Figure 1.--The kneesocks of this English boy waiting for the school bus in the morning have already fallen down. Usually it was not until the boys started romping around the school yard before they began falling down.

Active boys during the day found their socks would often fall down. Some schools thought that this presented a sloppy appearance. Many a British boy can be remember being gruffly told by a school master to "Pull those socks up, boy." This problem was for ever captured by the famous William series where the young anti-hero is always picture with his kneessocks falling down. One sollution was to insist that the boys wear garters at the top to keep them up. This was a special problem at the schools allowing grey kneesocks without turn-over-tops. Boys wearing the inexpensive kneesocks without the turn-over-tops could not use garters to keep their socks up. Without the turn-over-tops the garters showed which was considered rather unsightly.

The Problem

Active boys during the day found their socks would often fall down. They would leave home with their smocks smatly pulled up after an inspection my mum. It would often not take long after a romp in the school yard for the boys kneesocks, or at least one, to be dangling well below the proscribed knee level. Some schools thought that this presented a sloppy appearance. Many a British boy can be remember being gruffly told by a school master to "Pull those socks up, boy." Some boys could have cared less-although they didn't want to be told off by a master.

Interestingly, the kneesocks worn by girls at school never to seem to fall down like the boy's knee socks. I'm not sure why this was. Perhaps they pulled them up more. Perhaps they didn't run around quite so much and thus the kneesocks didn't fall down like those of the boys. Certainly the white kneesocks of Violet Elizabeth Bott (William's nemesis) never seemed to fall down.

Just William

This problem was for ever captured by the famous JustWilliam series where the young anti-hero is always picture with his kneessocks falling down. Richard Crompton's William Brown is the one of the two most famous schoolboy in English literature. (The other of course is Jennings, a literary character, who usually did have his kneesocks smartly pulled up. Jennings was more familiar to the next generation of English school boys.) William is often referred to as "Just William" after the title of the first book introducing him to the British public who quickly fell in love with him. The 11-year old school boy soon came to represent the archetype British schoolboy, inquiring, adventurous, and constantly wanting to launch another, usually illconceived, outdoor adventure.

Garters

One sollution was to insist that the boys wear garters at the top to keep them up. The Garters were black elasticised stripes that were adjustable. This was a special problem at the schools allowing grey kneesocks without turn-over-tops. Often the garters were worn with flashes--usually in the school color that showed righ unfer the sock cuff. (These flashes were also common for Cub Scouts.)

Inexpensive Kneesocks

Boys wearing the inexpensive kneesocks without the turn-over-tops could not use garters to keep their socks up. Without the turn-over-tops the garters showed which was considered rather unsightly. This it was a special problem keeping up these inexpensive kneesocks.

Personal Memories

HBC 's British readers have providing some personal memories on the subject of kneesocks.

State schools

I seem to recall weraring home-made garters made out of rather narrow grey elastic (which I suppose came cheaper than the wider black elastic). The main drawback was the way these tight narrow garters left red marks on your legs.

Private schools

I attended a rather posh (some would say snobby) prep school where they were very strict about our knee socks (or stockings as they were called in such schools). For example, a boy would get told off if the ribbing on his stockings was not dead straight and parallel to the legs. As for being seen with stockings at half-mast: that was shall we say, a hanging offence!

Created: March 12, 2000
Last updated: March 12, 2000