Figure 1.--These German boys are having their protrait taken after their First Communion celebration. We are unsure if it is a church or school group. The image is undated, but we believe that it was probably taken in the mid-1920s. Almost all the boys wore short pants, most with the three button ornmental trim commonly associated with kneepants.

Almost all of the boys here wear short pants, although they are styled like kneepants with the ornamental buttons. The shorts are mostly parts of suits matching the jackets. The only boy in the first row wearing long pants wears a very formal outfit. We do not know about the boy in the back row. Presumably they wear short pants also, but some of the boys in sailor suits are wearing long pants--we note at least one. The boy in the white sailor suit seems to be wearing short pants, his long pants are either very short on him or he is wearing short pants. Maybe that explains the white color. The boy next to him is also wearing short pants, white socks and low lace or strap shoes (you cannot be sure from the image). The two boys next to him you cannot tell for certain what kind of pants but you can make out that they wear lace shoes. About the two boys in the back row standing to the right, the boy in the sailor suit is definitely wearing long pants and shiny black shoes. The boy directly to his left is definitely wearing short pants, white socks and modern looking black lace shoes which are also very shiny. Concerning the boys in the front row. All but two of the boys wearing short pants have the ornamental three side buttons. Of course this brings us to the question as to how to differentiate between short pants and kneesocks. Here there is a fine line. Generally kneepants were rather tight fitting, had the three button trim, and were designed to come doen to the middle of the knee or below. Generally short pants were cut above the knee, often were cut fuller, and did not have the three button trim. Obviously as can be seen here, during the transitional period of the 1920s when short pants replaced kneepants, some pants rather drew from both types and blurred the difference.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Satellite sites] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web chronological pages:
[The 1900s] [The 1910s] [The 1920s] [The 1930s] [The 1940s] [The 1950s] [The 1960s] [The 1970s] [The 1980s] [The 1990s]

Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web style pages:
[Short pants suits] [Blazers] [Jackets] [Kilts]
[Sailor suits] [Sailor hats]
[Ring bearer/page costumes] [Shortalls]

Created: June 13, 2002
Last edited: June 13, 2002