Figure 1.--This boy, we think in New York City, wears above the knees knickers with what look like knee socks in 1921. They may be cuffed down long stockings. Most boys at the time wore long stockings. Notice the sporty beanny. It looks like he just got a new bicycle.

Knickers in America were initially made to be fastened above the knee. The material commonly fellover the knee and the boys wore long stockings so the fact that they buckeled above the knee is not always simple to detect in available photographs. And this is how American boys mostly wore knickers, buckeled above the knee during the 1910s and 20s when they were most common. This is not entirely clear from the photographic record because the knickers material bloused at the knee and tended to cover the knee anyway. It was most obvious when boys wore knee socks. Most boys wore knickers with long stockings. A few boys wore them with knee socks and thus they look more like short pants as the knee shows. This was not very common, but we do see some examples in the photographic record, mostly during a short period from the late-1910s and very early-20s. A good example is two Texas boys in 1917. Anpther example os the boy here in 1921 (figure 1). Knee socks became standard in the 1930s, but the knickers worn then tended to be cut longer so the knee did not show.

Construction

Knickers in America were initially made to be fastened above the knee. The material commonly fellover the knee and the boys wore long stockings so the fact that they buckeled above the knee is not always simple to detect in available photographs. And this is how American boys mostly wore knickers, buckeled above the knee during the 1910s and 20s when they were most common. This is not entirely clear from the photographic record because the knickers material bloused at the knee and tended to cover the knee anyway. It was most obvious when boys wore knee socks. Most boys wore knickers with long stockings.

Hosiery

Hosiery conventions began to changw at about the same time that knickers became standard wear in America. American boys in the second half of the 19th century wore long stockings except when going barefoot. This was much less the case in Europe and is a way of differentiating unidentified portaits. This continued into the 20th century. We begin to see knee socks in the 1910s, but they were not a major item until the 1920s. They were mostly flat colors, but we begin to see the loud pattns in the mid-20s and by the 1930s we see mostly loud pattern knee socks like argyles.

Chronology

American boys wore knickers in the 19th century, but they were they wre not very common. Pants lengths for both knickers and knee pants were well below the knee. Knee pants became almost universal in the late-19th century. The length until late in the cenury was well below the knee. Only in he 1890s do we see actual knee-lngth pants being commonly worn. The knickers that appeared late in the 1900s decade were essentially the same lenth s the knee pants they replaced. We do no see this very clearly as long stockings were so common. When the knee does not sho, it is not so ovious. Only in the late-1910s and the 1920s do we begin to notice the above the knne knickers because boys began waring knee socks. Some boys rolled down their knee socks, but mostly we see knee socks. We do not see boys wearing above-the-knee knickers very commonly in the 30s. Perhaps some in the erly-30s, but longer lengths were more common. Knickers wih below he knees knitted cuffs became very commomly. Boys began wearing knickers with ankle sivks, but these were all blow the knee lengths.

Navigate the Historic Boys ' Clothing Web chronol ogical pages:
[The 1900s] [The 1910s] [The 1920s] [The 1930s] [The 1940s] [The 1950s]

Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web style pages:
[Jackets] [Long pants suits] [Blazers] [Kilts] [S ailor suits] [Short pants suits]
[Ring bearer/page costumes] [Eton suits]

Created: 11:13 PM 12/11/2009
Last edited: 12:29 AM 6/14/2017