Figure 1.--The brothers in this cabinent card are unidentified. We do know the portrait was taken November 22, 1895. The portrait was taken by the Bishop studio which had several sites in in Nebraska. The boys look about 9-12 years old.

Only in the 1890s do we see large numbers of boys boys wearing knee pants. An exception here was rural areas especially older boys. Knee pants first became fashionable in the fashionable cities. Long pants persisted as the common tyoe of pants for all older boys in rural areas and even some younger boys. Although because fashions were set in the cities, mail order catalogs mosly offered knee pants for boys thus affecting the clothese worn even in frural areas. We see younger boys wearing knee pants in rural areas, but teenagers even younger teens still commonly wore long pants even in the 1890s. After the turn of the 20th century it was common to see even older tennagers wearing kneepants or knickers, mostly kneepants. In the 1890s we see younger teen agers wearing knee pants, but not many older teens. This varied substantially from family to family. Some parents insisted that even younger teens wear knee pants while others had less fixed ideas about boys wear. Social class was another factor. Boys in school were more likely to wear knee pants. Boys who had begun to work were more likely to wear long pants. American catalogs at the time often only offered knee pants for younger boys. We see knee pants and knee pants suits for boys up to about 13-14 years of age. The catalogs are probably a good indicator of popular conventions.

Created: 12:13 AM 3/24/2008
Last updated: 12:13 AM 3/24/2008