Boys' Historical Uniform Garments: Knee Socks

Figure 1.--The New Zealand Boys' Brigade in the 1990s wore black kneesocks with white colored bands. Many boys had socks which did not come to the knees because they were bought when they were younger boys.

Kneesocks had been worn by boys in the late 19th century, but they were mot widely worn as until the turn of the century mostly younger boys wore short pants. Kneesocks were worn by some adults. Knickers gradually became accepted for country wear after mid-century and they were worn with kneesocks, rather than the long stockings boys wore with kneepants. British soldiers in tropical postings always wore kneesocks when wearing short pants. It was logical therefore for Baden Powell to include kneepants as part of the original Scout uniform. They proved to be practical for the outdoor camping that was a major component of early Scouting programs. Virtually every subsequent youth group adopting short pants as part of the uniform, also turn-over-top kneesocks. The socks were usually solid colors of the same color as the sgorts, with a few exceptions. British Scouts sometimes worn kneesocks with colored bands. The Hitler Youth often dressed in white kneesocks, contrasting with the black shorts. The American Scouts in 1980 adopted new athletic socks with red tops for the Scouts and yellow or the Cubs.

Chronology

Kneesocks had been worn by boys in the late 19th century, but they were mot widely worn becuase until the turn of the century it was mostly mostly younger boys wore short pants. Kneesocks were worn by some adults in the 19th century, but primarily with knickers. They were adopted by many British private schools as part of the school uniform in the late 19th century. Thus changed with the adoption of sgort pants by the new Boy Scout movement in 1906. Kneesocks rapidly replaced longstockings in both Europe and Anerica during the 1910s. Almost all Scout and other uniformed youth groups adopted kneesocks as part of the uniform. This continued until youth grpups began adopting long pants uniforms. Anerican Scours were the first in the 1940s. The British Scouts adopted a long pants uniform in 1969. Scouts who did wear short pants almost always did so with kneesocks. This continued until the late 1990s when boys began wearing longer baggier shorts. American and Australian Scouts among other began dropping knee-lenhth socks.

Pants

Knickers gradually became a popularvfashion for country wear after mid-19th century and they were worn with kneesocks, rather than the long stockings boys wore with kneepants. British soldiers in tropical postings always wore kneesocks when wearing short pants. It was logical therefore for Baden Powell to include kneepants as part of the original Scout uniform. They were worn by British and other European youth groups with short pants and by American Scouts with knickers.

Practicality

They proved to be practical for the outdoor camping that was a major component of early Scouting programs. Virtually every subsequent youth group adopting short pants as part of the uniform, also turn-over-top kneesocks. The major reason was the practicality over long stockings, presumably why British boarding schools also adopted kneesocks. They were easier to put on and more comfortable to wear. They were especially suitable to the often chilly European climate. They seem less appropritae for summer wear especially in southern Europe and the ASmerrican South, but were widely worn even in the warm weather when wearing short pants--until the 1990s.

Colors

We notice boys wearing knee socks in several different colors as part of their youth group uniforms. There are several color, but the ranf=ge is fairly limited. For the mot part they were fairly neutral and not bright colors. We have noted black, blue, brown, green, grey, khaki, and white knee socks, done in many different shades. White other colors have been used, these by far the most common. Some geoips were not very strict about the hosiery worn so you get greater variety. Knee socks were usually solid colors of the same color as the short pants, with a few exceptions. The colors tended to match the pants, but this was not always the case. Some groups had colored bands at the top or colored tops. Currently the major example here is the American Cubs and Scouts. The Hitler Youth dressed in white kneesocks on formal occassions, contrasting with the black shorts. We have occassionally noticed other groups wearing white knee socks for special occassions, such as English Cubs.

Colored Tops

British Scouts sometimes worn kneesocks with colored bands. The American Scouts in 1980 adopted new athletic socks with red tops for the Scouts and yellow or the Cubs.

Colored bands

Some Scout kneesocks had colored bands at the top. Again they were not commonly bright colors, but often different shades of the kneesock colors. New Zealnand Brigaders wore black kneesocks with white colored bands.

Colored turn over tops

Less common were solid colored turn over tops. This style, however, was adoopted by American Scouts ans Cubs in the 1980s.

Colored Flashes

Many boys used elastic garters inder their turn over top kneesocks to keep them up. Colored flashes were often added.

Material

Kneesocks was commonly made of normal sock material. The kneesocks adopted by American Scouts amd Cubs, owever, in the 1980s were tune althetic socks.