Long Stockings: Weave--Chronology


Figure 1.--The most common weave type in the 20th century was a flat weave. It was particularly common when the children were dressing up, but we see children wearing flat-weave stockings for play as well. These German children had their portrait taken during the 1920s.

We have developed some information on when ribbing first appeared and how weaving varied over time. Ribbed stockings for children of both genders seem to have been invented fairly early—in the later 19th century—originally as a way of insuring greater elasticity and closer fit so that stockings did not bag around the knees or ankles and thus look untidy. But quite soon historically, knitting manufacturers discovered techniques for producing stockings that had a flat or smooth appearance that were nevertheless neat in appearance and suitably form-fitting. These stockings were often very finely ribbed but in such a way as to look smooth. The custom in colder climates of wearing long underwear underneath long stockings complicated the problem of smooth fit and the avoidance of a bulky appearance, but by the early decades of the 20th century ribbed and non-ribbed stockings were equally form-fitting. Or to put the matter a bit more accurately, even many plain-weave stockings were actually ribbed but so finely ribbed that the texture was elegantly smooth. At this point, stockings made with an obvious wide rib began to take on a certain sporty or rugged look that boys might especially like. But girls wore these sporty stockings also, so that even with the wider ribs, gender became only one of several factors to be considered. Highly textured stockings (not obviously ribbed) also made their appearance. Early on, these could give legs the appearance of almost being upholstered like a tufted chair or sofa. But textured stockings tended to be a somewhat specialized choice. Most popular in this category were American children’s stockings in the late 1930s and early 1940s that were described as being of a “heather” mixture with something approaching a salt-and-pepper appearance similar to tweed.. To complicate matters even further, we notice that obviously ribbed stockings were sometimes worn for dressy occasions and with quite formal trousers and suits.

The 19th Century

We do not know much about the early 19th century, but have found much more information about the later decades, especially the 1890s. Ribbed stockings for children of both genders seem to have been invented fairly early—in the later 19th century—originally as a way of insuring greater elasticity and closer fit so that stockings did not bag around the knees or ankles and thus look untidy. But quite soon historically, knitting manufacturers discovered techniques for producing stockings that had a flat or smooth appearance that were nevertheless neat in appearance and suitably form-fitting. These stockings were often very finely ribbed but in such a way as to look smooth. The custom in colder climates of wearing long underwear underneath long stockings complicated the problem of smooth fit

The 20th Century

These stockings were often very finely ribbed but in such a way as to look smooth. The custom in colder climates of wearing long underwear underneath long stockings complicated the problem of smooth fit and the avoidance of a bulky appearance, but by the early decades of the 20th century ribbed and non-ribbed stockings were equally form-fitting. Or to put the matter a bit more accurately, even many plain-weave stockings were actually ribbed but so finely ribbed that the texture was elegantly smooth. At this point, stockings made with an obvious wide rib began to take on a certain sporty or rugged look that boys might especially like. But girls wore these sporty stockings also, so that even with the wider ribs, gender became only one of several factors to be considered. Highly textured stockings (not obviously ribbed) also made their appearance. Early on, these could give legs the appearance of almost being upholstered like a tufted chair or sofa. But textured stockings tended to be a somewhat specialized choice. Most popular in this category were American children’s stockings in the late 1930s and early 1940s that were described as being of a “heather” mixture with something approaching a salt-and-pepper appearance similar to tweed.. To complicate matters even further, we notice that obviously ribbed stockings were sometimes worn for dressy occasions and with quite formal trousers and suits. Thus, for instance, we observe that the violin prodigy Yehudi Menuhin wore ribbed black stockings in 1924 at the age of 8 with trousers in which he was about to perform a concert in San Francisco, and also that a few years later (1929) at the age of about 13, he wore plain black stockings with short knee pants as part of his regular school or street dress when visiting the United States. These examples illustrate the point that not even relative formality and informality necessarily determined the choice of ribbed or non-ribbed long stockings. The widely used American and Canadian mail order catalogs such as Sears, Montgomery Ward, and Eaton’s confirm the fact that at least in North America both smoothly knit and obviously ribbed long stockings continued to be available throughout the 20th century up through at least the 1950s at which point long stockings for children ceased to be widely worn in the Western hemisphere. We also see both ribbed and smooth-weave stockings in Europe during the same period. On both sides of the Atlantic smooth-weave stockings seem to have predominated over ribbed stockings, but one of the problems in deciding the relative popularity of the two types is that many of the available photographs do not clearly show whether stockings are plain or ribbed, especially when a fine rib may have been worn or when the photograph is not sufficiently clear or detailed.







HBC






Related Pages:
[Return to the main Main long stocking weave page]
[Return to the main Main long stocking page]
[Knee socks] [White knee socks] [Long stockings]
[Striped socks] [White stockings] [Tights]



Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronologies] [Countries] [Style Index]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Links] [Satellite sites]
[Boys' Clothing Home]



Created: 10:32 PM 12/16/2006
Last updated: 10:32 PM 12/16/2006