Figure 1.--Tan/beige shades of long stockings were especially common in Germany during the 1930s. They were commonly worn for casual dtress, but we so common that they were also worn with more formal outfits.

White and black colored stockings continued to be available in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, but it was the neutral, tan, and light brown shades that were the most popular. This is very clear in the photographic record in virtually all countries where long stockings were worn. We see them commonly worn in Noth America, Europe and northern Asia. Trends such as specific shades and age conventions varied from color to color. The tan shades werec especially popular in Germany.

North America

We see beige stockings commonly worn in North America. They were widely worn in the United States. They were also worn in Canada. We have the photo of a first-communion class from Halifax, Nova Scotia, dated 1930, in which we see the boys wearing a variety of shades of long stockings with their short trousers, one or two in what look like off-white or beige hosiery. Since white long stockings were often mandated for first communion, the stockings could be white. In relatively conservative Hull, Quebec (1932), we see the two Guertin brothers wearing long stockings with the customary waists and supporters. The older of the two clearly wears tan or light brown long stockings.

Europe

Tan long stockings commonly worn in Europe during the 1930s. They were very popular in Germany which affected trends throughout central Europe. We see large numbers of German children, both boys and girls, wearing the nautral tan/beige shades. They were not the only Colors worn, but they were very common. Czechoslovakia has a long tradition of contacrt with both Austria and Germany. Clothing styles inclusing hosiery were very similsr. We note a several Czech schoolboys wearing short pants and knicker suits with both dark and light-colored stockings in 1934. The boys look to be about 12-13 years old. One boy wears beige long stockings with his dressy short trousers suit (1934), although other boys in the same class seem to favor black or brown stockings. School images like this are good indicators of relative popularity. We notice the Muller children, presumably a German family in Czechoslovakia wearing what look like light-colored long stockings during the 1930s. Again we probably have two shades of beige or very light tan long stockings. The girl’s stockings could be white, although they are more likely off-white or beige. The boy’s are pretty clearly a light shade of tan. The girl's stockings seem to be white while the boy's are apparently tan. Two Prague boys are seen in a 1936 photo wearing two shades of light and dark tan long stockings as they become interested in a toy airplane. Estonia like the other Baltic republics was a country strongly influejnced by Germany. We note two Estonian Boy Scouts wearing tan long stockings with their uniforms in 1934. Even in Italy, where for largely climatic reasons, long stockings were much less common for general wear, we see a group of Balilla boys (the Fascist youth group) wearing beige or neutral colored hosiery with their uniforms in 1938. The long stockings were apparently not official, because we note various colors of long stockings as well as knee socks (the officially mandated hosiery). In this photo the long stockings seem to have been worn for formality as much as warmth and may have some political implication (since the style tends to be more German than Italian). A group of Jewish Lithuanian children, photographed about 1935, show various colors of long stockings; in the center first row we see both white and black, but on the left and right, both a boy and a girl are wearing tan or light brown. A 1936 photo of a Swedish family shows boys of four different ages wearing tan cotton long stockings with short trousers and dressy clothes. Swiss school children, like their German counterparts, also wore tan stockings. Sixth graders, both boys and girls, at Höngg School in the Zurich canton in 1932 can be seen in medium or dark tan hosiery, and at Hinwil School (1938) in the same general area, we see a boy with dark tan stockings in the front row; notice also the boy in the second row at the left.

Northern Asia

We see long stockings being worn in northern Europe, especially Japan during the 1930s. We see the tan shades and belirve thst they were the primary color, but our information is limited. We believe they were also worn in Korea, but are not sute about China.