, wore, a variety of light shades as well. In the 1910s we see giirls and younger boys wearing white long stockings. In the 1920s we see girls shifting to new light-brown shades like beige and tan. Younger, but not older boys also wore these shades. This shift seems to natural tines have been an increasing acceptance of children wearing both short pants and skirts. By the end of the decade we see shades like "French tan" being offered as a fashionable color for children's long stockings. A new trend, starting about 1928, was novelty sport long stockings for boys and girls made with patterns, but these do not seem to have had a very long life as a fashion. They were being worn by younger boys to some extent and by girls, but black long stockings were still prominently sold. One of the reasons for the new prominence of lighter colors in long stockings was better knitting technology. Stockings had begun to be knitted with more elastic cotton yarns and sometimes with admixtures of rayon or other synthetics that made them closer fitting and less baggy. There seems to have been a connection between the trimmer fit and the lighter colors since lighter colors tended to draw more attention to the legs.

Gender Trends

There were major changes in the colorss of long stockings during the 1920s. We see this in both the photographic record and stire catalogs. American boys in the early 1920s were still primarily wearing black long stockings, mostly with knickers. Most of the dated images we have found for the early-20s show boys wearing black long stockings. The photograph here of a Texas boy in 1923 is a good example (figure 1). Considerable detail is available in the Sears 1924 catalog. There were, however, still during 1924 a number of stocking choices that were available in "Black only". Both boys and girls wore black stockings. The girls, however, wore, a variety of light shades as well. While we see few boys wearing white stockings except the very early-20s, we do see quite a number of younger boys wearing the light-brown shades that appeared in the mid-20s.

Shades

In the 1910s we see giirls and younger boys wearing white long stockings. In the 1920s we see girls shifting to new light-brown shades like beige and tan. Younger, but not older boys also wore these shades. This shift seems to natural tines have been an increasing acceptance of children wearing both short pants and skirts. By the end of the decade we see shades like "French tan" being offered as a fashionable color for children's long stockings. A new trend, starting about 1928, was novelty sport long stockings for boys and girls made with patterns, but these do not seem to have had a very long life as a fashion. They were being worn by younger boys to some extent and by girls, but black long stockings were still prominently sold.

Technology

One of the reasons for the new prominence of lighter colors in long stockings was better knitting technology. Stockings had begun to be knitted with more elastic cotton yarns and sometimes with admixtures of rayon or other synthetics that made them closer fitting and less baggy. There seems to have been a connection between the trimmer fit and the lighter colors since lighter colors tended to draw more attention to the legs.

Created: 1:16 AM 1/6/2005
Last updated: 4:48 AM 10/24/2010