Figure 1.--Here we see an unidentuified American boy wearing a double-breasted knickers suit, probably a navy blue suit. Notice the black long stockings and high-top shoes, both still very common. The portrait is undated, but it looks like the 1910s. He looks to be about 9 hyears old.

Knickers gradually became much more important after the turn-of-the 20th century. We see them in the 19th-century, but knee pants were much more common. Knee pany were still quite common in the 1900s, but this began to change at the end of the decade. And in the 1910s knickers had become the most common type of pants worn by American boys. They were not universal, but they were by far the most common type of suit trousers during the 1910s, 20s, and early-30s. They virtually became a characture of school boys, especially in the 1910s. They even appeared in the school zone road sides which continued into the late-20th century. They were usually worn with flat caps. Knickers continued to be standard in the 1920s, although we see fewer boys wearing suits to school. We see most school age boys wearing them up to about 15 years of age, but this varied from family to family. A good example is a unidentified New York boy in the 1910s wearing a sporty check suit in the 1910s. Knee pants went out of style and short pants appeared after World War I, but knickers were more popular for school-age boys. There were social class and regional differences. We are not yet sure about stylistic differences in the 1910s and 20s. We think knickers in the 1910s tended to have very full cuts. Knickers were still very common in the 1920s. They grdually it became less common for olders boys to wear them. This trend continued in the 1930s when we see ore boys wearing long pants. It was less common for teenagers to wear knickers in the 30s. Knicers very rapidly went out of style in the 1940s. Here a factor may have been the War and the need to us fabric more efficiently.

The 1900s

Knickers gradually became much more important after the turn-of-the 20th century, but not until the end if the dcade. We see knickers in the 19th-century, but not very many. Knee pants were much more common, basically becoming dominant Knee pant were approached being standard at the turn-of-the 20th cerntury. We see many teenagers swearing them znd not just the younger teenagers. This can clearly be seen in school photography. They were mostly worn with black long stockings, except when going barefoot which was very common at the time, but not fully recorded in the photographic record. Knickers were almost universal in urban areas. This began to change at the end of the decade. Suddenly we see many boys wearing knicker suits. We are not sure why knickers all of a suddent became popular. Boys mostly wore black long stockings with suits during the 1900s. We alo mostly see high-top shoes. Then suddenly we see boys begunning to wear knickers about 1908. We don't think there was a sudden demand for knickers from parents or boys. Rather manufacturers and retailers for some reason turned to knickers. We see that change in mail order catalog offerings. This was a development in America, we do not see a similar chnge in any other country, although in Europe we see a transition toward short pants. And we have no idea why this shift to knickers suddenly occurred, but very quickly knickers became standard for American boys.

The 1910s

A tectonic shift in boys wear impacted the American market by 1910. The knee pants American boys wore for five decadeds suddenly changed. The straight-leg knee pants which were a huge part of boys wear began to disappear. Knee pants did not entirely disappear, some younger boys still wore them. Knickers as a result of fashion changes beginning about 1908 and especially 1909 suddenly became the most common type of pants worn by American boys. This can clearly be seen in school photography. This shift only occurredv in America. Knickers were not universal, but they were very common and just about as universal as any fashion shift can be. The major exception was rural areas where boys began wearing overalls. We do not see mny boys wearung knickers in rural areas. Knickers were by far the most common type of suit trousers during the 1910s. Knicker suits virtually became a characture of school boys, especially in the 1910s. Knickers even appeared in the school zone road sides which continued into the late-20th century. Norfolk suits were especially popular. They were usually worn with flat caps. We notice an age shift. We saw some older teens wearing them in thec 1900s. This changecin the 1900s with few older teens wearing knickers. We continue to see most school age boys wearing knickers up to about 15 years of age, but this varied from family to family. A good example is a unidentified New York boy wearing a sporty check suit in the 1910s. Knee pants went out of style and short pants appeared after World War I, but knickers were more popular for school-age boys. We see that change in mail order catalog offerings. There were social class and regional differences. We are not yet sure about stylistic differences in the 1910s and 20s. We think knickers in the 1910s tended to have very full cuts. Flat caps complete the outfit. Some were even done in matching suiting fabric. As with knee pants suits in the 1900s, boys usually wore knicker suits with black long stockings. High-top shioes were dtill common.

The 1920s

Knickers continued to be the most common type of suit trousers in the 1920s, but we see fewer older boys wearing them. While knicker suits continued to be standard in the 1920s, although we see fewer boys wearing suits to school. We still see many noys wearing Norfolk knicker suits in the 1920s, although Norfolk styling was not as common in the 1920s. Knicker suits were very common in the 1920s, almost universal for younger boys and even younger teens. We see a few younger boys wearing short pants and long pants suits. Short pants suits appeared after the War, but were not as common as in Europe. Social class seems to have been a factor here. Rather it was knicker suits that were the standard in America. Some suits came with two pairs of pants, usually knickers and long pants. In some cases parents could choes the tyoe of extra pants. We are not sure why a suit woukd be purchased with both knicker s and long pznts. Presumably the boy would usually want to wear the long pants. This varied by age and from family to family. Knicker suits grdually it became less common for olders boys to wear, especially by the end of the decade. We continue to see boys wearing knicker suits with flat caps, rarely any other type of headwear. But headwear in general seems somewhat less common. Black long stockings continued to be standard, although we begin to see loudly ptterened knee socks at the end of the decade. Low cut oxfords began to replace high-top shoes.

The 1930s

Knicker suits were still widely worn during the 1930s. They were still standardwear in the early-30s. We see some mail order companies offering suits with both knickers and long pants. We are not sure about the conventions for wearing each. We continue to see American boys wearing knicker suits in the 1930s, especially the early-30s. One major change is that knickers were mostly worn with knee socks, often in loud patterns. Knickers had been mostly worn with long stockings in the 1920s. The trend for younger boys to wear them continued in the 1930s when we see more older boys wearing long pants, especially by the end of the decade. We see still see some younger teens wearng knicker suits in the early-30s, but much less commonly after mid-decade. Grade school boys still commonly wore knickers, but we no longer see them in high schools to any extent. Younger boys might also wear short pants suits. Short pants were, however, much less common than in Europe. And the same was true of short pants suits. Knicker suits, however , were more common. Age and social-class conventions were involved here. It was less common for teenagers to wear knickers in the 30s, especially knicker suits. Another obseveable trend in the 1930s is the continued trend for informality. We see fewer boyswearing suits in the 30s. Suits were still common for school in the 1910s and 20s, but we see far fewer bous wearing suits in the 1930s. Thus we see many boys wore knickers to school, but not knickers suits. Church was a little differet. Boys still often wore syuuits to church and we commonly see knicvker suits. By th end iof the decade we increasingly see long pangts suits.

The 1940s

Knicker suits were still worn in the 1940s, but mostly the early-40s. Photographas taken in 1940-42 commonly show primary boys wear a variety pf suits, including short pants, knickers, and long pants. Younger boys wore the short pants. Older primary boys might wear either knikers or long pants suits, but the long pants were beconing increasingly common. This is clear both in the photographic recorsd and in catalog offerings. Knickers themselves were somewhat more common than knicker suits, but both were raidly going out of style. We see suits which were offered with two pairs of pants in the 30s, often a pair of knickers and a opir of long pants. We no longer see that in the 40s to any extent. We note boys wearing the knickers with ankle socks which was not very common in the 1930s. The knicker length was well below the knees. The knickers we commonly worn with knee socks rather than long stockings. They were commonly done in bright patterns. While we still see knicker suits in the early-40s, they very rapidly went out of style during World War II which American entered as a result of Pearl Harbor (December 1941). By the end of the War (August 1945) we no longer commonly see knicker suits. Here a factor may have been the War and the need to us fabric more efficiently. Even the Boy Scouts dropped the knickers/breeches uniform. Boys were given the option of wearing either short or long pants. We see some boys wearing knickers in the early-40s, but knicker suits were not very common. By the end if the decade, knicker suits had virtually disappeared.

Created: 8:46 AM 3/20/2011
Last updated: 3:03 PM 6/8/2023