Figure 1.--These American brothers wear below the knee knickers with patterened kneesocks. Notice how full the knickers are cut. The portrait is undated, but we believe was taken in the earlt 30s. I'm not sure about the caps. The boys may have been in a band.

We see substantial differences between America and Europe concerning the pants and trousers worn by boys. European schoolboys continued to wear short pants throughout the decade. We notice a typical German schoolboy in 1931 wearing a sweater, short pants, and long black stockings. Notice that these short pants are more or less the same length as the old-fashioned knee pants, but more informal and without the ornamental buttons. In America smaller boys continued to wear shorts, but knickers continued to be the dominant form of boys' trousers--especially for boys 10 years old or more. Sears in their 1930 catalog advertised the popular knickers that most American schoolboys wore. Short pants were worn in Germany with both knee socks and long stockings. A 1937 photo shows a German gymnasium (secondary school) with boys wearing both kinds of hosiery with their shorts. Note that many of these boys are wearing the quasi-military Hitler youth accoutrements with their school clothes. The fascist influence over schools extended of course to Italy during the 1930s. We notice a 1938 photo of an Italian class of primary school boys at Monferrato. Some of the boys wear the customary smocks over their shorts while others wear their Balilla uniforms. Notice how short the short pants of the boys are and how long the long stockings must be to cover their legs. A few of the boys wear knee socks (notice how they tend to fall down) but most of the boys wear full-length stockings, obviously with garters since the stockings stay up neatly. English schoolboys in the 1930s typically wore short trousers (the English don't say short pants) with cuffed (turn-over-top) knee socks. They were mostly required to wear short pants suits as a uniform with the school tie and grey knee socks with cuffs. A schoolboy in 1937 is a good example.

America

American boys wore short pants, knickers, and long pants in the 1930s. Kneepants were no longer worn. A range of factors such as social class, seasonal, and age affected what kinds of pants were worn. Shot pants seemed more common among affluent families, but there were also regional asnd seasonal fsactors. Younger American boys might wear short pants, especially during the summer. Shorts were also more commoin in the South. Some boys wore short pants all year round, but increasinly mothers chose knickers or long pant for the winter. This was increasingly common by the late 30s. Knickers continued, however, to be the dominant form of boys' trousers--especially for school age boys after the 1st or second grade (6-7 year olds). This was parrticularly true in the early 30s. Sears in their 1930 catalog advertised the popular knickers that most American schoolboys wore. Families might by short pants suits for younger boys and knicker suits for older boys. More and more boys wore kneesocks rather than long stockings. We begin to see more boys swearing ankle socks by the late 30s. We see more boys wearing long pants by the late 30s even sdome youngerr boys. Conventions vsaried from family to family. Some boys had lon pants play suits, but short pasnts or knicker suits.

Belgium

Canada

England

Most boys did not begin to wear long pants until their early teens. Knickers were not very common in England. English schoolboys in the 1930s typically wore short trousers (the English don't say short pants) with cuffed (turn-over-top) knee socks. They were mostly required to wear short pants suits as a uniform with the school tie and grey knee socks with cuffs. A schoolboy in 1937 is a good example.

France

French boys in the 1930s commonly wore short pants. Some school portraits commonly show all the boys in a class wearing shorts. Shorts were commonly worn even in cold weather. Some boys in formal portaits might still have kneepants suits, but the great majority of boys wore short pants. The length of the shorts were still quite long in the early 30s, but we begin to see shorter cut shorts by the late 30s. Suits depending on the age commonly came with short pants. Sailor suyits were commonly nade with boy short or long pants. We note postrcards showing boys wearing fancy outfits, but we see few actual photograpohs of boys wearing them. Romper suits were popular for younger boys. Some older teenagers might wear knickers before switching to long pants. Boys commonly wore short pants wsith kneesocks, especially in cold weather. Long stockings were also worn, but not very commonly.

Germany

German boys continued to commonly wear short pants. Many boys continued to wear short pasnts until their mid-teens. This varied somewhat from family to family. Some teenagers wore knickers for a few years before beginning to wear long pants. We notice a typical German schoolboy in 1931 wearing a sweater, short pants, and long black stockings. Notice that these short pants are more or less the same length as the old-fashioned knee pants, but more informal and without the ornamental buttons. Short pants were worn in Germany with both knee socks and long stockings. A 1937 photo shows a German gymnasium (secondary school) with boys wearing both kinds of hosiery with their shorts. Note that many of these boys are wearing the quasi-military Hitler youth accoutrements with their school clothes. School portraits are probably the best source of information as to what boys actually wore in any given period. A good example is a primary school. All the boys wear short pants but some with long stockings and some with bare knees and (probably) knee socks. Black long stockings are still being worn but the newer brown stockings seem to predominate. Most of the boys wear some sort of sweater or jacket but without necktie.

Italy

Italian boys commonly wore short pants during the 1930s. Older boys might wear knickers. Many children wore smocks to school making it somewhat difficult to tell what kind of pans they were wearing other than short or long pants. The fascist influence over schools extended of course to Italy during the 1930s. We notice a 1938 photo of an Italian class of primary school boys at Monferrato. Some of the boys wear the customary smocks over their shorts while others wear their Balilla uniforms. Notice how short the short pants of the boys are and how long the long stockings must be to cover their legs. A few of the boys wear knee socks (notice how they tend to fall down) but most of the boys wear full-length stockings, obviously with garters since the stockings stay up neatly. Of course there were major differences between fashionable city children and rural village children.

(The) Netherlands

Dutch boys commonly wore short pants until their early teens, some boys into their mid-teens. Some teenagers wore knickers or kneepants. We note two Dutch teenagers, presumably brothers, wearing different pants--knee pants with long black stockings and long pants. The two boys don't seem to be very far apart in age. I would guess 15 and 17. Perhaps another instance of age-grading in the Netherlands. It is obvious that the long stockings are worn for formality, not for warmth because of the season.