Figure 1.--These unidentified Conncticut boys about 1930 look to be about 8-5 years old. They wear long stockings with their short pants sailor suits. This was presumably a seasonal matter. During the summer thy probably wore sicks, either knee socks or ankle sicks. The photographer was Hollywood Studio in Torrington, Connecticut. There was a very elaborate, decorative embossed frame which helps to date the portrait.

Sailor suits have also been worn with many different types of hosiery. Sailor suits were worn over a century and thus encompased all the major types of hosiery except the most modern. The photographic record offers great details ion both sailor suits and the hoisiery types worn with them. We have noted all lengths of hosiery from over-the-knee-long stockings to ankle socks. These varied chronologically a;long with general changes in hosiery styles. There were no dedicated sailor suit hosiery, just the popular fashion of the day. Of course our ability to see the hosiery was affected by the type of pants worn. The first sailor suits were done with long pants, often bell bottoms. This leaves us with no idea as to the hosiery. Gradually we begin to see shortend-lenth pants, knee pants and bloomer knickers. Even as shortened-length pants began to become standard for school-age boys, some sailor suits were done with long pants, emulsting actual uniforms. American sailor suits were generally worn with long stockings during the 19th century, even during the summer. This was different than in mny European countries. This was true for both boys and girls. There wa little variety, except in the color of the stockings. With the 20th century, knee pants began to give way to knickers and short pants. Three-quater socks were popular in the early-20th century. And then in the 10s we begin to see knee socks. The unidentified New York boy on the previous page wears white knee socks matching his white suit (figure 1). Long sxtockings continued to be wirn seasonally or for formzlity into the 1930s, but were declining in popularity. These chronological trends are not absolute, but this was the general pattern. Girls wore the same basic hosiery types wih the saolor suirs they wore with skirts as well as sailor dresses.

Other Related HBC Pages:
[Sailor suits] [Kilts] [Smocks] [Pinafores] [Sailor Hats] [Peaked caps] [Blouses]
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Created: 1:35 PM 7/4/2012
Last updated: 7:35 AM 12/11/2014