Boys' Clothes during the 1930s
Little folks' clothes seemed quite perfect in the 1930s, tailored
and so simple in line. Dresses were short and so were a young man's
pants. Girls of all ages wore the classic Chanel suit while boys had
a choice of the older style business suit, the Norfolk with knickers
and if he were inclined to be dressy, the English Eton suit of short
jacket, vest (when of self-fabric), trousers and a derby, if you
please! Under the smart little coats girls wore party dresses of
crepe georgette, voile or cre^pe de chine exquisitely handworked
with tiny tucks, smocking, piping and fine pleating yet retaining
the over-all simple effect.
Youngsters now had quite a wardrobe of
play or sports clothes ranging from basic rompers, sun suits to snow
With the stock market crash of 1929, life changed drastically for many
consumers. The lifestyles of the most affluent, however, were little affected.
The popular Prince of Wales, a fashion leader for men, and his cousin started
wearing trousers with zipper fly closures, and the rest of the world soon followed.
Improvements in the technology for knitting fancy-patterned hosiery made it
possible for men to wear plaid, chevron, and argyle socks. Boys were soon sorting flashy
argyle and other patterned knee socks with their knickers. Some knee socks were
solid color, but has a pattern at the top. More conservative moms
might stick to grey and navy or black. The removable stiff
Eton collar passed from the scene by the end of the decade.
American boys mostly wore knickers. Younger boys might wear shorts, but by the time they
were 8 or 9, sometimes earlier, they wanted knickers or even longs. Many men
of the era can remember to this day when they got their first pair
and then long pants.
later recalled the importance of creativity during the lean years.
One reported, "During the hard years, my boys wore short pants made from the
legs of men's pants." Others spoke of the usefulness of feed sacks, some of which
were printed with colorful patterns. "We made everything from them. We made
shirts, dresses, men's shirts and all sorts of clothing from them." Not only clothing
but household textiles were manufactured at home from these plain-weave, cotton
sacks: ". . . four feed sacks would make the size of a tablecloth or sheet, and one
pillow case could be made from each feed sack." Using feed sacks was not
without its perils: "The first things I had was bloomers and slips out of flour sacks
that they bleached the names off. Mom was good at that. She didn't leave parts of
the name. Some people had Pillsbury on their seat." In the 1930s, even though
more household workers were available, only affluent
families could afford to hire them.
Outwardly men's clothing had
changed only subtly by the end of the 1930s. Men and older boys wore
suits with wider shoulders and more double-breasted suits. The real
changes were underneath. By 1938 men were wearing boxer shorts or
knitted briefs with the registered trademark Jockey. The year 1939
provided the first hint of a new generation of textile fibers when
DuPont introduced nylon at the New York World's Fair. Stockings and
underwear made of nylon sold well until the entry of the U.S. into World War II in
1941 when this fiber was diverted to military use.
Note: Space limitations do not permit me to provide more
information on the 1930s or historical photographs. There will be,
however, a great deal of additional information and many historical
from this decade
on the expanded Boys Historical Clothing web site. For details click
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