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. |
Here we see a charming photograph of a German boy and
girl (probably brother and sister) holding their pet cats in their
laps. They might even be twins since they seem to be the same
age--about 8 or 9 years old. We don't know the location except that it is
somewhere in Germany, apparently in a rural setting to judge by what
seems to be a home with a rather rough hewn door in the background. The cobel stones suggest to us that they live a rather old town or small village. Note
the strap shoes that the children are wearing. The boy's shoes have only one strap while the girl's has two.
I'm not sure how to assess the children's social class. There home does not look all that prosperous, but they are both reasonably dresses.
The boy is wearing knee pants with the traditional ornamental buttons at the hem rather than short pants, which seems to indicate that the
photo is quite early--perhaps even before 1920. Both children wear the
standard long stockings. The girl wears black long stockings while the boy wears colored stockings, probably brown. It would appear that the boy is wearing
round garters rather than the more usual hose supporters attached to a
Leibchen. You can see what looks like a circle of white elastic around
his left leg just above the knee.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Sandal Pages:
[Return to Main German strap shoe social class page]
[Return to Main shoe page]
[Return to Main German page]
[German closed toe sandals]
[German open toe sandals]
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]