Figure 1.--This boy about 1910 wears his knickers cut longer than most boys at the time. They are cut well below the knees, almost at calf level. |
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One of the basic stylistic elements of knickers is the length. Knickers could be worn at various lengths. We note above the knee knickers, below the knee knickers, calf-length knickers, nd ankle-length knickers. The last was basically a European style and not seen much in America. Knickers in America were initially made to be fastened above the knee. The material commonly fellover the knee. And this is how American boys initially wore knicjers, buckeled above the knee. This was the basic style in the 1910s and much of the 20s. Basically the effect was that boys wore their knickers at the same length tht was common for knee pants in the 1900s. Younger boys especially wore them above the knees. Many boys as they got older and began to want long pants would often prefer the more manly style of buckling them below the knee. Some mothers would insist that their son buckle his knickers above the knee. The boy, however, after leaving the house would rebuckle his knickers in the preferred below the knee position. This mother/son struggle of the 1920s was imortalized in the classical American musical, Music Man.The problem was eventually resolved during the 1930s as shorts became more common for younger boys. Knickers for older boys were made slightly longer and the fashion of buckling them below the knee became widely accepted in the 1930s. We also see knickers wore at calf length, but this was not very common.
One of the basic stylistic elements of knickers is the length. Knickers could be worn at various ;engths. The length hs varied chronologically. This was the basic style in the 1910s and much of the 20s. Basically the effect was that boys wore their knickers at the same length tht was common for knee pants in the 1900s. Younger boys especially wore them above the knees. Many boys as they got older and began to want long pants would often prefer the more manly style of buckling them below the knee. Some mothers would insist that their son buckle his knickers above the knee. The boy, however, after leaving the house would rebuckle his knickers in the preferred below the knee position. We see some boys in wearing above-the-knee knickers with knee socks rather than long stoclings. This was mostly seen in the 1910s for a rtaher short period. A good example is two Texas boys in 1917. This mother/son struggle of the 1920s was imortalized in the classical American musical, Music Man.The problem was eventually resolved during the 1930s as shorts became more common for younger boys. Knickers for older boys were made slightly longer and the fashion of buckling them below the knee became widely accepted in the 1930s.
We note knickers being long at several different lengths. Here we are talking about proper knickers and not the bloomer knickers worn by younger boys in the the 1860s and 70s. These include above the knee knickers, below the knee knickers, calf-length knickers, and ankle-length knickers. Of course these are just the basic alternatives. There were also gradiations between these basic alternatives. Knickers in America were initially made to be fastened above the knee. The material commonly fellover the knee so the fact that they buckeled above the knee is not always simple to detect in available photographs. And this is how American boys mostly wore knickers, buckeled above the knee during the 1910s and 20s when they were most common. Most boys wore knickers with long stockings. A few boys wore then with knee socks and thus they look more like short pants as the knne shows. This was not very common, but we do see some examples in the photographic record. We also see knickers wore at calf length, but this was not very common. We do note knickers that had cloth ellastic cuffs in the 1930s. These were all made to be worn below the knee. The ankle-length knickers were basically a European style and not seen much in America.
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