Boys Pioneer Clothes

For one day programs and to go easy on any budget, boys are very easy to dress for this funfilled day.

Though we no longer manufacture boys clothes for Prairie Programs,

the following tips can be used to outfit your lad for that great day.

To get the Knicker look, any pair of dress pants can be rolled up and cuffed just below the knee.

Uniform or kneesocks will cover the legs.  Wear dark shoes or boots. 

For a shirt, most programs only require that your youngster

wear a button down the front, long sleeved shirt.

It usually can be any color, blue or grey, does not have to be white, and does not require

the stand up collar of my shirts.  It can also be striped or plaid, even flannel. 

Golf caps or driving caps are a good substitute for my newsboy caps and

sweater vests are appropriate and acceptable.

Tin pails are available at Home Depot in the paint department.  About $4.00, they are a good size for any lunch. 

Or chop down a branch and tie up the lunch in a large cloth napkin or bandana.

Use your imagination and have fun! 

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Knickers & Shirts

Although blue jeans are often associated with pioneer or prairie living, Levi Strauss and his partner Jacob Davis

did not start producing cotton jeans until about 1873 when they received a patent for riveting pockets onto work pants. 

Originally called "waist overall", men's pants were made of heavy cotton duck cloth or wool.  Davis, a tent make and tailor, got a lot of

complaints from his customers about the pockets ripping off the pants. 

He decided to try riveting the pockets in place - instead of sewing them - and enlisted the help of Levi Strauss, a dry goods dealer in San Francisco,

to patent his creation.  This ingenious invention became a big hit with farmers.

Men usually wore their pants tucked into knee high boots, protecting their pants from dirt, mud and dampness while working out in the fields.

Young boys wore knickers, pants that fastened just below the knee, with long stockings tucked up inside the cuff. 

Suspenders were worn to hold up the pants.

Vests were a mainstay for men and boys. 

Pockets in the vests held small tools, knives, coins and pocket watches. 

Shirts were very loose and full with a simple tab collar. 

The shirts were also very long, usually below the knee in length and when the day was done, 

the pants came off and the shirt became a nightshirt. 

SPECIAL NOTE:  The name "jeans" has been linked to the sailors of Genoa, Italy,

who wore cotton workpants.  The sailors were themselves known as "Genes".

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