Figure 1.--Here we see a group of younger teenagers, about 13-14 years old. We are not sure if this is a graduation are participants in a religious ceremony. Note that two og the boys wear knickers and two wear long pants. This and similar images shows that this was about the age boys shifted from knickers to long pants. Notice the huge white hair bows that the girls are wearing. A reader writes, :I suspect this is a confirmation class, either Anglican (Episcopal) or Lutheran. The children are about the right age for confirmation and the white dresses, dark suits, and lapel ribbons are conventional for such ceremonies."

We see boys of all ages wearing knee pants/knickers in the 1900s including some older teenagers. During the 1910s we see older teenagers mostly wearing long pants. Almost all school age biys wore knickers. Knee pants had not yet disappeared and some younger boys wore them. Knickers were, however the dominant trouser type. Many younger teenagers wore knickers. The age at which a boy changed from knickers to long pants varies from family to family. Generally it seems to have been some time from about 13-16 years of age. The process could be drawn out. A boy might get a suit with two pairs of pants, one knickers the other long pants. The long pants may have been dave for specialmoccassions. Here there were no hard set rules. Parents had different thoughts on the matter. Here there were a range of socio-economic and demographic issues as well as family tradions involved. The principal issue seems to have neen age suitability. Finally getting long trousers seems to hasve been a recognition bu the parents thst the boy was growing up. Structer more conservative parents tended to insist on knickers longer than more easy going parents. Thus while boys mostly wore knickers, we see more of a variety as the boys get older, especially during the teen years.

Created: 1:53 AM 3/14/2011
Last updated: 7:18 PM 3/14/2011