Figure 1.-- Here we see an unidentified Argentine family, probably in the late-1920s. The children look to be about 2-12 years old. We see long stockings, knee socks, and three-quarter socks. They look to be a rural family.

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: 7:04 AM 9/13/2016
Last updated: 7:04 AM 9/13/2016