Figure 1.--Thee boys are unidentified, but it is easy to place them un America during the 1930s. American boys wore knickers, mostly with long stockings in the 1920s. We begin to se kneesoks with bold patterns during the late-1920s. Knickers continued to be popular in the 1930s and boys mostly wore them with these bodly patterned knee sock. Some boys wore short pants with them, but knickers were much more common.

Most children wore long stockings in the early-20th century. Black long stockings were especially common. White long stockings were also won by girlks, but were less common for boys. There were variations. Children in southern Europe were more likely to wear three-quartr socks. Poor children often went barefoot. Short ankle socks appeared in the in the 1920s, but trends varied from country to country. American boys began to wear knee socks with knickers which becae common in the 1930s, but many younger boys still wore long stockings. Lonf stockings werecommon un the 1920s and knee socks in the 30s. Boys in the 30s often wore knee socks with bold pattern. Boys began wearing ankle ankle socks in the 1930s. British boys commonly wore kneesocks and long stockings were not commonly seen after World War I. Boys in France wore both ankle socks and kneesocks on a seasonal basis. Long stockings continued to be worn in Germany, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe. After World War II the differences in hosiery from country to country began to gradually decline. Most boys have worn ankle socks. Knee socks were worn to some extent in Britain, but mostly for schoolwear. There were some other country differences, but most boys wore ankle socks. Tights appeared in the 1950s and gradually replaced long stockings. Younger boys wore tights in Germany and some northern European countries. American and Japanese boys wore knee-length tube socks during the 1970s and 80s. In the late 1990s some boys began wearing shortened length sport socks.

Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web chronological pages:
[Early 18th century] [The 1800s] [The 1830s] [The 1850s] [The 1860s] [The 1870s] [The 1880s]
[The 1890s] [The 1900s] [The 1910s] [The 1920s]
[The 1930s] [The 1940s]

Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web style pages:
[Knee pants] [Knickers] [Short pants suits]
[Kilts] [Sailor suits] [Shoes]
[Ring bearer/page costumes] [Shortalls]

Created: 7:44 AM 7/8/2006
Last updated: 7:20 AM 12/20/2014