Figure 1.--Here we see modern German boys in a soccer league wearing both knee socks and tights as part of their uniforms. The tights are usually optional, but many boys opted for them. |
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German boys appear to have worn the same type of hosiery worn by other European boys There are, however, some difference in the time-line and relative importance. Long stockings have been especially important in Germany. Three-quarter socks were common at the turn-of-the 20th century. German boys also commonly wore kneesocks, especially during the mid-20th century. We have noted one destinctive style worn with lederhosen--lofers. These split socks are someyimes worn with folk outfits. A relatively recent development has been tights. Also tights appear to have been more common in Germany than in many other countries. Modern German boys mostly wear ankle socks.
German boys commonly wore long stockings at the turn of the 20th century. As in other countries, black was the most common color for long stockings. We are unsure to what extent white long stockings were worn. Brown an tan long stockings ppeard after World Wa I. In some countries long stockings were worn as both dresswear and for warmth. We know that German boys wor long stockings for warmth. We r less sure how common they were for dresswear. waYounger boys continued to wear long stockings during the colder winter months, often with short pants. Germany can be quite cold in the winter and thus those boys that wore shorts all year round might wear long over-the-knee stockings when it was cold.
Three-quarter socks were commonly worn by German boys. Three-quarter socks were socks higher than ankle soks, but lower than knee sicks. Thi covers a range of specific lengths, complicated by the fact tht children sometimes pulled them up or let them fall dowm. Three ey were a srandard hosiery type for younger boys and girls throughout Europe and North America. They do not seem to have been as commonly worn as in France. I think that was primarily because long stockings were much more common in Germany than in France. German children in the early 20th century mostly wore eith three-quarter or long stockings. This was in large measure a seasonal choice. I'm not sure when they were first worn, but they were very common by the turn-of-the 20th century. They were worn in the early 20th century, but after World War I (1914-18) in the 1920s they ere rarely seen.
Groups like the Wandervogel and Scouts helped to popularize kneesocks in the early 1900s. Long stockings were generally repalaced with knee socks in the 1910s. Knee socks were more popular with older boys, but they might wear knickers rather than shorts during the winter. Most German boys wore knee socks by the 1920s. Unlike long stockings, black knee socks were not common. We note white kneesocks in the 1930s and they had a dressy image. Grey knee socks apear to have been more common. Knee socks were commonly worn with suits, both short pants and knicker suits. Wandervogel, Scouts, and Hitler Youth boys almost always wore knee socks as part of their uniforms. After World War II, kneesocks were worn more seasonally. Even when not wearing short pants, some German boys wore knee socks during the winter. We note very colorful patterns becoming popular in the 1950s. Kneesocks by the 1980s were no longer commonly worn by boys.
Many Germany boys in the early 20th cebtury wore long stockings or three-quarter socks. Ankle socks were not common. Ankle socks began to be seen in the 1930s. After World War II they gradually became the dominant hosiery worn by German boys, replacing knee socks and long stockings. Hosiery was quite diverse in the 950s, but ankle socks had become quite common. Knee socks were still common in the 1950s, but by the 1960s they were becoming less common--especially with older boys. Here our assessment is complicated because more German noys were wearing long trousees and is more difficult to see what type of hosiery they are wearing using the photographic record. By the 1970s, Germans were wering ankle socks ith both long and short pants. Striped ankle socks appear to have been popular. We note quite a number of images of boys wearing ankle socks with kneesocks or in some cases long stockings. This seems especually common for boys in youth groups. We also see a few boys going to school with double socks. A good example is an unidentified school boy in 1934.
Gamaschen / Gamaschenhosen were a kind of early tights worn through the 1930s. They were worn in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and other Europen countries. There is a confusion in using the term in the English language. Gamaschen or Gamaschenhosen might be translated as tights, but in fact they were a little diffent. They were knitted woolen hosiery. Unlike true tights , they have no knitted feet. They had a little flap above the shoe and an elastic ribbon, usually white, went under the arch of the foot to hild them in place. under the sole, This garment was worn over long stockings and shoes (Stiefeln) in the winter by children for extra warmth. Both boys and girls wore them. They were widely worn in the 930s. A German reader tells us, "I have a photograph takebn when I was 3 years old suring winter 1938-39. I was sitting on a tricycle in front of our garden house." So they were different than the modern tights (Strumpfhoseklage) worn by German children since the 1950s. There is no English word that we know of for Gamaschen. Probably the cloeset term is a kind of leggings, although leggings were commonly made in a heavier material. I think for example the tights described by a Swiss reader were in fact
Gamaschen.
After World War II, long stockings began to disappear, but some younger boys beginning in the late 1950s began wearing tights during the winter instead of long stockings. They were worn with both short and long pants. German tights appear to have been worn primarily in cooler weather for warmth. Tights are still worn by younger children. Older boys also wear tights, but usually for winter sports.
Some folk outfits show boys and men wearing split socks (loferl). This was a folk style worn by both boys and men. TYhis was a a male style and not worn by girls or women. Like lederhosen, "loferl" originated in Bavaria and other Alpine regions. I'm not sure what the origins were. I don't see amy pratical reason for them.
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