Figure 1.--Here we see boys playing at home, we think in the 1950s. Air conditioning was just beginning to becon prevalent in the 1950s. The older brother who seems to be getting serious wears a pair of white boxer agorts. You can clearly see the elasticized waist and that there were no pockets. I don't recall white boxers being very common. We recall some bright colors such as red for younger boys and standard boy colors (blue and brown) as being the most common. Notice how he is wearing leather shoes rather than sneakers.

Boxer shorts were simple, just basic unlined shorts with an elastic waistband to hold them up and no fly. The boy here has boxers with a back pocket, we are not sure about the front (figure 1). Most had no pockets at all. This was especially the case in the 1950s-60s when they were most commonly worn. The elastic waist was especially important for younger boys because it solved the problem of suspension--a major problem for younger boys. There were all kinds if ways of holding up pants, such as bitton-on garments, belts, and suspenders. But they were all complicated and cumbersome to some extent, a real disadvantage for younger boys. With the elasticizd waist th boy only had to step into them and pull thm up. Even very yong boys could learn to do that. And older boys appreaciated the simplicity. No buttons, not straps, no fuss.

Created: 8:59 PM 3/20/2018
Last updated: 8:59 PM 3/20/2018