** United States boys clothes: 1950s - family images








United States Boys' Clothes: Family Images (1950s)


Figure 1.--This is a press photograph. So we have a family of some prominance, only we do noy know who they are. All we have is their first names: Olie, Lela, Frances, Michael, and Danny. The portrait was dated April 21, 1952. The children look to be wearing their new Easter outits. The littlr girl wears a perky frock. The youunger boy wears a short pants Eton suit with an open collar. He looks to be about 5 years old. His older . brotyher look to be but 9 years old. He wears a sports jacket with a wide lapels and long pants. Notice the large collar that extends to his shouders. I am about his age, but do not recall a shirt with a collar that large.

The fashion trends notable in the 1940s continued into the prospeous 1950s. Boys shirts had large collars at the beginning of the decade. Stried T-shirts were popular summer wear, There were long-sleeve T-shies for fall an winter. Preppy clothes like button-down shirts were popular by the end of the decade. Jeans were popular by the early 50s. Boys commonly wore them, Teenagers aso liked them, but many hugh schhols did not allow them. Suspenders were bery common for younger boys. We still see shorts sets with belted shorts at he beginning of the decade. Suits were still fairly common when dressing up. Jackets had wide laels at the beginning of the decade, but lapels narrowed by the end of the deace. Long pants suits were the most commn. Younger boys and boys from affluent famiies most commonly wore short pants suits. Eton suits were popular for younger boys. Knickers which had been very common in America are no longer seen to any extent. Short pants after the early-50s declined except for younger boys. Suits ahd sispender shorts. We no longer see as many boys wearing short pants to school. They were becoming basically a seasonal summer garment. Knee socks were not common for boys. Boys mostly wore leather oxford shoes. Aneakers, especially high top Keds were popular during the summer. Low-cuts were becoming poykar by the end of tge decade. Both boys and hirls wore saddle shoes and loafers. Girls wore prim desses to school and church. Baloon sleeves were popular. Short pants were popular play garments. Girls commonly wore knee socks. Girls wore both oxford shoes and strap shoes.

1950: Conn Family

William David 'Billy' Conn (1917-93) was an Irish American professional boxer and Light Heavyweight Champion now best remembered for his fights with Joe Louis. He had a professional boxing record of 63 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw, with 14 wins by knockout. We know nothing about his childhood, but he grew up in Pittsburgh. He began boxing (1934) His primary nickname was 'The Pittsburgh Kid'. He married Mary Louise Smith who was also from Pittsburgh. He did not, however, get along with his father-in-law, Jimmy 'Greenfield Jimmie' Smith, another boxer. A fight occurred between the two. Conn broke his hand. A fight with Joe Louis had to be postponed. Frank Deford wrote a fascinating account about the kitchen brawl in his Sports Illustrated -- "The Boxer and the Blonde". Here we have a press photograph of Conn and his three children, two boys and a girl, 3-8 years old. Susan wears a dress, Billy wears a white shirts with a sports collar and suspender shorts. Sports collars were still worn in the 940s, but disappeared in the early-50s. Timmy wears a plaid short and long pants. Conn had retired from the ring, but made a ton of money by investing in oil.

Early 1950s: Military Family

A HBC reader reports that there were jean shorts in the 1950s. A family photograph of a neighbor family shows two brothers and a sister wearing both short and long jeans. This is interesting as other HBC readers do not remember them. The United States is a large country and there still apparently were destinct regional differences.

1952: Family Easter Outfits

Here we haveb a press photograph (figure 1). So we have a family of some prominance, only we do noy know who they are. All we have is their first names: Olie, Lela, Frances, Michael, and Danny. The portrait was dated April 21, 1952. The children look to be wearing their new Easter outits. The littlr girl wears a perky frock. The youunger boy wears a short pants Eton suit with an open collar. He looks to be about 5 years old. His older . brotyher look to be but 9 years old. He wears a sports jacket with a wide lapels and long pants. Notice the large collar that extends to his shouders. I am about his age, but do not recall a shirt with a collar that large.

1952: Family Scene

Here we see a family scene in a middle class home. The familky is unidentified, but the picture seems to be a Girl Scout or Briwnie meeting. The parents and two boys are included in the photograoh, presumably the brothers of one of the girls. One boy wears a suit jacket with a striped-T shirt and short pants. Presumably he was told to dress up for the photograph. His older brother looks to be wearing a sports jacket, although it is difficult to tell. The photograph provides a good look at a prosperous middle-class family during the post-War period.

1958: Gabriel Family

Here we have a traditional family portrait of the Gabriel family in Hingham, Masachusetts. They look to be a well to do middle-class family. We see Charles J. Gabrriel with wife and three young children, two boys and a girl. The children look to be about 3-8 years old. Their little sister wears a white dress. Both boys wear open-collar shirts. The younger boy wears suspender shorts. The older boy wears regular shorts. Both have saddle shoes. One boy has dark socks, perhaps knee socks that haven't been pulled up. The younger boy wears white ankle socks. Their casual clothes for a formal portrait reflect the increasing informality in popular dress. There are two young women which could be older daughters. The portrait was taken in 1958 when Gabriel who was an aide to the Governor was running for Congress.







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Created: 8:23 PM 8/9/2019
Last edited: 8:23 PM 8/9/2019