Figure 1.--This American boy wears self-belted short pants and tan long stockings. The colorized portrai is undated, but was probably taken in the late-1920s. There were instructions to the colorizing studio on the back. Click on the image for a fuller discussion of this photograph.

Hoisery styles changed after the turn of the century. White stockings appeared instead of just black or dark colored stockings. Short pants became increasiungly popular in the 1920s, especially in Europe. The early short pants came to the knee and during the 1910s were worn with both long stockings and knee socks. By the 1920s shorts began to be worn shorter and long stockings became much less common in Britain and America. The long stockings were still occasionally worn with shorts, especially during the winter in several European countries. Boys in much of Europe wore short pants even in the winter and the long stockings helped keep them warm in the copld winter. Long stockingds were also worn for formal occassions. A picture of the Kennedy family from about 1939 shows the family visiting the Pope in Rome. The youngest boy, Teddy, wears a short pants suit with long stockings. Apparently Rose though the long stockings were needed for the formal occasion. Shorts after the mid-1920s, however, in America and Britain were mostly worn with knee socks. Even in America, however. long stockings were still commonly available in the late 1940s.

Created: 12:50 AM 12/12/2007
Last updated: 4:37 PM 12/12/2007