Figure 1.--This unidentified boy with his mother, or moreclikely grandmother, wears a shirt and tie with a sweater rather than a suit. Also notice the knee socks and low-cut shoes. The snapshot is undated, but looks to us like he early 1930s. |
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We note American boys wearing a varierty of differernt garments with knickers. The primary headwear worn with knickers was the flat cap. Knickers were at first mostly worn with suits. This was because suts were commonly worn in the early-20th century. Boys commonly wre them to school. We first see them in America diring the 1900s, but they did not become the standard boys' garment until the 1910s. Many early photograohs and portraits show boys wearing them as part of suits--even in casul circumstance. We begin to see boys dressing more cassually after World war I in the 1920s. We see boys wearing knickers with shirts and sweaters. This was particularly common in the 1930s. The types of hosiery also changed. Most boys wore knickers with long stockings. This continued to be common through the 1920s, but by then we also see knee socks. Boys by the 30s were commonly wearing knickers with kneesocks ad by the late-30s we also see ankle socks. We also see a gradual transition from high-top to low-cut shoes, mostly oxfords.
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