Figure 1.--We do not yet fully understand the social class connotations associated with strap shoes in Germany. Here we see two German children, probably in the 1920s. Both children wear strap shoes. We see many examples like this of children wearing strap shoes that do not seem especially affluent. Click on the image for a fuller discussion of the photograph..

Social class factors seem involved with the strap shoe, at least the strap shoe worn for dressy occassions or play by younger boys. While there do seem to be class factors involved, we do not yet fully understand them. Strap shoes seem mostly worn by boys from affluent families or a least comfortable middle-class family. Less affluent boys might go barefoot or wear heavy boot-like shos. The situation in Germany, howevever, is not so simple. While the strap shoe as a style worn primarily by boys from affluent or comfortable families, we do note one apparent exception. After World War I in the 1920s and early 30s we do not some boys wearing them who do not seem to us to be from especiaslly affluent families. Of course such matters are not often not easy to assess from single photographs. We note some boys wearing strap hoes as a kind of casual shoe. They look to be made from a different material than the standard strap shoe, perhaps not even leather. These are the shoes that we suspect less affluent boys were wearing.

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Strap Shoe-related Pages:
[Return to the Main strap shoe page]
[Return to the Main sandal page]
[White knee socks] [Sand shoes] [Pinafores] [Smocks] [Kilts]
[Ringlet curls] [Fauntleroy suits] [Buster Brown suits] [Ring bearers]

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Satellite sites] [Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]

Created: 2:04 AM 4/23/2006
Last updated: 2:04 AM 4/23/2006