How did young men and teenagers dress in the 1920’s? This was a question emailed to me by Heather a few days ago. Specifically she is looking for information about dress suits for a high school man, about 17 or 18, in 1925. What would he have worn to his high school graduation?
1927 ‘Teen Suits
Boys, teenager, and young men’s clothing in the 1920’s did not differ drastically from grown men. For special occasions, church and urban high schools, a suit was worn daily. They looked like a smaller version of their father’s suits with a few minor differences. For one, color. The younger generation wanted more color and appealing patterns in their clothing. Vertical stripes, diagonal stripes, checks, Glenn plaid and solids came in lighter shades of blues, grays and tans than men’s versions. The tailoring of the suits was softer too. Hard square edges on jackets and lapels were replaced by rounded lapels, sloping shoulders, and extra loose fitting trousers. The general trend of the 20’s was everything soft. Soft collars, soft tailoring, soft colors, and soft materials. Suits were almost always wool, even in summer, but wool flannel and wool cassimere were softer and easier to move in making them ideal for active teens. With the exception of business suits for young men that worked they also preferred the single breasted suit over the double breasted. Same with vests- single breasted matching suit vests were more common than double breasted. For a casual suit, a vest could have been forgotten altogether and instead a pullover knit vest would have been worn in its place.
Besides colors and materials the other change in suits throughout the 1920’s were the pants. In the very early 20’s the skinny “Jazz Suit” was still popular with teens. As the decade progressed, pants grew wide and loose with large cuffs or turn ups at the ankle. As you can see in the picture above, by 1927 the pants were very wide legged whereas the picture below from 1924 shows legs that were about the same width as most classic suit pants are today. Pants in 1925 would be classic width.
1924 Summer Suits for Young Men
Dress shirts were almost always white with soft round “club” collars or the new pointed shirt collar. For casual wear, a colorful shirt would have been preferred made of stripes in an array of blues, greens, and pastels for summer. A colorful tie would have been worn. Red, blue, gold stripes, paisley or small prints were the most traditional for the 20’s for both men and teens. Teens probably preferred the bolder colors.
Teen Shoes
1924 Teen Mens Boots with Cap Toe and Brogue
Young men’s shoes were standard brown lace up oxfords or lace up dress boots. They had cap toes and often brogue detail on the seams. Toes were round and blunt gradually coming to a rounded square toe by the late 20’s. Soles were rather thick rubber even in dressier styles. Both shoes and boots were popular in the early 1920’s. By the end of the decade boots were just worn by boys and working class men. The iconic two-tone lace up shoes could have been worn by teens in suits, but usually they wore them for casual everyday activities and sports.
Teen Hats
The final touch was the hat. Wearing a man’s hat was a right of passage for teens. As boys, they wore 8 panel caps, often called flat caps or newsboy caps today. For very formal occasions, they might have worn a fur felt hat in similar shapes as the man’s homburg or fedora (see top picture). In general boys and teens were hat less It wasn’t customary to wear a hat until you were at least college age or in a career that required wearing suits daily. High school boys may have worn a hat at graduation if it was held outdoors, otherwise with an indoor event they would be hatless.
I like to read the captions from clothing catalogs to get a good feel for the clothing:
1923 Teen Suits with Belt
1923- Pencil Cut Cassimere Suit (left suit): We are confident that this good-looking belted model of good quality Wool Mixed Cassimere, in pencil striped Brown or Dark Green, will more than please the High School Youth who wants distinctive style. Two button, single-breasted style with all all-around belt, slanted flap pockets, upper welt breast pocket and inside pocket. Good lining. Vest is collarless, finished with the usual pockets and details. Trousers have two side, two hip and watch pockets; belt loops; suspender buttons. Straight or cuff buttoms.
1924 Cassimere Suit
1924-(right) Stylish, well tailored Suit of fancy mixed All-Wool Cassimere in the latest shades of brown and gray. Semi-form fitting coat in single breasted style and full lined with tropic weight All Wool Alpaca. High cut vest. Two pair of long trousers with your choice of plain or cuff bottoms.
1927 – (B pictured at top) Designed for young men who desire “something different.” Exceptionally well tailored in the newest weave All Wool Worsted. The distinctly attractive Summer shades are made strikingly snappy by the harmonizing stripes. Coat: The latest one button model, with slanting slashed pockets, upper welt and inside breast pockets, rounded front and stylishly shaped lapels. Coat is half lined with durable alpaca. Trousers- Have the last minute, wide, two-button waistband and wide belt loops Straight or cuff wide bottom. Sandy brown or blue grey fabric choices.
Heather, I hope this answers your question. If anyone else has a topic that need help researching send me an email and I will get to work for you! Better yet, students, dive into the fun world of fashion research using this guide to get you started.