Figure 1.--Here we see a boy and girl (brother and sister undoubtedly) dressed up for Easter. We are not sure where the photograph was taken. The boy carries an Easter basket. He wears a single breasted short pants suit with shirt and tie and long black stockings.

Here we see a boy and girl (brother and sister undoubtedly) dressed up for Easter. We are not sure where the photograph was taken. The boy carries an Easter basket. He wears a single breasted short pants suit with shirt and tie and long black stockings. The long stockings are obviously worn for reasons of formality, not warmth, since it is spring and the girl has bare legs and white ankle socks. The children have probably just come from church. We at first thought the photograph was taken in the 1930s because of the long stockings, but have since changed our minds. We think that about 1955 is most likely. The long stockings, however, are unusual for the 1950s in America. Notice the short dress and ankle socks that the girl is wearing, contrasting to the boy who wears long stockings. The boy seems to be about 7 or 8 years old. His sister is about 4 years old. A reader writes, "The boy's suit reminds me of the kind of suits I wore from about age 6 to 12 or 13, but I wore tan or beige stockings, not black ones."

The Children

Here we see a boy and girl (brother and sister undoubtedly) dressed up for Easter. The children in this family snapshot are unidentified. They look to be about 5-6 years old and 3 years of age.

Location

We believe the children are American, are we not sure where the photograph was taken.

Chronology

The source identified the snapshot here as being taken in 1939. Notice the short dress that the girl is wearing--typical of the shorter clothes children were wearing in the 1930s. A reader writes, "I am dubious about the dating of the photograph on this page. What makes me suspicious is the girl's socks which look like they have ruffles around the cuffs. The style didn't really take off untill about 1970 -- I don't recall ever having seen them before that time, then all of a sudden I think every little girl I saw was wearing them. The earliest unmistakeable reference I could find was a photo in a Life Magazine advertisement (September 10, 1956, p 118). HBC is unsure here. We have no information concerning the chronology of these ruffled socks. We do note the narrow lapels on the boy's jacket. That seems more in keeping with the early 1960s than the 1930s and 40s. And come to think of it, the hair cut does not seem quite right for 1939. This looks more like the 1950s. American boys by the 1950s, however, were no longer wearing long stockings. So the date of this photograph is very difficult to assess.

Country

A reader writes, "Interesting commentary on the date. I also noticed the girl's ankle socks as a bit strange for 1939. Your point about the lapels is convincing also. But did American boys ever wear long stockings in the 1960s in the USA? If this were Germany, we wouldn't be so surprised. But the American catalogs didn't even sell black long stockings in the 1960s. So this is a bit strange. Could the image be CAnadian and have just been misidentified? This image came from the Internet which indicated 1939, which means one can not always rely on very accurate information about source and date." One possibility is that the photograph could be Canadian where long stockings were worn a little longer than in America.

Easter

We believe this is an Easter photograph. The boy carries an Easter basket. Thus they are dressed in their new Easter outfits.

Clothing

The boy wears a single-breasted short pants suit with shirt and tie and long black stockings. The long stockings are obviously worn for reasons of formality, not warmth, since it is spring and the girl has bare legs and white ankle socks. The children have probably just come from church. What is somewhat unusual for 1939 is the color of the long stockings--black rather than the much more popular beige or tan. A reader writes, "The boy's suit reminds me of the kind of suits I wore from about age 6 to 12 or 13, but I wore tan or beige stockings, not black ones."

Contrasting Outfits

Another reader writes, "One thing puzzles me about this photograph. Have you noticed how loose and baggy the boy's black stockings are--almost as if the boy were wearing long underwear, which seems quite unlikely at Easter when the weather is not very cold. And in 1939 stockings typically fit much more snugly than in this picture. Just wondering if you have any explanation." Yes this is puzzeling and the difference between the boy and his sister is esoeciaslly striking. While the boy's legs seem to have been bundled up in not only heavy long stockings, but also long underwear, his sister wears a light-weight spring frock cut rather short and white ankle socks. The image is rather puzzeling, almost if the children had different mothers with different attitudes about how to dress the children. Many American mothers for some reason did not like the ideas of boys wearing short pants with bare knees during the Winter. They considered this unhealthy. This is one reason knickers were popular and children wore short pants and skirts with long stockings. We notice a "Protect Their Knees" ad for Hickory Hose Supporters in 1932. For some readson this attitude was much less pronounced for girls. Even during the Winter, girls commonly wore dresses with kneesocks. I have no idea why this gender difference existed, but it is quite observable in the photographic record. The family snap shot here is a good example. Perhaps HBC readers will have some insights here. The only thing that occurs to HBC is that the fashion element was stronger for girls than boys. This might be seen as the "Shirley Temple" look and obvious this mother thought the look was more important than dressing warmly, even thought this mist have been on her mind as seen by the boy's long stockings and long underwear. This notable difference seems to be largely an American fashion convention. European children at the time were more similarly dressed, at least in terms of seasonality.

Hair

The boy here has close cropped hair. I don;t recall seeing this style in the 1930s or even the early 40s. My knowledge of this subject is limited, but I think the style became popular during the Baby Boom that followed Worlkd War II. Presumably the short military buzz cuts were a factor when the the returning Workd War II soldiers and sailors returned home and began their families. I think it is a style most common in the 1950s and early 60s. The long sockings, however, are not likely in the 1960s, so the early 50s seems more likely. There were several sifferent styles of short hair in the 1950s. Perhaps the best known was the flat top. Younger boys were, howeverm more likely to wear buzz cuts like the boy here is wearing. A reader writes, "I thought the comment about the boy's haircut was interesting. I don't think it looks right for the 1930s.

Reader Comment

A reader writesm "Agree about long stockings. I wonder if the picture isn't modern and unwittingly anachronistic -- like the greeting cards and posters one sometimes sees." Well if this was a postcard I might agree, but this was a family snapshot.

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Created: 5:42 AM 11/9/2005
Last updated: 1:57 AM 7/6/2012