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Boys in the 1900s mostly wore knee pants. Knickers were more common in the 1910s. Overalls also became a major school garment in the late 1900s and were very common during the 1910s-30s at rural schools. They declined in popularity during the 1940s as differences between urban and rural children began to disappear.
Many boys wore corduroy knickers to school during the 1930s. Primary boys by the mid-20th century were wearing more casual clothes such as "T"-shirts and jeans. Most boys wore long pants to school in the 1950s, but shorts were also worn by younger boys some areas, especially the South. This varied regionally and chronolgically. A reader writes, "I was talking with a friend about changing fashions. She told me that when she was in middle school in Berkeley in the late 1940s, boys wore unwashed corduroys, letting them get as dirty as possible. They also liked to wear them as low as possible. Things go in cycles! I also asked her about blue jeans. She said that boys in this area were never prohibited from wearing jeans at either the schools she attended or at the schools she taught at. The prohibition was against girls wearing jeans to high school, which was finally lifted in the mid-1960s. Today it's rare to find a girl who isn't wearing jeans. The dresses and skirts that used to be everyday wear are now reserved for special occasions."
Boys in the early-19th century wore long pants. America at the time was beginning to build a public scgool system. Many boys at the time only got a few years of primary education. This was especially the case in rural areas, although school were being built as areas were settled. In the early-19th century, this process was only beginning. Abraham Lincoln for example had less than a full year of schooling (1810s). There were many children like him. Even so American public education was the nost advanced in the world, except for the German states. Some boys wore tunic to school, but with long trousers. This continued until after mid-century. More children were attending schools for longer periods. At mid-century we begin to see boys wearing shortened-length pants. At first this was very young boys and boys from fashionable city families. But gradually we see older boys wearing mostly knee pants, always with long stockings if not going barefoot. Knee pants were virtually universal by the end of the century, at least in city schools. This continued into the very early-20th century. For some reasons beginning about 1908, Amerocan boys began wearing knickers. The youngest boys might still wear knee pants or short oants, but most boys wore knickers. Knickers continued to be widely worn into the 1910s and 20s. This began to change in the late-1920s and especially the 1930s. We see a mix of pants, including short pants, knickers, and long pants in the 1930s. By the end of the 1930s knickers were still worn, but long oants were becoming increasingly common. Knickers wererapidly going out of style in the early-40s. Some boys wore short pants, but by the end of the 40s, long pants were becoming standard. We still see short pants being worn by younger boys in the early-1950s. And there was some regional differences, but boys mostly wore long pants to school in the 1950s and 60. And at the same time school wear was becoming increasingly casual. Short pants were becoming common for casual wear in the 1970s and we begin to see more boys wearing shorts to school by the mid-1970s. Athletetic style shorts were popular with tube socks. This was at first most common im the South and California. It was fairly common by the end of the century.
American school children have worn a wude variety of pants over time, At first it obly boys, but in the post-World War II era, girls began by the 1960s commonly wearing pants as well. Knee breeches were the pants worn bu men and boys from the arrival of the first Englishmen through the Revoluntionary era (17th-18th centuries). Long pants first appeared for boys as part of skeleton suits -- the first decicated noys wear. Until the skeleton suit, boys wore down-sized versions of their fathers' clothes. From this point on boys would wear long pants although the age conventions, styles, and prevalence varied widely over time. Next we begin to see shortened-length pants, mostly knee pants (1850s). Ar first only younger boys wire knee pants, but gradually older boys were wearing them. And we are able to follow all of this in detail with the advent of school photography which has become a well established tradution (late-19th century). Eventually teen agers werecwearung knrr oants (turn of the 20th century). Knee pants were stabdards boys wear, especially in city schools. Knickers appearred in the decond half of the 19th century along with knee pants, but they were not very common until the early-20th century. For some reason, knickers suddenly replaced knee pants !1908-10). Knickers were almost universal (1010s) and fairly standard although less common for older boys (1920s). Knickers subsequaently declined. We see knickers (early-40s), but they were increasingly rare after (mid-1940s). Jeand becme popular in primary school (1950s) and then in secondary school (1960s). Short pants appeared (1920s). They were at first for younger boys. Older boys in the inter-War era did not wear short pants to school as they did in Europe. There were at first both dressy and and casual shorts. They were faurly common in the 1940s, but went out of style in the 50s, especially at school. Gradually as shorts became increasingly common casual wear we begin to see more wearing them to school as casual athletic styles became popular. By the end of the century this included teenagers. By this time long baggy shorts had become popular.
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