Figure 1.--These two children in Poland wear summer outfits during the 1930s. Note the ankle socks. We think these may be German children living in Poland after Worlkd War I, but the boy's sailor scarve is more of a tie ad not done like German boys. |
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Polish boys like German boys wore long stockings well after they went out of style in many other European countries. Polish readers inform HBC that tights were also common, although we do not know when they first appeared. As in East Germany, they appear to have replaced long stockings. Polish boys in the 1980s commonly wore tights. Tights continued to be widely worn by boys in the 1990s although perhaps not quite as commonly in the 1980s. A Polish reader writes, "I grew up in Poland in the 1980s. I have some memories
of the clothes I and others wore. I remember wearing knee socks pretty often until about the age of 10 or maybe even longer and some other boys also wore knee socks especially younger boys. I had a strict mother that
insisted that I wear knee socks in the cold weather and on special occasions. This was probably more than other mothers did, but other boys did wear knee socks too. They were most often gray kneesocks as I remember. Also while it was not too common a practice then some boys did wear tights in cold weather. I remember that I wore tights most of the Winter and so did my brother who was 2 years younger than me. I used to hate tights and never wanted to wear them, but there was no way getting around it with my mom. She made me wear tights often in the cold and even as a teenager. By then I had gotten used to them. Once again, by then not too many boys wore tights but some did, including me. They were effectve in keeping your legs warm."
We note Polish children wearing a variety of hosiery over time. We do not yet have a very extensive archive of Polish images so we can not yet assess hosiery trends in great detail. We note many images of Polish boys wearing long stockings. We have very little information on the 19th cdntgury. We do not boys extensively wearing long stockings in the 20th century. We see many Polish boys wearing long stockings into the 1950s on a seasonal basdis. We see boys wearing three-quarter socks in the early-20th century. Some boys wire sandals without socks during the summer. We note Polish boys wearing ankle socks, but do not yet have a detailed chronology. We mostly see them after World war II. They seem to have been initially a seasonal summer item. Gradually they became the standard hosiery type. Polish boys like German boys wore long stockings well after they went out of style in many other European countries. Polish readers inform HBC that tights were also common, although we do not know when they first appeared. As in East Germany, they appear to have replaced long stockings.
A Polish reader writes, "I grew up in Poland in the 1980s. I have some memories of the clothes I and others wore. I remember wearing knee socks pretty often until about the age of 10 or maybe even longer and some other boys also wore knee socks especially younger boys. I had a strict mother that insisted that I wear knee socks in the cold weather and on special occasions. This was probably more than other mothers did, but other boys did wear knee socks too. They were most often gray kneesocks as I remember. Also while it was not too common a practice then some boys did wear tights in cold weather. I remember that I wore tights most of the Winter and so did my brother who was 2 years younger than me. I used to hate tights and never wanted to wear them, but there was no way getting around it with my mom. She made me wear tights often in the cold and even as a teenager. By then I had gotten used to them. Once again, by then not too many boys wore tights but some did, including me. They were effectve in keeping your legs warm."
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