Figure 1.--Here two American boys are enjoying some ice cream in what looks like their playroom. They are wearing identical outfits including striped ankle socks and brown high-top shoes. We are not entirely sure how to date this, but would guess the late-1930s or early-40s. The boys look to be 4-6 years old. Moms thought high-tops offered more ankle support which was seen as important. Interestingly in Britain at this time, mothers did not see support as an issue and commonly bought strap shoes and sandals for their school-age children.

We note large numbers of American boys wearing high-top shoes. We are not sure when the style first became popular. We do not notice them in the first half of the 19th century, although admittedly our archive is limited. Our information on the early-19th century is very limited. And even at mid-century we do not know a lot. As both Dags and Ambros (1840s-50s) were commonly poed so the shoes did not show, even the advent of photography does not help a lot. We do finnaly commionly see shoes in CDVs (1860s), and they are often low-cuts.They were almost universal for boys and girls in the second half of the century, especially by the 1870s. High-tops seem the most common shoe type in the second half of the 19th century. They were also commonly worn in the early-20th century as well, especially the 1900s and 10s. For much of this period, high-tops were more common than low-cut shoes. The popularity had began to decline during the 1920s, although they were still worn. We see lace up high tops through the 20s, but they declined in popularity but did not disappear during the 30s. Another reader writes, "On the subject of white high tops, they were very popular in the summer months for men, women as well as children. Both button and laced styles were worn in the early-1900's before World War I. They declined in popularity as low cuts became available with the exception of very small children as you noted. Now that children are no longer wearing them, adult white high tops are available again from Dr. Martens and elsewhere. It is almost a 'law' that styles originate for adults and are then picked up by children as adults go to another style. On this basis we might expect children to be wearing high tops again, and so on."

The 18th Century

Men and boys both wore low-cut shoes in the 18th century. Our information is limited, but in available paintings we see low-cut shoes--commonly with buckles.

The 19th Century

We note large numbers of American boys wearing high-top shoes, but the pattern varied significantly over time. We are not sure when the style first became popular or why. We do not notice them in the first half of the 19th century, although admittedly our archive is limited. We have a variety of paintings and drawings and although the number of items is relatively small, they all show low-cut shoes. And even at mid-century we do not know a lot. Photography appears, but both Dags and Ambros (1840s-50s) were commonly poed so the shoes did not show, even the advent of photography does not help a lot. We do finally begin to see shoes with the advent of CDVs (1860s) which were made in very large numbers. And they are often low-cuts. At the beginning of the decade they are all low-cuts. The Civil War (1861-65) seems to have initiated major changes in fashion, and footwear was one of the items affected. High tops appear to have been adopted very quickly, interestingly for such a major fashion departute. This seems to habe occurred in the late, 1860s although we can not yet be more specific. Both fashion anf technology seems to have been involved. They were almost universal for boys and girls in the second half of the century, especially by the 1870s. And they were not just for children. Adult men and women also began waerinh high-tops. High-tops were by far most common shoe type in the second half of the 19th century.

The 20th Century

high-top shoes were also commonly worn in the early-20th century as well, especially the 1900s and 10s. As most boys wore knee pamts and knickers, the photographic record provides a vast amount of information about footwear. And they were still common in the 1920s, but no longer universal. For much of this period, high-tops were more common than low-cut shoes. The popularity had began to decline during the 1920s, although they were still worn. An example is Janes Ruffato in 1922. We see lace up high tops through the 20s, but they declined in popularity but did not disappear during the 30s. We do see sneakers done as high-tops, although we are not entirely sure as just why. They persisted longer than regular high-tops, perhaps because they were worn by basketball players. And by this time they were only worn by younger boys. They persisted into the 1950s, but only for todlers and were almost always for some reason done in white. The reason given was that the younger children needed additional ankle support. Another reader writes, "On the subject of white high tops, they were very popular in the summer months for men, women as well as children. Both button and laced styles were worn in the early-1900's before World War I. They declined in popularity as low cuts became available with the exception of very small children as you noted. Now that children are no longer wearing them, adult white high tops are available again from Dr. Martens and elsewhere. It is almost a 'law' that styles originate for adults and are then picked up by children as adults go to another style. On this basis we might expect children to be wearing high tops again, and so on."

The 21st Century

As far as we knew, children are not wearing high-top shoes in the 21st century. A reader tells us that there are still white high-tops for infants and todlers. A child's Josmo high top shoe with the buckles was on eBay in 2012. We think tjat they were only available on line from Walmart."

Sources

Bolen, Bill. Sandals, Mandals, and Mary Janes.

Created: 12:36 PM 8/14/2013
Last updated: 1:50 PM 8/16/2013