Figure 1.--We notice fewer boys dressing up in short pants suits during the 1960s, especially with kneesocks. Here we see an fashionablly dressed boy weating a doublle breasted short pants suit with kneesocks. It was from a 1969 issue of "Parents Magazine". It appeared in the "Family Fashion" section. We still see dressy short pants outfits in fashion magazines, but they are increasingly less family in actual family snapshots. Here social class was a factor. Dressy short pant seem more common among the genteel, educated class.

A HBC reader has commented on the short pants suit seen here which was in a 1969 issue of Parents Magazine.

I agree with your comments about this image. This style of suit probably had limited ditribution anong retailers. Only the most exclusive stores, I'd guess, were likely to carry this style. Why would a magazine with a large circulation like Parents feature it in a fashion section? It may have given some moms a general idea about fashion trends, just like the fashion magazines for women gave moms. The styles look good when worn by the models, but how many of us look like models? Interesting to look at, and maybe adaptable, but we'll leave the original to high fashion types.

The image of the boy makes me think a little of John-John Kennedy, the hairstyle especially. Jackie, Caroline, and JFK, Jr. were widely photographed, and a lot of people were influenced by the styles they wore. But you can also see some late "mod" touches here, I think. The suit has a bold plaid pattern, and it's double-breasted. Also, the short pants are shorter than the shorts American boys wore in the 1960s. Women's hemlines were going up, and boys' and mens' shorts were becoming shorter, too, into the 1970s. Other than Boy Scouts, only young boys were wearing knee socks by 1969. This accessory seems out of place, doesn't it? Yet, boys were wearing shorts, for sports and leisure wear more and more by this time. Very popular were "gym" shorts and with them, many boys wore "tube socks", knee length athletic socks, often white with colorful bands at top. With short shorts, long socks; with what passes for shorts these days, rather short socks. The buckled dress shoes which the boy wears were very popular dress shoes for boys from the late 1960s into the early 1970s.