Figure 1.--These boys are in the prep division of a K-12 English private school. The boys wear grey short pants suits. Many prp schools had colorful blazers, but grey suits were also used. This photograph was taken in 1988. At the time short pant were becoming less common in England, but many private schools contunued to require them.

English school boys continued to wear shortened-length pants into the 20th century. You see some boys wearing what look somewhat like short pants and knee socks. Here the Boy Scouts were surely a factor in popularizing short pants. Boy Scouting began (1906) and quickly became very popular. But shorts were raarly worn at school, even in the 1910s. We see knee pants and knivkers, but rarely shorts which show the whole knee/ Knee pants were somewhat longer than short pants. After the turn of the century short trousers appeared, but it was not until World War I (1914-18) that we begin to see tghem at school. It is only in the 1920s that short pants become common, especially by mid-decade. Shorts became a litle shorter in the 1930s, but continued rather long and baggy into the 1950s. From the mid-20s, short pants became standard wear for English school boys. We no longer commonly see knee pants nd knickers. Shorts were still common into the 60s. We begin to see shorter, trimer cut shorts like those worn on the continent in the 60s. We also see more and more boys beginning to wear wear long pants until they were fairly standard by the 1990s. Many shools had uniforms in which short pants were required. This was especially the case of private school, especially preparatory schools. Before World War II, state primaries did not require unifiorms. After the war, especially by the 1960s we begin to see many state primary schools requiring uniforms. Short persisted as part of school uniform a little longer than was the case in popular fashion. We begin to see longer shorts in the late-80s. By the 1990s, shorts were becoming less common even in the private schools.

The 1900s

English school boys continued to wear shortened-length pants into the 20th century. You see some boys wearing what look somewhat like short pants and knee socks. Here the Boy Scouts were surely a factor in popularizing short pants. Boy Scouting began (1906) and quickly became very popular.

The 1910s

We do not see major changes in the 1910s. It is difficult to destinguish betweem the 1900s and 10s when the date is not specified. We do not see shorts at school even in the 1910s is the whole knee seen because the knee pants were somewhat longer than short pants. The 1910s were dominated by World War I (1914-18). And major fashion changes began after the War. We still see quite a variety of pants at the end of the decade.

The 1920s

After the turn of the century short trousers appeared, but we do not commonly see them at school until the 1920s. We see knee pants and knickers, but short pants did not become common until the 1920s. This did not begin immediately after World War I. We notice schools with a variety of pants. This included both private schools with uniforms and state schools where the boys wore their own clothes. There were differences from school to school, but the same basic trends were at play. We note photographas taken og Foununders Day at the Whitgift Grammat School in Croyden. The older boys in the senior school wore long pants and the hunior boys knickers. An exception for the junior boys was those wearing Eton suits withthe short jckets. They were allowed to wear long pants. Boys in the associated middle school wore a variety of pnts including knickers and knee pants, but a few boys wore short pants and knee socks. Only a few years later, short pants had largely replaced both knickers and knee pants. The shorts in private schools were were mostly grey shorts, in part because they were worn with coloful blazers. We also see most short pants in the state primary school. The whole transition occured amazingly rapidly.

The 1930s

Many shools had uniforms in which shorts pants were required. This was especially the case of private school, especially preparatory schools. Shorts became a litle shorter in the 1930s, but continued rather long and baggy into the 1950s. From that point short pants became standard wear for English school boys.

The 1950s

The 1960s

Short pants s were still common in the 60s and pevalent as schoolwear, but not to the sanme degree as in the 1950s. We begin to see shorter trimer cut shorts like those worn on the continent in the 1960s. Before World War II, state primaries did not require uniforms. After the war, especially by the 1960s we begin to see some primary schools requiring uniforms. A good exasnple is the O'Connor boys in 1960. This varied from family to family and school to school. We also see more boys wearing long pants, a shift that continued througout the rest of the century.

The 1970s

The 1980s

Short persisted as part of school uniform a little longer than was the case in popular fashion. We begin to see longer shorts in the late-80s.

The 1990s

Long pants had replaced short pants by he 1990s and had become standard schoolwear. Shorts were dtill sorn at some schools with uniform requirements, byt this was becoming less common. By the 1990s, shorts were becoming less common even in the private schools.

Created: 5:36 AM 9/10/2017
Last updated: 5:36 AM 9/10/2017