Figure 1.--This German boy pictured with his mother, probably in the late-1930s looks like he is dressed up for his birthday party. He is wearing medium-tan/beige long stockings. As it is during the summer, the stockings were a kind of dressy touch. You have to look carefully to see that he is wearing kon stockings as they are a light-weight pair.

We see some boys wearing long stockings that seem to be tan or beige in the early-20th century, although with black abd white photography, it is difficult to be sure. They do not seem very common. White or dark stockings seem much more common. It was not until after World War I in the 1920s that we begin to see neutral colored long stockings in large numbers. Sometimes in the available black and white photographs it is difficult to distinguish the tan shades from the gray shades, but it is clear that tan and beige long stockings were fairly widely worn in Europe. We do not see the trend in Britain because knee socks almost universally replaced long stockings of any color for boys. Tan shades of long stockings seem increasingly prevalent by the mid-1920s. We hope to develop more precise chrological data. While it is obvius from the photographic record, we have not yet found any mention of this trend in the ladies columns and fashion magazines. We do see these colors advertized in mail order caralogs and advertising. Notably this was about the sane time that boys began wearing short pants and girls shorter skirts. There appears to have been some difference in popularity from country to country, but not in the general time line. White and black colored stockings were also available in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, but it was the neutral, tan, and light brown shades that were the most popular. When long stockiLong stockings went out of style in America during the 1940s. They were still worn in Western Europe and Canada during the 1950s. And they were worn in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union during the 1960s. It was primarily the neutral shades that were being worn after World War II in the countries where long stockings continued to be worn.

The 1900s

We see some boys wearing long stockings that seem to be tan or beige in the early-20th century, although with black abd white photography, it is difficult to be sure. The neutral or tan shades of long stockings o not seem very common. We have found very few examples. White or dark stockings seem nuch more common.

The 1920s

It was not until after World War I in the 1920s that we begin to see neutral colored long stockings in large numbers. This seems most prevalent by the mid-1920s that lighter colored briwn long stockings became common. We hope to develop more precise chronological data. While it is obvious from the photographic record, we have not yet found any mention of this trend in the ladies columns and fashion magazines. We do see these colors advertized in mail order caralogs and advertising. Notably this was about the sane time that boys began wearing short pants and girls shorter skirts. There appears to have been some difference in popularity from country to country, but not in the general time line. It is unclear what drove this shift. Did hosiery companies begin doing more stockings in these colors or did consumers without any fashion guidance begin demanding these colors in larger numbers. There were variations from country to country. We see American children wearing them, but mostly girls and younger boys. We see many more German boys wearing them. They were also worn in central Europe where the German influence was particularly important. We see a pre-school Czech boy in 1927 wearing beige cotton stockings, obviously held by supporters. We note a Canadian boy from the Kastner family of Montreal from wearing tan long stockings with his knitted shorts in 1929.

The 1930s

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 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. Tan long stockings commonly worn in Europe. 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. We note a several Czech schoolboys wearing short pants and knicker suits with both dark and light-colored stockings in 1934. 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. The girl's stockings seem to be white while the boy's are apparently tan.

The 1940s

Long stockings began to decline in the 1940s, but this varied widely from country to country. Long stockings went out of style in America during the 1940s. We rarely see them after the early-40s. They continued somewhat in the northern tier along the Canadian border, but basically disappeared after the early-40s. At the time it was primarily the neutral colors that were being worn. This was not the case in many other countries, although they were increasingly becoming seasonal, cold weather garments. Long stockings continued to be widely worn in Canada, commonly with knickers which also continued to be worn in Canada. Long stockings also continued to be worn in Europe, especially northern Europe (Germany, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, and other countries). And it was primarily the beige long stockings that continued to be worn in these countries. Our information is incomplete. We are not sure about Scandinavia, but believe they continued to be worn there, although we are not sure about the color. We also notice long stockings in norther Europe, promrily the light-brown shades.

The 1950s

Long stockings were still worn in Western Europe (especially Germany) and Canada and Eastern Europe during the 1950s. We mostly see lighter shades which we believe are mostly neutral tan/beige shades. We still see German children wearing long stockings, especially in the early 1950s. Most of our images are from West Germany, but long stockings were also worn in East Germany. We note a rare color image of a German boy wearing long stockings out on a hike in 1954. They look to be a washed-out pair of tan stockings, but we are not positive about the color. We note another German boy wearing tan cotton stockings with corduroy shorts in 1954. We notice a Polish boy wearing a a short pants suit with neutral-colored long stockings in 1956.

The 1960s

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. Longs 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.

The 1970s

Long stockings were essentially gone by the 1970s. The last major area in which long stockings were worn was the Sioviet Union, but there they were rapidly replace by tights beginning about 1969. Some children probably wore long stockings in the very early-1970s. But even in the Soviet Union where fashions shifts were often glacial, the change iover occurred very quickly. We are not sure about northern Asia, especially North Korea and China. In South Korea and Japan we know that long stockings were replaced by vtights in the 1960s.