Schoolwear Garments:  Germany during the Weimar Republic--Hosiery


Figure 1.--Here we see a primary class, probably about 1930. Most of the boys wear long stockings, but several wear socks. Image courtesy of Album1900. Click on the image to see the rest of the class and for a fuller discussion of the clothes that the boys of wearing.

Many younger boys wore long stockings. This appears to have been the case throughout the 1920s, although they were more common in the early than the later 1920s, especially for older boys. Here our assessment is somewhat complicated by the fact tha many available images are not dated. Long stockings were especially common during the winter with short pants. They were not, however, just worn in cold weather. Long stockings were even more common for girls. Most images of the younger children at primary schools show some or many of the children wearing long stockings. Here in an image we would guess to have been taken about 1930. Here we see most of the boys wearing long stockings, but several wearing socks (figure 1). The boys look to be about 8-9 years old. Notice in the image here that the boys do not wear heavy coats. We are not sure just when the photigraph was taken, but it was xlearly not the peak of winter. After about age 10 many boys began asking to wear socks instead, altough some boys still wore long stockings uo to about age 12-13, ratherly older boys. Kneesocks were also very common. We notice the boys in an earlier 1930 image all seem to be wearing kneesocks. They look to be younger teenagers about 13 years old. Ankle socks do not appear to have been widely worn. The lock stockings worn look to be various shades of brown. Black stockings were not common, except for formal occassions.

Prevalence

Many younger boys wore long stockings. This appears to have been the case throughout the 1920s, although they were more common in the early than the later 1920s, especially for older boys. Here our assessment is somewhat complicated by the fact tha many available images are not dated. Here we see most of the boys wearing long stockings, but several wearing socks (figure 1).

Seasonality

Long stockings were especially common during the winter with short pants. They were not, however, just worn in cold weather. Notice in the image here that the boys do not wear heavy coats. We are not sure just when the photigraph was taken, but it wasclearly not the peak of winter.

Gender

Long stockings were even more common for girls. Most images of the younger children at primary schools show some or many of the children wearing long stockings.

Chronology

Here in an image we would guess to have been taken about 1930. At first we guessed about 1925, but now think about 1930 is more likely. A HBC reader thinks it may be a 1930s image. He writes, "The large number of zip-necked pullovers and absence of sailor suits makes me suspect that the photo comes from the 1930s and not 1920s." HBC would not disagree with the early 1930s, but not the mid 1930s.

Age

Long stickings were more common for younger boys. The boys look to be about 8-9 years old. After about age 10 many boys began asking to wear socks instead, altough some boys still wore long stockings uo to about age 12-13, ratherly older boys. Kneesocks were also very common. We notice the boys in an earlier 1930 image all seem to be wearing kneesocks. They look to be younger teenagers about 13 years old. Ankle socks do not appear to have been widely worn.

Color

The lock stockings we have noted in the 1920s look o be various shades of brown. Black stockings were not common, except for formal occassions. It is difficult to tell in black and white photographs, but the boys here are probably wearing various shades of brown long stockings.

Types

We believe boys in the early 1920s wore mostly long stockings, but gradually kneesocks became more and more important. Here we see boys wearing both lons stockings and kneesocks. The prevalence in any given year would have been affected by seasonal factors. While we note both long stockings and kneesocks, we do not note ankle socks.





HBC






Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Main Chronology Page]
[The 1900s] [The 1910s] [The 1920s] [The 1930s]



Navigate the German school pages
[Main German Weimar school garment page]
[Main school uniform page]
[Main school uniform national page]
[Main German school uniform page]
[Imperial Germany] [Weimar Republic] [NAZI era] [Post-war Years] [Unified Germany]



Navigate the Relate Boys Historical Clothing Style Pages
[Main country page]
[Long pants suits] [Short pants suits] [Lederhosen] [Kneesocks] [Eton suits]
[Jacket and trousers] [Blazer [School sandals]



Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing School Uniform Pages
[Main School Uniform Page]
[Australia] [England] [France] [Germany]
[Italy] [Japan] [New Zealand] [Scotland]
[United States]


Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Page
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Cloth and textiles] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Topics]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Satellite sites] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]




Created: 4:58 PM 10/20/2004
Last updated: 8:19 PM 10/20/2004