Figure 1.--This illustration from a 1950s Littlewood Catalogue shows the kinds of suits my father offered in his shop.

I grew up in the 1950s. My father until the 1970s had a menswear shop in East London than handled both boys' amd mens' clothing. For a few years I worked in it. In fact, during my school days I often used to help at weekends when business was the heaviest. Dad had an extensive range of boys' clothing. The Littlewoods mail order catalogue from about 1950 gives a good idea of the boy's clothes offered. I remember very well the range of boys' short trouser suits that he stocked, which he always referred to as "knicker suits". The long trouser suits were "youth suits". He stocked the short trouser suits up to size 9 which in those days was for boys around 13 years of age.

My Boyhood

I grew up in the 1950s. Both my brother and I wore short trouser suits. I think I had a knicker (short trouser) suit until about 12 years of age. It was not something you questioned in those days. I attended a grammar school. All of the first year boys wore grey short trousers with our blazers. By thesecond years some boys were wearing long trousers. I continued wearinf shorts my second year.

Clothing Shop

My father until he retired in the the 1970s had a menswear shop in East London than handled both boys' amd mens' clothing. For a few years I worked in it. In fact, during my school days I often used to help at weekends when business was the heaviest. Dad had an extensive range of boys' clothing. The Littlewoods mail order catalogue from about 1950 gives a good idea of the boy's clothes offered. I remember very well the range of boys' short trouser suits that he stocked, which he always referred to as "knicker suits". The long trouser suits were "youth suits". He stocked the short trouser suits up to size 9 which in those days was for boys around 13 years of age. The long trouser suits started at size 6 which was 9/10 years old. If a boy was quite small for hos age, he often had to stay in short trousers until tall enough for a long trouser suit. In fact, most boys up to about age 11 did not question wearing a "knicker suit". They were available in different colours and styles.

My Boys

I have two grown up boys. When the oldest was 10 years old in 1976, we bought him his first suit which had short trousers. I think very few shops continued to stock short trousders suits after that time. We could not obain one for hos brother who was 5 years younger.

Modern Clothing Shops

I visited a clothing shop in London recently and looked at boys' clothes. There are still suits made for little boys, but they seem more like "designer" styles and very expensive.

Douglas