Figure 1.--This studio portrait shows an unidented American boy on October 6, 1923. He wears a Norfolk knickers suit, a very popular style in the 1910s and 20s. He looks to be about 10-years old. Most American boys in the 1920s like the 1910s wore knickers withlong stockings. This was not the case for short pants where knee socks were more common. Like this boy, we do see knee socks and knickers in the early-20s, butbnot very commonly. It is not unlil the late-20s that we see large numbers of American boys wearing knee socks with knickers. The studio was Belden Studio in Long Beach, California.

Knickers contunued to be standard wear for American boys in the 1920s. Not quite as pervasive as in the 1910s, but still by far the most common type of pants for American boys. We no longer see older teens wearing knickers. They wore long pants. And we see some boys wearing short pants. This was especially the case for younger boys, but age was not the only factor here. Seasonality and social class were also involved. While long pants and shorts were worn, most boys wore knickers in the 1920s, including during the summer. We see fewer Amweian boys going barefoot in the 1920s, and for some reason this was especially the case with knickers. Unlike the choice of trouser types, the choice of hosiery does not seem to have been affected by age, although color was. Only younger boys wore white hosiery with knickers. Boys continued wearing knickers mostly with long stockings. This was especially true in the early- and mid-1920s. Patterned long stockings existed, but we rarely see American boys wearing them. At first most boys wearing knickers wore long stockings almost entirely. This began to change in the 1920s. We do see some knee socks. They were not common in the early-1920s. Knee socks existed and some boys wore them with short pants. We even see some boys weing their knickers above the knee with knee socks showing their knees rather like short pants. This was, however, not very common. We begin to see more knee socks toward the end of the decade, but rarely worn with their knickers above the knee. Unlike long stockings, we begin to see boldly patterned knee socks. We do not know why boys did not wear patterned long stockings, but patterned knee socks were so popular. We do see some girls wearing patterned long stockings. We see some ankle socks in the 20s, but rarely worn with knickers. These boldly patterned knee socks are more associated with the 1930s, but we begin to see them in the late-1920s,

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[The 1900s] [The 1910s] [The 1920s] [The 1930s] [The 1940s] [The 1950s]

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[Floppy bows] [Collars] [Blazers] [Kilts] [Sailor suits] [Ring bearer/page costumes] [Eton suits] [Long stockings]

Created: 12:13 AM 10/29/2010
Last edited: 12:13 AM 10/29/2010