Figure 1.--This is the title page of the Soviet children magazine "Murzilka" number 9, 1962. Soviet childten continued wearing long stockings throughout mosdt of the 1960s. Tights only appeared in the very late-1960s. The long stockings were mostly a wide range of brown shades, from tan to dark brown. The illustration depicts the littkle vboy's brother coming home from school wearing his school uniform.

Long stockings were out of fashion in Western Europe and North America by the 1960s. We are not yet sure about the situation in northern Asia. Long stocking, however did not entirely disappear in the 1960s. And long stockings were still worn in Soviet Eastern European satellites and the Soviet Union during the 1960s. This is an example of how Communist societies were slow to respond to consumer deamans and needs. (It also explains why so mny of the state enterprises in those countries soon went out of business after the fall of Communism.) Long stockings were worn by Soviet children until the end of the decade when tights were introduced. We are not sure about Eastern Rurope (Czechoslovakia, EastvGermany, Hungary, and Poland). Their exconomies were tied to the Soviet Union, but not as isolated. The photographic record is a little difficult to use here. It is not always easy to determine which garment we are dealing with in photographs. And in the case of Germany, destinguishing between Eas and West Herman images is complicated. It was still primarily the neutral shades that were being worn after World War II in the countries where long stockings continued to be worn. In North America, long stockings were no longer worn in the Unuted States. We still note some Canadian children wearing them. We note a catalog listing for stocking supporters, however the scarcity and small size for these listings show that long stockings were going out of style. We still see some European children wearing long stockings in the 1960s, mostly Russian children. We see a 1960 Russian film depicting contemporary schoolboys clothes wearing light brown or tan long stockings. We are not sure about North Asia. We see children in Japan and South Korea wearing what look like long stockings, but they are probably tights. We have no information on China and North Korea.

North America

Long stockings were out of fashion in North America by the 1960s. They had disappeared in the United States during the 1950s, but persisted to some extent in Canada during the 1950s. We still note some Canadian children wearing them. We note a catalog listing for stocking supporters, however the scarcity and small size for these listings show that long stockings were going out of style. In both countries, girls, but not boys began eraring tights instead of long stockings during the late-1950s.

Europe

Long stockings disappeared in Western Europe, including West Germany during the late-1950s. We still see them occassionaly in the very early-60s, but we note few examples in the photographic record. Tights replaced them in some countries, but the age and gender conventions varied from country to country. Long stocking, however did not entirely disappear in the 1960s. Long stockings were still worn in Soviet Eastern European satellites and the Soviet Union during the 1960s. We still see some European children wearing long stockings in the 1960s, mostly Russian children. We see a 1960 Russian film depicting contemporary schoolboys clothes wearing light brown or tan long stockings. This is an example of how Communist societies were slow to respond to consumer deamans and needs. (It also explains why so mny of the state enterprises in those countries soon went out of business after the fall of Communism.) Long stockings were worn by Soviet children until the end of the decade when tights were introduced. We are not sure about Eastern Europe (Czechoslovakia, EastvGermany, Hungary, and Poland). Their exconomies were tied to the Soviet Union, but not as isolated. The photographic record is a little difficult to use here. It is not always easy to determine which garment we are dealing with in photographs. And in the case of Germany, destinguishing between Eas and West Herman images is complicated. It was still primarily the neutral shades that were being worn after World War II in the countries where long stockings continued to be worn.

Northern Asia

We are not sure about North Asia. We see children in Japan and South Korea wearing what look like long stockings, but they are probably tights. We have no information on China and North Korea.