Figure 1.--I at first thought the boys were brothers. Notice the identical sailor suits. But it is unlikely that the same family would have two boys that were not twins beginning school on the same day. And there is one difference in their outfits, namely the shoes. But the main reason I do not think that they are brothers are the gift cones. I don't think parents sould have bought two different size cones. Boys being boys, that would have caused a great commotion.

German boys wore a range of different footwear to school. The popularity of the different types varied over time. We note not only differences in styles, but diiferences in attitude toward proper children's footwear. We note both fashionable strap shoes which offered little supportand opened the foot to fresh air. In sharp contrast we note heavy supportive high-top shoes that look rather like boots. The photographic record from the 20th century provides a detailed view of the different styles. We see German boys in the early 20th century going to school in heavy boot-like shoes. These shoes were very popular for younger boys. Okder voys were more likely to wear oxford low-cut shoes. We also see boys wearing strap shoes and sandals. The high-top shoes were still worn after World War II in the 1940s, but were rarely worn by the 1950s. In the 1970s sneakers also began to be worn.

High-top Shoes

We see many German boys in the early 20th century wearing high-top shoes of various styles to school. Some look almost like boots. This was most common for primary school boys up to the early teens. We see boys wearing high-topnshoes into the 1940s. We are not enirely sure why these heavy shoes were so common. I think many mothers through that the support was healthful for young boys. It mau also have been a popular for working-class parents to purchase heavy footwear that would wear well.

Low-cut Oxfords

We note many German boys wearing high-top shoes in the early 20th century. We note more boys wearing low-cut shoes in the 1930s, but this varied by age. We mostly see boys wearing low-cut shoes in the 1950s, but some boys wore sandals.

Sandals

We see Germany boys wearing sandals to school in the early 20th century. We note various style of closed-toe sandals. To an extent this was seasonal. We note not only differences in styles, but diiferences in attitude toward proper children's footwear. We note both fashionable strap shoes which offered little supportand opened the foot to fresh air. In sharp contrast we note heavy supportive high-top shoes that look rather like boots. After World War II in the 1950s we begin to note open-toe sandals becoming popular.

Sneakers

Strap Shoes

We see some yonger boys wearing strap shoes to school in the early 20th century, mostly single-bar strap shoes. We tend to see younger boys wearing them, but this varied somewhat from family to family. We note them being worn by many of the boys having first-day portraits taken. We also note some older boys wearing them, but this was less common. We see boys wearing strap shoes at school through the 1930s, but rarely in the 1940s. Some seem to be expensive patent leather shoes. Most were not the shiny patent-leather. We are not entirely sure about the color. We see both boys and girls wearing them. We are not sure here if fashion was the principal factor of if mothers saw exposing the feet to fresh air was healtful. It is somewhat curious that at the same time strap shoes were popular, so were the heavy high-top shoes. No two styles would seem to be more oposite.

Wooden Shoes

Wooden shoes are primarily associated with the Dutch. This is a misnomer. They were widely worn by working-class people and farmers in northern Europe. They were less common in southern Europe because the climate permitted low income people to go barefoot for most of the year. Leather shoes were expensive, commonly the most expensive garment. Wooden shoes were much less expensive and more practical than leather shoes on a muddy farm. They were widely worn not only in the Netherlands, but also Belgium, northern France, Germany, Denmark, and other countries. Not only did workers and farmers wear them, but also their children. We do not see them being extensively worn in schools, although the photogrphic record shows that they were worn. We suspect that many working-class families splurgedon leather shoes for school. This may have varied somewhat between city and rural schools. We do not know if there were regional differences. Economic dislocation was another factor. In difficult economic conditions, more children might wear wooden shoes because they were less expensive and going barefoot was not possible dufring the winter. Wooden shoes had some advantages, but they were not ideal for schoolwear. The primary disadvantage is that you could not run very well in wooden shoes.

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Created: 2:40 AM 4/16/2006
Last updated: 9:30 PM 9/15/2011