A few weeks before Christmas I attended my first heritage event as a trader.
It was quite strange to be the other side of the counter, but I learnt a lot. One thing in particular that surprised me that evening was the number of enquiries I had concerning 1940's clothing for boys. I had thought starting out with four patterns for girls dresses was a smart move, but I certainly answered more questions about boys' clothes than girls' clothes that night.
Putting aside tiny floral prints and puffed sleeves, I came home and began to think about patterns for boys clothes. It's an odd thing, that you think you know about something until you actually sit down and think about it, and realise you don't! Of course I know about boys' shorts, the cut and construction, torn knees and a bit of string and a newt or dead mouse in the pocket - that sort of thing. But if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing properly.
Several hundred photos of small boys in short trousers later, I'd answered a few of my own questions.
Just how short were short trousers?
According to drafts in tailors' and cutters' guides, and as shown in posed photographs in books and magazines, they correspond roughly to the length of girls' skirts at the same age. Tiny boys wear short trousers that are just a few inches in the inside leg, big boys of 10 or 12 have shorts that just touch the kneecap, and boys in the middle wear their trousers 2-4 inches above the knee.
In reality however, especially amongst lower-income families and when war-time shortages hit, there appears to be no hard and fast rule. Hand-me-downs fit you where they did or didn't, and you made do.
How are they fastened?
Button flies appear to be universal, and I am yet to find instructions in 1930's or 40's books for zip flies.
How are they kept up?
Sometimes it is not possible to see from the photos how an individual's trousers are being kept up, but when it is, it seems to be braces to belts at a rate of 2:1. I have not seen evidence - yet - of clip braces, they all appear to be button braces. Buttons on the outside or inside seem to be split 50/50.
Striped snake belts look to be the most popular belt with boys, but some wear leather belts with buckles.
Belt loops are usually placed at the centre back, and at the side seams, and sometimes appear on trousers that also have buttons for braces.
How about pockets?
Pockets are usually in the side seams. I've only seen two or three examples of hip pockets. Shorts for tiny boys seem to often not be cut with side seams, and so don't have pockets. A patch pocket is sometimes included on the bottom of shorts or dungarees for very little boys or girls.
What were they actually called?
The terms 'trousers' and 'knickers' seem to be used interchangeably, sometime in the same set of instructions or advertisement. 'Shorts' seems to apply to sporting garments, as in the case of 'girls' tennis shorts'.
How were they made?
The making of short trousers seems to be a subject somewhat shied away from in home dressmaker's manuals and magazines of the period. Where there is direction, it usually applies to trousers made for toddlers without a fly, pockets or any tricky details. These little garments would be no more difficult to make than pyjama bottoms.
The most comprehensive set of instructions in my collection are to found in a 1935 edition of 'Weldon's Easier Dressmaking'. There are only 50 pages in this booklet, but it packs a lot in. There is a double page spread entitled 'The Making of Boys' Knickers'.
It has been interesting to compare the Weldon's instructions to the construction details of a Utility suit held by the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley (object No.U2017/864). The Weldon's way of making the knickers is very close to the directions given in turn of the century tailors' books, and involves a great deal of hand sewing. The knickers belonging to the Utility suit are made more in a way that a modern home dressmaker might recognise, and I would suggest that this would be thanks to the greater emphasis put on efficient manufacture during the war and immediately afterwards.
The waistband is a good example of this simplified process. Weldon's directs the sewer to apply interfacing directly to the waist of the trousers, caught down invisibly all round, and to bind the upper edge. It then tells you to make a separate facing, to turn it in all around, and then slip stitch it in place over the interfacing.
I know they didn't have Netflix back then, but surely no-one has so much spare time in their life to spend the entire day facing a waistband?
The Utility knickers have a separate facing that has been interfaced with a bit of stiff muslin. It's been applied right-sides-facing, turned to the inside, and topstitched.
Our pattern for boys' 1940's style short trousers will be the next one published, and will be named 'Barry'. It will be followed by a pattern for shirts, 'Roystan'. Keep an eye on the Ivyhouse Costume Facebook page, or visit our online shop for more details.
