Figure 1.--This drawing came from a 1963 DDR school book for beginning readers. Note both boys are pictured in short pants and either tights or long stockings. The scene is set for the New Years celebration (Christmas was discouraged), but the illustration also suggests that long stockings or tights were appropriate when dressing up. |
The discussion of tights on this page primarily deal with the German Federal Republic--GFR (West Germany). Much less information is available on trends in the GDR (1945-89). Available images are somewhat difficult to assess because it is difficult to destinguish between tights and long stockings. Also some boys wore them during the winter with long pants. A German contributor reports that boys in the DDR were also wearing tights, but they were expensive there and therefore not as common as in the west. He also reports that real boys' tights (with fly or zipper in front) were introduced in the DDR approximately 8 years later that they appeared we had in the GFR. One reader reports that tights were not just cold weather attire, but worn by boys and girls with dressy outfits. HBC speculates that tights may have spread from the DDR to Poland, Russia, and other East Bloc countries. Our German contributor reports that he does not yet understand about how tights were introduced to the East Bloc countries. He thinks it could have been possible. He reports that boys now wear tights more commonly than in Germany. Hopefully HBC readers from Poland, Russia, and other countries will provide us some information.
The German word for tights is "strumpfhoseklage". We believe the same term was used in both the DDR and GFR. We do not know if there are specific terms for childrens or boys tights. Presumably the Germand just add "kinder" or "junged" as an adjitive, but hopefully our German readers will advise us more about terminology.
The discussion of tights on this page primarily deal with the German Federal Republic--GFR (West Germany). Much less information is available on trends in the GDR (1945-89).
Available images are somewhat difficult to assess because it is difficult to destinguish between tights and long stockings. We do not know to what extent long stockings were worn in the DDR. We believe they were still common in the 1940s both during and after World War II. Less information is available on the 1950s and we do not know if they were worn in the 1960s. Some limited information suggests hat hey were. One problem is that it is sometimes not possible to determine if boys and girls are weaing long stockings and tights.
HBC has had few contributions from German readers in the former DDR. We have thus had to rely heavily on assessing available images. This creates a problem in that some boys wore tights with long pants. We know that some boys wore them during the winter with long pants, but can not quantify the extent at this time. This makes it impossible to fully assess how extensively tights were worn without obtaining more information on the subject. Note that initially we are relying heavily on a DDR text book. Illustrations came from a 1963 DDR school book. It is the STANDARD, official (the only) beginning reading ABC book used by millions of DDR first form beginning reader school children, Lesen und Lehrnen. All such books were carefully veted by Government and Communist officials. This means that the fashions depicted had official approval.
A German contributor reports that boys in the DDR were also wearing tights, but they were expensive there and therefore not as common as in the west.
HBC is not precisely sure of the chronology for tights in the DDR. German sources report that boys began wear tights in the GFR (West Germany) in the late 1950s and early 1960s. One German reader also reports that real boys' tights (with fly or zipper in front) were introduced in the DDR approximately 8 years later that they appeared we had in the GFR. HBC can not yet confirm this. Given the influence of German media, it seems like 10 yeras seem quite a long period to have spread to the DDR. A Russian reader reports that in the Soviet Union only long stockings were worn before 1969. Both tights andlong stockings were worn from 1970-72, but mostly tights after 1972. After about 1981, boys no longer wore tights. Our reader report that as far as he knows the same chronology applies to the DDR. HBC does not yet, however, have definitive confirmation from German sources. Most of our German readers are from the former-West Germany. We do note bright colored tights being worn in 1989 at the final years of the DDR. We see them in a pre-school.
Tights in the DDR as in the DFR were most common in the cold winter months. Both tights and long stockings were in part seasonal wear, but they were not excluively worn in cold weather. One reader reports that tights were not just cold weather attire, but worn by boys and girls with dressy outfits. One reader comments, "Drawings in DDR publications including primary reading books show that short pants worn with long stockigs or tights demonstrated the social status of the child and were not just for cold weather wear."
East German boys also wore tights with their Young Pioneer uniforms. We have few details at this time. Presumably it was mostly the younger Pioneers. Seasonal factors probably played a role here. Some older boys may have worn tights on special occasions. We do not know if there were official regulations about this concerning the color of tights.
HBC does not know at this time how popular tights were in the DDR or if it varied with that of parents and boys in the GFR (West Germany). Some sources report that both long stockings and tights were commonly worn by boys in the DDR, both with short and long pants. Boys wearing long stockings and tights with shorts were mostly younger boys. We believe that about the same age of boys were involved whether it was long stockings are tights. The extent to which they were worn seems to reflect the popularity of long stockings and tights with mothers wh presumably saw these garments as as a good way of keeping their son's warm. We suspect that both long stockings and tights were less popular with the vboys themselves. HBC has no first hand accounts as yet, but the fact it was less common with older boys suggests that boys once they could exercise more control over their clothes did not wear them.
German sources inform us that initially in the GFR tights were a boys garment and not worn by girls. We do not know if this was true in the DDR. Available images suggest that in the DDR that both boys and girls wore tights from an early stage. We notice that in some images both boys and girls are shown as wearing tights. There are numerous images, however, showing boys in tights with girls who are not wearing sights.
HBC speculates that tights may have spread from the DDR to Poland, Russia, and other East Bloc countries. Our German contributor reports that he does not yet understand about how tights were introduced to the East Bloc countries. He thinks it could have been possible. He reports that boys now wear tights more commonly than in Germany. Hopefully HBC readers from Poland, Russia, and other countries will provide us some information.
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