Figure 1.--Both boys and girls commonly wore long stockings in Germany during the first half of the 20th century. Here we see a Germany family about 1930 with all the children wearing long stockings. Note the tan-colored long stockings that began to become popular in the 1930s.

Long stockings were still widly worn by German boys in the 1920s even though the boys were cmmonly wearing short pants rather thn kneepants. Until about 1930, school photographs can be seen showing whole classes of younger boys where virtually all of the boys of boys wearing long stockings, almost without exception. Nation wide perhaps half of German boys wore long stockings. After the early 1930s this began to decline. The NAZI attitude toward long stockings was a major factor here. Long stocking continued to be worn mostly commonly in rural areas. It was at this time that boys shorts began to be cut shorter so that some boys wore long stockings with quite long stockings. After World War II, long stockings became less connon for older boys, but children in primary schools still commonly wore them--especially during the cooler weather. The fashion continued in Germany after World War II although we have only limited information at this time as to how common it was. This is in part because long trousers became more common and it is not possible to tell what kind of hosiery that the boys in long stockings were wearing. The wearing of long stockings declined firs in the larger cities and then in rural areas as well. For the most part boys in West Germany stopped wearing long sockings in the late 1950s. A few boys still ore them in the 1960s, but they were no longer common. Interestingly, many mothers began dressing their younger boys in tights at this time. The timeline is somewhat diffeent in East Germany where boys wore long stocking well into the 1960s. A HBC reader tells us that Quelle was still offering long stockings in 1975, but HBC can not yet confirm that.

The 1900s

Most German boys in the 1900s wore kneepants, commonly with long stockings. We are not sure about the color, but they seem to have been mostly black or other dark colors.

The 1910s

The 1920s

Long stockings were still widly worn by German boys in the 1920s even though the boys were cmmonly wearing short pants rather thn kneepants. Until about 1930, school photographs can be seen showing whole classes of younger boys where virtually all of the boys of boys wearing long stockings, almost without exception. Nationwide perhaps half of German boys wore long stockings. A good example is two brothers in a middle-class family. Their younger brother wears kneesocks. We note boys begin to wear tan and other flesh tones in the 1920s. A good example is an unidetified German boy probanly during the early 1920s.

The 1930s

After the early 1930s, long stockings began to decline in popularity, especially among older boys. We still see younger boys wearing them, but older boys more commonly wore kneesocks. The NAZI attitude toward long stockings seem to have been a major factor here. We are notvsure just how they were brought to bear. We not, for example, that one very rarely sees Hitler Youth boys wearing log stocvkings. Long stocking continued to be worn mostly commonly in rural areas. It was at this time that boys shorts began to be cut shorter so that some boys wore long stockings with quite long stockings. The long stockings available in the stores in the 1930s were made longer than those made in the early 20s.

The 1940s

After World War II, long stockings were still widely worn by German boys. They gradually became less common for older boys. This was a pricess we began to see in the 1930s. Children in primary schools still commonly wore them--especially during the cooler weather. Tthis varies somewhat. We see some children wearing knee socks and others long stockings. Here families differed. We also note varying patterns at schools. At some schools many children wear long stockings. At others, only a few children. We are not extirely sure how to explain these differences. This was true in both East and Wat Germany. The wearing of long stockings seemed to have declined more in the larger cities than in rural areas. This may explain some of the differences between schools. We note an impage from East Germany right after the War. We notice a farm boy, probably in the late 1940s. The fashion continued in Germany after World War II although we have only limited information at this time as to how common it was. This is in part because long trousers became more common and it is not possible to tell what kind of hosiery that the boys in long pants were wearing.

The 1950s

We still commonly see boys wearing long stockings, especially in the early 1950s. We see two notable trends in the the 1950s. First, while long stokings were still common, they were increasingly be worn by mostly younger boys. We see large numbers of younger boys wearing long stockings in the school portraits. Here we are less sure about girls. Second, long stockings were increasigly being worn seasonaly in cold weather. We see quite a number of yongr boys wearing long stockings in the earky 50s. A ggod example here is a mother and her three sons wearing long stockings in 1952. Another example is an unidentified German boy in 1954. By the mid-1950s they were becoming much less common. King srockings, however, were not unknown even in the late 1950s. An examole is an inidentified German boy in 1957. Here we are talking about boys wearing long stockings with short pants. We suspect that during the Winter that many boys wore long stockings with long pants making it impossible to assess the situation with any accuracy. For the most part, HBC believes that boys in West Germany stopped wearing long sockings in the late 1950s. Not all readers agree. One reader writes, "I travelled in Germany quite a bit throughout the 1950s. I remember that one did see boys wearing long stockings even in the late 1950s--but, of course, not a majority." A reader writes, "The German Hosiery Museum indicated that long stockings were still very common for German boys in the 1950s." HBC general assessment is that many younger German boys were still wearing long stockings when the weather turned cold durng the early 1950s. By the end of the decade we find that this was much less common. Our assessment is based on our admitedly limited archive of German images. We note various suspension devices in the 1950s. An example is an unidentified German boy in 1953. Long stockings sharply declined in popularity in the late-1950s, at least in West Germany, as children's tights appeared on the market.

The 1960s

Long stockings disappeared very quickly during the late 1950s in West Germany. A few boys still wore long stockings in the 1960s, but it was not very common. We have few details here. The availavle photographic record , however, shows very few West German boys wearing log stockings during the 1960s. The timeline is somewhat diffeent in East Germany where boys wore long stocking well into the 1960s. (The same is true in other Eastern European countries and Russia.) While they were no longer very common in West Germany, we still see a few boys and girls wearing them. An example is unidentified German boy in 1962. One of the reasons that long stockings disappeared so rapidly is the appearance of commercial tights. Interestingly, many mothers began dressing their younger boys in tights at this time. Tights appeared at the same time in Britain and America, but were almost entirely worn by girls.

The 1970s

A HBC reader tells us that Quelle was still offering long stockings in 1975, but HBC can not yet confirm that. Nor do we know if they were being worn by boys or girls.