Figure 1.--Here we see an unidentified california boy sitting on the hood of a red datsun. He wears a brightly colored red T-shirt, blue OP cord shorts, tube socks, and sneakers. He looks to be about 9 years old. OP shorts were especially popular in California. The snapshot is indated, but was probably taken about 1980. Perhaps some one will be able to identify the model year of the Datsun.

Unlike England and France, corduroy was not commonly used for short pants, until relatively recently. In the 1920s the fabric was commonly worn in America by boys. They were a popilar fabric for boys' knickers and knicker suits. American boys commonly wore cordoroy knickers to school in the 1920s and 30s in much the same way jeans are now worn. hey were generally considered cold-weather pants. Corduroy shorts did appear in America during the 1970s-80s. Cord shorts were virtually unknown in the United States until Ocean Pacific (OP) introduced a line of brightly colored cord shorts. They first appeared in California. They were cut much shorter than the cord shorts once worn by English boys and were not lined. They were first popular during the 1970s in Califonia and reached the east coast by the 1980s. Both boys and girls wore them. One reader reports, "My 8th grade crush, Jill, in 1979 wore these. I loved the way they looked. I myself had 10 pair in different colors. They were almost year round clothes in Tucson." [Andy] They were commonly worn with T-shirts and tunbe socks with colorful bands. We have also seen shortalls cone in corfuroy. Cord shorts declined in popularity during the 1990s when longer, baggy shorts became stylish.

Created: 3:24 AM 12/12/2013
Last updated: 3:25 AM 12/12/2013