Figure 1.--Here we see two siblings on a porch bench. The children are unidentified. We thought the younger child might be the boy's little sister, but in fact they are both boys--Esward abd Earnest. The snapshot is an AZP post card (four triangle up stmop box) which could have been taken 1904-18. We would guess the early-1910s because the boy is wearing knickers rather than knee pants. The children look to be about 5-7 years old.

There are two basic types of sandals, closed and open toe styles. They have varied in popularity over time as well as the conventions associated in wearing them. Most early American sandals and strap shoes were closed-toe sandals. We note boys wearing closed-toe strap shoes in the 19th century, but these seem more of a shoe rather than sandals in the sence of children's wear for play and school. We note both boys and girls wearing sandals in the bery early-20th century. They were often marketed as barefoot sandals. e see them worn both with and without socks. The double-bar sandals seem the most common. The single-bar sandals that became popular in England as school sandals, were less popular in America. After World war I in the 1920s we mostly see girls waring the sandals. This gender difference is very evident in school portraits. For girls the double-bar style seems both a sandal and shoe style. We see many different styles involving the placement and arrangement of the straps on closed toe-sandals. We do not see boys wearing open-toe sandals until well after World War II. They were first worn in Califotrnia and only gradually spread east. The sandals that began to become popular were open-toe sandals in the 1980s. We see some marketed as 'sports sandals'. This was a very casual style and American boys, unlike European boys, did not wear hosiery with sandals.

Created: 2:28 AM 2/4/2013
Last updated: 2:28 AM 2/4/2013