Figure 1.--Here we see a Swiss school. The photograph is undated, but we believe was taken during the 1940s. One boy wears short pants, but most of the boys wear knickers or long pants. We are unsure how respresentative this school was of other schools in Switzerland. We believe, however, that short pants were more common in neighboring countries. The children look 10-11 years old. Click on the image to see the rest of the class.

Boys around the world commonly wore short pants in the 1940s, especially in Europe. While we do note more boys wearing knickers and long pants, short pasnts were the most common. The major exception was America where long pants were much more common. Many American boys still wore knickers in 1940, but knickers rapidly went out of style during World War II. Yonger American boys might wear knickers, but this became more of a seasonal style in the 1940s and generally declined in popularity as the decade progressed. Canadian styles generally followed American styles, although knickers persisted longer there. We also not boys wearing breeches. Whole most European boys wore short pants, we see knickers and long pants more commonly than in the 1930s, often during the winter. Many boys wore knickers for a few years as teenagers before beginning to wear long pants--especially in the colder months. While this was the basic pattern, we note considerable differences from country to country. English boys did not commonly wear knickers. Also English boys continued to wear knee-length short pants, rather than the shorter styles that boys on the continent wore. Lederhosen became more populasr in Germany. Fashion developments were arrested during the first half of the decade. Boys in many countries were lucky to get any new clothes at all, let alone fashionable clothes. Some boys wore clothes that they had really grown out or weore out longer than would normally be the case.

America

Short pants were also worn in America, but not as commonly. Here there were regional and social class variations. Rather Amrerican boys had more commonly worn knickers. American boys rapidly switched to long pants in the early 1940s. This trend becomes increasingly common after World War II (1939-45), even in Europe. European boys more commonly wore short pants throughout the 1940s. The most common type of trousers worn by American boys at the beginning of decade may have been knickers, although they were rapidfly going out of style. American boys wore knickers—both as part of a suit or simply worn individually. A couple of photographs of the Smith brothers, taken about 1940, illustrate the style. The first image shows Joseph Smithin a knicker suit, worn with striped knee socks. If you click on the image you see Joseph and Charles (brothers). Charles is wearing much more formal knicker suits, worn for church. Here they wear the more formal black or navy blue knickers with long black stockings in lieu of knee socks. The mid-1940s was the last gasp for boys’ knickers in America. We occassionaly see them later, but very rarely. Boys by 1948 in the United States, nearly all boys (except very young ones) were wearing long trousers. More casual styles of long trousers began to appear including jeans, dungarees, and twill trousers (like those worn by working men). Some boys were probably allowed to wear these casual pants to high school while others wore them only for leisure or on weekends. Sears offered bib overalls in addition to jeans. The interesting feature about the denim outfits is that it was the style to turn the bottoms up at least two or three inches. A fashion fad in America during the 1940s was Zoot suits which included long jackets and baggy pants. They were worn by some teemagers, but seemed to have been most popular with blacks and Hispanics.

Canada

Canadian trends were similar to America, but not identical. We note the 1940 Eaton's catalog which showed boys engaged in the sport of football, wearing woolen long stockings with short pants. Again the combination of cold weather and cultural conservatism were operative. A Canadian boy wearing short pants with suspenders and long beige stockings is a good example as to how boys dressed in Quebec during the 1940s, especially in remote and rural villages. We notice a 1948 Firt Communion portrait. It shows a number of different trousers and hosiery styles. It includes one boy in long trousers. Most of the others wear short pants, but some with knee socks but most with long stockings. One is also wearing white long stockings. It shows the variety of dress-uo outfits Canadian boys wore in the 1940s.

England

English boys commonly wore short trousers during the 1940s. English boys did not commonly wear knickers, even older boys. Also English boys continued to wear knee-length short pants, rather than the shorter styles that boys on the continent wore.

France

Germany

Short pants worn with long stockings continued to be a major style for German boys.On a wintry day in 1948 during the American occupation of one sector of Germany, for instance, we see a German boy befriended by a G.I. The boy wears quite long short pants with heavy woolen long stockings and a stocking cap. Another shot taken in West Germany the same year shows a German boy of about 12 cleaning an American officer’s car. He wears short pants, long stockings, and a beret. During the Berlin Air Lift in 1948-49 German boys welcomed American soldiers who were in a position to give them candy and other goodies. This photo shows German boys dressed in a variety of clothes. One boy wears shorts with knee socks, another wears suspender shorts (cut quite short) with long brown stockings, and a third boy, only slightly older, sports long trousers. Most German mothers seem to have felt that boys should not wear long trousers until at least 14. In East Germany after 1945 as the Cold War developed , styles of boys’ clothes were very conservative, and most boys seem to have worn their short pants with long stockings, at least in the chillier seasons. In one photo, for instance, we see an East German boy of about 11 or 12 wearing very dark shorts with the H-bar suspenders and black long stockings. With his white shirt, he seems to be quite dressed up for the political parade he is watching. About the same time in West Germany most boys were wearing short pants of some sort rather than knickers. We have an image of a German lad in lederhosen held up by the traditional H-bar leather suspenders. Most boys wearing lederhosen wore them with knee socks, although some boys wore them with long stockings or ankle socks. In the present case, we can’t tell what sort of hosiery is involved.

Italy

Japan

Japan also in the years following the war went in for quite formal and traditional uniforms for young boys. Notice the dark formal short-pants suits, worn with black long stockings, that these kindergarten-age children are dressed in. The American sailors are impressed enough to take their picture.

Switzerland

Many Swiss boys like other European boys commonly wore short pants. By the 1940s, however, we see more Swiss boys commonly wearing knickers and long trousers. We think this was especially common in the colder winter months. This seems similar to the situation in Scandinavia. We have only a limited archive on Switzerland and thus can not fully assess the popularity of the different pants styles. We also are not sure how the pattern varierd among the French and German communities. There were also probably substantial differences between village schools and schools in the major cities. Long stockings and kneesocks were commonly worn. Hopefully our Swiss readers will provide us more details.