Figure 1.---These brothers about 1910 wear matching white tunic suits They are boys of the Brooks family of Goodland, Indiana. They look to be about 3-5 years old. The snapshots were taken at the family home. Note the large porch, but here they ae drawing on a table in the yard. They wear whire long stockings, we think with ixford shoes. It i a little difficult to tell. We suspecy mother did not want them to mess up their ptent leather strap shoes outdoors.

We do not know much about hosiery in the early-19th century. During this period boys wore pataloons or long trousers with tunics. We have few images and those that are availble offer few details as to hosiery. With the development of photography w know much more about the second half of the century. Hosiery varied, although there were limited options. We see boys at the turn of the 20th centuty going barefoot as tunics were a popular summer outfit. There were two basic options for hosiery. Most boys wore either three-quater socks or long stockings. Knee socks were not yet common and we do not notice them. The choice of hosiery were in part seasonal. The thee-quarter socks were common during the summer. They were often white, sometimes with some small colored band or decoration. Long stockings were commonly worn during the winter. Long stockings were also worn when dressing up. White stockings were most common in the summer. We do not see light colors. Black are dark colored stockings were in the winter. The color seasonal pattern was not always followed. Here formality made for off seasonal choices. We are not yet sure about colored stockings, but believe some were worn. We see three-quarter socks and long stocking both being worn in the opposite season as well. Note the boy here wears black long stockings with a white sailor tunic.

Created: 10:14 PM 12/11/2013
Last edited: 11:00 PM 1/2/2014