Figure 1.--Here we see an American boy wearing a double-brested knee pants suit in 1917. He is in the family parlor an uncharcterically wearing a hat indoors. We don't know the location, but my guess is that it was a small town or rurl area, because by 1917 knickers were more stylish. We have an interesting look at the parlor of an American home. Note the matching oriental carpets and the hanging chandelier with a ruffled skirt around it. The source tells us only that the boy's name is Craig and that he is 14 years old. Click on the image for a fuller discussion.

Boys at age 14 generally wore long pants suits during the 19th century. I am not sure of the suit styles. I do not have much information on the early 19th century, but believe that 14 year olds were beginning to wear adult styles. At mid-century we notice boys wearing essentially adult-styled suits with jackets and pants that did not match. This only began to change in the 1890s when in became quite common for teenagers to wear knee pants. This was not universl, but it was quite common for teenagers to wear kneepants suits in the 1890s and 1900s and we still see them in the 1910s. The boy here photograohed at hime is a good example (figure 1). By the 1910s knickers suits became more common for American boys and they were still common for 14-year olds in the 1920s. By the 30s, age 13-14 became the approximate age that boys received thir first long pants suits. After World War II boys at age 14 were wearing adult-styled long pants suits. Although more informal styles like sport jackets or blazers were popular for boys. Also by the 1960s suits began to become less common for boys as dress became increasingly common. Boys by the end of the 20th century were wearing suits only for the most formal occassions.

Created: 3:38 AM 7/22/2007
Last updated: 3:39 AM 7/22/2007