Figure 1.--This family cabinet card portrait shows an English boys wearing a knee pants suit. Notice the long cut cut. We are unsure how to date it. The mount style looks to us like the 1880s, but we know more about American than English cards. Mothers jacketed dress style and baloons sleeves look rather like the 1890s. In America actual knee length poant were common by the 1890s, but we are not yet sure about Engand.

Knee pants were one of the styles of shortened-length pants thay appeared for boys in the mid-19th century. They were straight-cut pants and not bloused out like knickers. We note English boys in the second half of he 19th century wearing both knee pants and knickers. This was different from America where the primary type of shortened-length pants were knee pants in the second half of the 19th century. We do not see many knickers in America until the 20th century. We see both knee pants and knickers in England. We are unsure about the relative importance. We see boys at public (elite private boarding) schools motly wearing knickers and long pants. Knee pants seem less common. Age may be afactor here with younger boys motly weaing knee pants. This is something we have yet to establish, but are working on as our 19th century English archive grows. We are less sure about the general population. Knee pants eventually became standard for British boys and were widely worn at state schools. Rarly knee pants were cut long at calf level. Gradually they became shorter cut at knee level. We see knee pants with rather full cuts, something else we do not see in America. We are not yet sure about how these full cut varied over time. Americans boys mostly wore knee pants with long stockings. We note English boys wearing long stockings in the 19th and even the early 20th century. Knee socks became, however, much more popular after the turn-of-the 20th century. Baden Powell and the new Boy Scout movement may have been a factor here.

Chronology

Knee pants were one of the styles of shortened-length pants thay appeared for younger boys in the mid-19th century. This was a trend we first see in Western Europe and then America. We are not entirely sure about the orugins. We note English boys in the second half of he 19th century wearing both knee pants and knickers. Only slowly did older boys begin wearing them. This was different from America where the primary type of shortened-length pants were knee pants in the second half of the 19th century. We do not see many knickers in America until the 20th century. England seems to have gone in the opposite direction. We see boys mostly wearing first knee pants after the turn-of the 19th century which gradually transitioned to shirt pnts durung the 1910s. By the 1920s short pants were standard, although for some reason they were commonk called knickers for a while.

Construction

They were straight-cut pants and not bloused out like knickers. They were often called straight-leg knee pants to differentiate them from knickers. Many were dine vith pockers as we see here (figure 1). We are not sure when this feature was added.

Decoration

Knee pants often had secirative buttins at the nee hem. This was not alwats the case as we see here (figure 1), but it as often the case. This was ro simulare the knee breeches common in the 18th centyurty. We are not enitely sure why this ws thiugy necessary,nut it was a commin cincentiion in America and Europe.

Schoolwear

We see boys at public (elite private boarding) schools motly wearing knickers and long pants. Knee pants seem less common. Age may be afactor here with younger boys motly weaing knee pants. Publiic (elite oriavte boarding) schiools were imprtant in setting fashion trends. We are not at all sure about prevaence. We note quite a nimber of schools with the boys wearing knickers.

Age

Knee pants were commonly worn by boys to about 13 years oif age. This varies over time and from family to family. This was more or less school age for most boys. Secondary school was not yet common for working-class boys. After leaving school, boys usually began weearing long pants. The boy here looks to be sbout 11-12 years old (figure 1).

Prevalence

We see both knee pants and knickers in England. We are unsure about the relative importance. We have noted more boys wearing knee pants than knickers in the photoigraph sof the general popultion we have collected so far. This is something we have yet to establish, but are working on as our 19th century English archive grows. We are less sure about the general population. Knee pants eventually became standard for British boys and were widely worn at state schools.

Length

Early knee pants were cut long at calf level. The boy here is a good example of this longer length knee pants common through the 1870s (figure 1). We do not know what they were called when they first appeared at mid-century, but they were not knee length. They were longer Gradually they became shorter cut at knee level, but this not occur until the 1890s. We see knee pants with rather full cuts, something else we do not see in America. We are not yet sure about how these full cut knee pants varied over time.

Hosiery

Hosiery is a little difficult to assess when boys wore long pants, but as shortned length pants became common we are able to assess hosiery in detail. And shortened-length pants were common in England for more than a century. Americans boys almost always wore knee pants with long stockings, except when going barefoot which was common in the 19th century. We also note English boys wearing long stockings in the 19th and even the early 20th century, but we also notice younger boys wearing socks even before the turn of the 20th century They were commonly three-quarter socks because high-top shoes were so common. We do not see knee socks to any extent until the 20th century, exceptt with kilts. White sdocks were common, but long stockings were usually black or dark colors. Here age was a factor. We see younger boys wearing socks with knee pants. Older boy almpst always wore long-stokings. This is somerthing you almost never see in America. One way of destinguishing some American and English images. Boys wearing socks with knee socks became, however, much more popular after the turn-of-the 20th century. Here Baden Powell and the new Boy Scout movement may have been a factor here as short pntsand knee socks were part of the uniform for the new organization.

Created: 12:31 PM 2/13/2018
Last updated: 9:46 PM 3/28/2022