Figure 1.--Here we see an unidentified American class some time in the 1920s. We see some of the popular styles. Notice the boys with roll-collar sweaters. Two wear sailor blouses. Probably most wore knickers, although you can only see two. One boy has rolled down his stockings. The girls wear dresses. Notice how many have bobbed hair done in bangs and only two have hair bows. A reader provides further details. "You see that most of the boys are wearing blouses or middy shirts. The boy in the knickers is wearing what looks like a slightly oversized shirt or blouse. His undershirt hanging from beneath the blouse. The blouse ballooning out as it appears to long and maybe a button in front is missing."

Boys commonly dressed in suits for school in the 1910s. We still see that after World War I in the 1920s, but not as commonly. And there were fewer boys wearing ties. Sweaters became nore common, in many cases replacing suit jackets. Especially by the end of the decade we see many boys wearing more casual clothes for school. The youngest primary (elementary) boys might wear shorts pants for school, but knickers were much more common, especially by about the 3rd grade. Knickers replaced knee pants in the 1910s and were quite common even in secondary school. Knickers continued to be standard schoolwear for boys in the 1920s, although we no longer see older highschool boys wearing them. Sweaters and corduroy knickers were a popular combination. The 1910s were the first decade in which sweaters became a major school item. And since then we see both boys and girls wearing sweters to school. At first they were more common for boys than girls. Notice it is the boys that are wearing sweaters here (figure 1). Knickers were worn mostly with long stockings until the end if the decade when we begin to see brightly patterned knee socks. Boys almost never wore knickers with ankle socks. We also see a shift from high-top to low-cut shoes over the decade, Sneakers were becoming popular during the 20s, but were not commonly worn to school.

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Created: 7:19 PM 8/11/2018
Last updated: 10:01 PM 8/12/2018