Figure 1.--This man or perhaps a big brother had a street photographer take a photograph of his son and him in front of the Bristol Casino in Mar del Plata, a beach resort near Buenos Aires in 1945. The boy is wearing long stockings with short pants. This is one of the last images we have found of Argentine boys wearing long stockings. Theywere still common in the 1920s, but declined in popularity durung the 1930s.

The popularity of the different types of hosiery in Argentina as well as the conventions for wearing them have varied over time. We believe that this basically followed Europen fashion trends and conventions. We do not have a good idea about the 19th century yet. Our Argentine 19th century archive is very limited. We notice dark long stockings in the early-20th century. We see them being worn for both warmth and formality. This seems to be more a German than an Italian style. Boys wore both black and dark colors. We do not notice them wearing white long stockings. We do not notice Argentine boys wearing long stockings very commonly after the early-20th century. Long stockings were not as common as in northern Europe and North America, probably because of the important Italian and Spanish influence in Argentina. Socks were more common in those countries we think for climatic reasons. We do note girls wearing white stockings. Boys did wear stockings, especially for formal occassions, mostly dark stockings. A good example is an unidentified boy in 1932. It is just that they were less common than socks. We note Argentine boys wearing both three-quarter socks in the early-20th century and knee socks after World War I. There were more changes after After World War II, ankle socks become more common and ventually the main type of hosiery. We do see Argentine children wearing knee socks. We also note some children not wearing socks and going barefoot. This was widely seen as a sign of poverty. We do not see three-qurter socks very commonly, but this may reflect our limited archive. We believe that they were worn in the early-20th century.

19th Century

We do not have a good idea about the 19th century yet. Our Argentine 19th century archive is very limited. We see them being worn for both warmth and formality. Argentina as a southern cone country does have seasonally cool weather.

20th Century

We have a much better fix on 20th century hsiery, largly because id a more subsrantal photographic archive. We notice three-quarter socks and long stockings, mostly dark, in the early-20th century. This seems to be more a German than an Italian style. Boys wore both black and dark colors. We do not notice them wearing white long stockings. We do not notice Argentine boys wearing long stockings very commonly after the early-20th century. Long stockings were not as common as in northern Europe and North America, probably because of the important Italian and Spanish influence in Argentina. Socks were more common in those countries we think for climatic reasons. We do note girls wearing white stockings. Boys did wear stockings, especially for formal occassions, mostly dark stockings. A good example is an unidentified boy in 1932. It is just that they were less common than socks. We note Argentine boys wearing both three-quarter socks in the early-20th century. Knee socks become more common after World War I in the 1920s. There were more changes after After World War II, ankle socks become more common and ventually the main type of hosiery. We do see Argentine children wearing knee socks. We also note some children not wearing socks and going barefoot. This was widely seen as a sign of poverty. We do not see three-qurter socks very commonly, but this may reflect our limited archive. We believe that they were worn in the early-20th century. Knee socks declined in popularity in the 1970s as short pants became less common, especially shorts for mre formal wear.

Created: 3:05 AM 7/12/2007
Last updated: 6:24 AM 9/13/2016