German Long Stockings: Age


Figure 1.--This German boy near Kiel in 1957 was a little older than most boys wearing long stoclings in the 1950s, at least with short pants. Also black long stockings were not very common at the time. His mother suggested he wear them because it was a chilly day. Actually he looks quite modern as they look like modern Spandex tights sometimes worn by atheletes.

The ages at which German boys wore long stockings varied chronologically. HBC is not sure what age boy wore long stockings in the late 19th and early 20th century. American boys up to 16 and even 18 years of age wore long stockings with kneepants and knickers in the years before World War I. I am not sure if the same was the case in Germany. After World War I, some boys continued weaing old-fashioned dark long stockings for formal occassions, in some cases up to about 15 years of age at the most, but mostly younger boys. More common was boys wearing lighter colored long stockings. German boys continued wearing long stockings after World war II. Boys might wear them through about age 10. A good example is a farm boy about 7-8 years old wearing long stockings in the late 40s. We seem some older boys wearing them until 12-13 years. We note mostly boys up to about 10 years of age eraring them. One example is a photograph of German brothers about 1952. Here a boy about 13 wears long stockings in 1957 (figure 1), by then it was becoming uncommon for teenagers, even younger teenagers to wear them. A problem in assessing the age of boys wearing long stockings is that it is often difficult to tell what kind of hosiery boys in long pants are wearing. This is not a problem in the late 19th and early 20th century when most boys wore kneepants. It is a problem in the mid-20th century when more older boys began wearing long pants, especially during the winter. Thus it may be that it looks like only younger boys are wearing long stockings because we can only tell with the younger boys weaing short pants. We know that long stockings were made in larger sizes because older girls still commonly wore them. The long stockings for boys and girls were identical. There were know gender differences as to the manufacture and styling. There were, however, some color differences.

Chronology

The ages at which German boys wore long stockings varied chronologically. HBC is not sure what age boy wore long stockings in the late 19th and early 20th century. American boys up to 16 and even 18 years of age wore long stockings with kneepants and knickers in the years before World War I. I am not sure if the same was the case in Germany. Our more limited archive of German images makes this somewhat difficult to tell. The increasing popularity of kee pants makes old photograohs an important source of information. Most boys by the 1890s were wearing kneepants. A German reader writes, "In the period from about 1905 to 1935 the age when boys wore long stockings with knee pants/short pants seems to have increased. In the 1920s and 1930s boys as old as 15 wore long stockings with short trousers. But the predominant age for shorts with long stockings was from about 6 to 12. During this age range there seems to have little distinction between undergarments designed for boys and those designed for girls. But after the age of 12, some boys seem to have regarded stockings and garters as a bit girlish. After World War I, some boys continued weaing old-fashioned dark long stockings for formal occassions, in some cases up to about 15 years of age at the most, but mostly younger boys. More common was boys wearing lighter colored long stockings. German boys continued wearing long stockings after World war II. Assessing German trends concerning long stockings becoes more difficult in the 1950s as long pants began to become more popular, The photographic record no longer tells us about what type of hosiery was being worn by older boys during the inter. Thus it may be that it looks like only younger boys are wearing long stockings because we can only tell with the younger boys weaing short pants. We know that long stockings were made in larger sizes because older girls still commonly wore them. The long stockings for boys and girls were identical. There were know gender differences as to the manufacture and styling. There were, however, some color differences.

Specific Ages

German boys during the late 19th- and early-20th centuries commonly wore long stockings. We notice boys wearing long stockings from about 1 year of age to 15-16 years, some times even older boys. But it was most common for school age boys, especially pre-teens. Commonly boys by 14 or 14 years of age stopped wearing long stockings. This of course varied over time and from country to country. A major factor was the age of boys wearing knee pants and short pnts. Germany was one of the countries where long stovkings were particularly ommon. A major factor was climate, but it was not just a matter of climate. Unfortunately the age of the children in many photographs is not dated. Here we have to guess about the ages. While perhaps not always precisely correct, these images still provide rough indications.

Reader Comments

A HBC reader writes, "There is an image of a German boy young teen in the 1950s that wore anklets and we actually had a discussion and your reply was it could be an exception. If the photos of children wearing anklets over and under the long stockings are accurate then maybe the convention of wearing both long stockings and anklets was more common than first thought. Then the image here is useful as indicative of one of the styles of long stockings which was as a pants substitute and socks were worn with them." We have seen a number of images of boys wearing ankle socks with long stockings or kneesocks. But it does not seem all that common. We do see quite a number of scouts wearing ankle socks with knee socks for hiking and camping. I'm not sure I fully understand your comment here. Long stockings of course were not a pants substitute. We have noted boys wearing tights rather than pants, but mostly in Russia and almost always at home--rather like American boys might wear warm pajamas in the evening.








HBC






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Created: August 15, 2002
Last updated: 3:29 PM 4/8/2009