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We have only limited information at this time as to how knickers were fastened at the knee. It is difficult to tell from the photographic records. The knickers commonly worn by American boys tended to be voluminous and thus hung down over the closure. The first knickers seemed to have used buckles and buttons to close the leg hem at the knee. We do not yet have any actual images of the fastening arrangements. The overlap obscured the fact that the knickers commonly buckled above the knee. Some knickers had enough material that they could be buckled below the knee if the boy so chose. Boys apparently preferred to do this, but some parents objected. There ppears to have bben a fabric band that bucked that could be moved up or down. Knickers in the 1920s seem to have been made with less bloucing, but we have not yet found an image showing the bucklng arrangement. We note knickers with elastiised web knee bands in the 1930s, but are not sure when they first appered. Some catalogs suggest that this alternative was very popular.
Knickers ulike knee psnts were fastened at the knee. We have only limited information at this time as to how knickers were fastened at the knee. It is difficult to tell from the photographic records. The knickers commonly worn by American boys tended to be voluminous and thus hung down over the closure. Thus there are resltively clear images of the leg closings so we can see how the knickers were fastened at the knee.
The first knickers seemed to have had a band of material of material designed to fit snuggly around the leg. This was necessary to close the knickers and keep them from falling down. There was no way go close the bloused knickers unless athe leg opening could be narrowed. There were buckles and buttons on this band used to close the leg hem at the knee. The overlapfrom the fully bloused knickers tended to cover up this band. We have, however, sund some photographs with knickers that were not so fully blouced that clearly show thois band. We do not yet have any images of the actual fastening arrangements. The overlap obscured the fact that the knickers commonly buckled above the knee. Some knickers had enough material that they could be buckled below the knee if the boy so chose. Boys apparently preferred to do this, but some parents objected. There ppears to have bben a fabric band that bucked that could be moved up or down. Knickers in the 1920s seem to have been made with less bloucing, but we have not yet found an image showing the bucklng arrangement.
We note knickers with elastiised web knee bands in the 1930s, but are not sure when they first appered. Some catalogs suggest that this alternative was very popular. These elastic cuffs became very popular, but at a time that knickers were going out of style. They were much more convenient to wear, but the elastic tended to use its strength after repeaed washings. These elastic cuffs were very common in the 1930s.
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