Figure 1.--This cabinet portrait of two brothers was taken in Little Rock, Arkansas at the Davies Gallery. The boys look to be about 11-14 years old. They are dressed alike in double-breasted suits, knee pants, and dark long stockings. Notice the wing collars. There are minor differences with the neckwear and watch fob. The oportrait is undated, but the clothing and mount style suggests the early-1890s. Earlier these boys, especially the older brother would have worn long pants.

Knee pants among American boys increased significantly in popularity during the 1890s. They were not quite as common in rural areas, but they became the standard wear for American boys. Not only do we see more boys wearing knee pants, but we see older boys wearing them as well. They are very common in the photographic record and we see them represented as the most common type of boys' trousers offered in catalogs and advertising. We see teenagers beginning to wear knee pants in the early 1890s. A good example is an unidentified Iowa boy who looks to be about 14 years old. Another example is a Chicago boy, Robert Mason Hamilton, in 1897. Family portaits commonly show teenagers wearing knee pants until aboput age 15 years. After this the pattern is more varied. We even see older teenagers wearing them, although unlike boys and younger teens they were not univerrsal. The age at which boys made the transitiin from knee pants to long pnts varied from family to family. Kneepants become shorter in the 1890s, commonly cut to knee lengths. And the stAndard klength becomes just at or below the knee cap in the 1890s. We no longer see the longer lengths tht were fairly common earlier. Knee pants were almost universal at the turn of the 20th century. A good example is two New York City boys.

Created: 8:17 PM 6/26/2011
Last updated: 8:18 PM 6/26/2011