Figure 1.--A Russian fashion magazine in 1981 showed this boy's outfit worn with white tights. |
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Russian boys wore tights of many varied colors. The colors seem to have been similar to the colors of the long stockings boys wore before tights appeared. There does, however, appear to have been a much wider range of colors for tights. Very young boys did not care much what color tights they wore and some images show them wearing bright colors or white tights. Older boys developed clear preferences. The most common colors for school age boys were the more subdued, low-saturation colors such as dark brown, light brown, beige and gray. These were the same colors that long stockings that boy had worn before the 1960s. When tights became available in the 1960s the same colors were worn. These colors were worn for school, playground, and home. Some vry young pre-school boys might wear the brighter colors or white like girls might wore. After the began school, however, they wanted the more subdued colors that the older boys wore. A Russian reader confirms that, "Russian boys preferred plain colors like black, brown, or gray. Some mothers chose bright colors or white for younger boys." Black tights were also worn by Russian boys. Black tights were considered appropriate for dress wear. Black tights might be worn for visits, birthday and New Year parties etc. I'm less sure about white. A Russian fashion magazine here shows a boy wearing white tights (figure 1). I'm not sure, however, how common this was.
Long stockings were done in a narrow range of colors. The tights that replsced them , however, were done in any varied colors. Russian boys wore tights of many varied colors. The colors may have at first been similar to the colors of the long stockings boys wore before tights appeared. We do not yet have a lot of chronological information. There does, however, appear to have been a much wider range of colors for tights. These were the same colors that long stockings that boy had worn before the 1960s. When tights became available in the 1960s the same colors were worn. These colors were worn for school, playground, and home.
Very young boys did not care much what color tights they wore and some images show them wearing bright colors or white tights. Older boys developed clear preferences. The most common colors for school age boys were the more subdued, low-saturation colors. Some very young pre-school boys might wear the brighter colors such as red or royal bright blue or white like girls might wear. After the began school, however, they wanted the more subdued colors that the older boys wore.
We notice a much wider range of colors for tights than for long stockings. We are not entirely sure who colors were available when tights first appeared in the 1970s. Photography was still largely black-and-white in the 1970s and thus it id sifficult to assess what colors were being worn at first. By the 1980s, however, we begin to see color images and they show tights in all kinds of colors, including bright colors. And in the 1990s we see not only bright colors, but prints done on the tights as well. Some colors were worn by both boys and girls, but there were age and gender conventions associated with some of the colors. As with long stockings, white continued to be the color worn for dressy, formal occassiojns.
A Russian reader writes, "As I remember, I had no real preference about the color of my tights. Normally I wore darker shades for everyday: black, blue, brown, and red tights. Mother had lighter colored tights (white and light-blue ) for special occassions."
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