Figure 1.--
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Figure 1.-- |
I am a German born in the early 1930s. There were five of us children in the family.
I can remember some of the detils of the clothes I wore as early as 4 years of age. I some times wore long stockings under short pants as a small child, but this was not common, although other boys did so commonly.
My mother remarked in a notebook on her five childrenīs sayings.
When I was a little boy I was scared of the big womenīs legs with all those "horrible" silk stockings and broad garters and pink (during World War II grey) underwear in the 1930s and soon after.
With short pants I sometimes wore long brown or light grey cotton stockings and garters myself, fortunately not silk (Nylon or Perlon was not yet existent). The rubber lace garters (white for boys, pink for girls, that was the difference!) were held on both ends with white buttons at the stockings and at an under-vest worn under the dress, shirt or pullover. This was for children.
When we grew older, at about 12 we got a simple garter belt and those shiny metal clasps at the garterīs lower end. Much of these things were home made. We, that means both, girls and boys. Most girls and boys had such stockings and fixings. In a few families it was not the fashion. From old books and photographs I know, that in the 1920s and before, for children only black stockings were in use. I wore long stockings until I was 15 years old, which was longer than with most boys. That was the age when girls got fine cotton, and at times even silk or Nylon stockings.
German children, both boys and girls, very commonly wore long stockings in the first half of the 20th century. Boys had different opinions about hosiery. Some boys hated long sockings because they had hand-knit woolen stockings that were horribly itchy. Some boys disliked them because with long stockings and garters they thought it looked to much like girls clothes. But the majority of boys had no objections. Some liked them because it was easier to wear stockings than trousers. It was easy to roll them down in a warm class room.
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