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. A reader writes, "I can recall beding dressed like that in 1941, complete with brown high tops." 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.

Here two American boys are enjoying some ice cream in what looks like their playroom. It could be their bedroom, but looks more like a playroom. This would meran that they are a family living in comfotrable circumstances. Note the Venetian blinds. A cut-ourt hobby horse is to the tight. They are wearing identical outfits including long-sleeved stripesd T-shirts, coordinated dhort pants, striped ankle socks, and brown high-top shoes. We are not entirely sure how to date this image, but would guess the late-1930s or early-40s. We are, however, not at all sure. The ice cream we think would suggest the late-40s, but well to do families had refrigerators with freezers in the 1930s. A reader writes, "I can recall beding dressed like that in 1941, complete with brown high tops. My grandmother gave me the shoes for my birthday (October 1941). I believe we had blinds like the ones on the window in the 1940s. Also, the furniture looks like it would also be from that period. The one thing that puzzles me are the shadows in the picture. We had large reflector lights for taking indoor pictures at that time. I don't remember flashbulbs until the 1950s. But I wonder if this could be an artist's watercolor rather than a photograph. Like Norman Rockwell would do. Something doesn't look quite right. What do you think? HBC note: Yes this does look like some kind of phopro shoot. The set up looks rather professional for a standard family snapshot.] I want to mention something else that crossed my mind. I believe that footwear was rationed during Woekd War II except for baby shoes. I wonder if a lot of kids were wearing white high tops because they were considered 'baby shoes'. I saw a picture of Margaret O'Brien wearing a pair at about age 7 years wearing white high-tops. Or high tops might have been in style because of military usage. I wrote you previously that I didn't want to wear the shoes because they looked like 'baby' shoes yo me, but my uncle John who was in the Army said he wore the same kind, so I wore them without complaining. Now, October 1941 was just before America was thrust into the War. I know my uncle enlisted rather than being drafted. But, this could have been October 1942 rather than 1941. I can't ask him because he just passed away in June at age 96. Our cousin was in the National Guard and he was activated before the war. I remember going down to the Pennsylvania Station in NewarK, to see him off. My uncle who was close to his cousin and the same age may have gotten the idea to enlist at that time which would bring us back to 1941." While we do not know the date, the long-sleeved T-shirts suggest cooler weeather and not summer that the short pants might suggest. The boys look to be 4-6 years old. A reader writes, "The picture looks like late-30s or early-40s to me. It's possible that it dates from the early-50s when children still wore high top shoes, especially in more rural areas. Here this looks more like a suburban family. Mothers may have preferred brown or black on boys as opposed to white because they were easier to keep clean." And age was a factor the older brother is getting too old for whire high-tops which were more for infants and todlers. Another reader writes, "Growing up in the 1960s I remember one or two boys who wore high-top shoes like the ice cream photograph in the previous page. They were special orthopedic shoes worn to correct pigeon toes or flat feet. I am, however, not certain after all of these decades. But I don't recall my friends or I wearing them. "I thought the date of the photograph with the boys in high-tops and eating ice cream on the previous page may have been from the 1940s or early-50s. I have seen catalogs from Macy's and Best & Co. with striped T-shirts s that are similar dating from the late-30s to the 40s." American 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.

Created: 6:57 PM 8/16/2013
Last updated: 6:57 PM 8/16/2013