Figure 1.-- In this family strap shoes were clearly a shoe style for the younger boy. We are not sure, but believe this was a Dutch family about 1930.

There were definite age conventions associated with strap shoes. Strap shoes were primarily a style for younger boys. This was especially the case for strap shoes worn as part of a formal or dressy outfit as well as with white socks. We jave, however, noted older boys wearing strap shoes in some countries as a kind of casual sandal. This seems to have been the case in France and to a lesser extent Germany. The age of boys wearing strap shoes varied over time and there were differences among different countries. There was also an element of social class. Generally speaking, strap shoes for boys was much more common for boys from affluent families. The ages at which the shoes were wprn has varied over time. Boys up to about 11 wore these shoes in the early 20th century, but this declined after the early 1920s. This page is somewhat complicated because for many images

Age 5

Here we see A dutch boy in the 1930s who looks to be about 5 years old (figure 1).

Age 8

We note 8 year olds wearing strap shoes in both the 19th and 20th centuries, but it was most common in the 19th century. An example is an unidentified Canadian boy in the 1860s. We note a Polish boy in 1939. He looks to be about 8 years old.

Created: June 3, 20042
Last updated: 2:55 AM 12/26/2005