Figure 1.--This studio portrait in a fancy paper folder shows four siblings. The three young boys wear mathching shirts abd ties, and dark trousers. The older boys wera long pants. The younger boys wears short pants or knickers with kbee socks. They pose with their little sister holding her favorite doll. They are identified on back by first name only: Richard age 7; Robert age 6; Cleon Jr. age 5; and Evelyn age 3. Notice Cleon's page boy hair cut. The studio was Churchill in Rumford, Maine. It measures approximately 6 x 8.5 in, including the paper frame. .

Boys includung 7-year olds and men wore knee knee breeches (18th century). This began to change around the turn of the 19th centyry. Boys began wearing long pants. Skeleton suits were fashionable wear in American cities. Most American boys did not live in cities. They lived on farms and they did not wear fashionable skeleton suits. Boys continued wearing long pants until mid-century. At this time younger boy in fashionable families, again mostly in the cities, began wearing shortened length pants, but school age boys including 6 and 7 years olds continued wearing long pants. We see 7 year old commonly wearing shirtened-length pants, mostly knee pants (1870s). Knee pants were standard for American boys for several decades. An exception was sailor suits which were very popular for 7 year old. They could be worn with long pants, although knee pants were more common. The virtually standard knee pants for 7 year olds did not change until after the turn of the 20th century (1910s). At this time boys including 7-year old began mostly wearing knickers. We see some 7-year olds wering short pants, but knickers were more common (1920s). Here social class was a factor. This began to change with boys wearing shirts, knickers, and long pants (1930s). We mostly see 7-year olds wearing short pants or knickers in the early 30s, but by the end of the decade even some 7-year olds had begun wearing long pants. Long pants jeans became bery common first for younger boys like 7-year olds and gradually for teens as well. This trend continued into the 1960s. At this time the conventions for long pants began to change. Long pants had become standard, but during the summer for casual wear short pamts began to bcome increasingly common. By the end of the century we begin to see long baggyshorts becoming increasinly common.

Created: 8:40 AM 10/10/2019
Last updated: 8:40 AM 10/10/2019