Figure 1.--This snapshot was taken in March 1937, probably right after school. The boy wears a cardigan sweather and knickers. It was marked Carnegie, Penna. I think that means Carnegie, Pennsylvania, but I am not sure.

The dominant style of pants for most boys during the 1930s was still knickers. They were vurtually universal in the 1920s and still very common on the early-30s. Younger boys might wear short pnts, but msot boys wore knickers. Knickers wre the most common pants for school age boys, at least until they began high school. Some younger teens might wear knickers, but this was becoming less common by the 1930s. Boys in the 20s wore their knickers with long stockings, but in the late-20s, knee socks appered and were very popular in the 30s. They were often done in loud patterns. We believe this was believed to give them more appeal to boys. We are noit sure this was the case. At the beginnng of the 1930s the knickers buckled at the knee. Most boys by the 1930s wore their knickers buckled below the knee. A new style of knickers appeared in the mid-1930s. Rather than buckling at the knee, the new style was elasticized. The boy then pulled his knee socks up over the elasticised knicker hem. He then put a garter under the turn-over-top sock cuff to keep the socks up. The popularity of knickers slowly declined during the 30s so that by the end of the decade many boys were wearing long pants.

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Created: 7:15 AM 12/8/2021
Last update: 7:15 AM 12/8/2021