Knickers were a major boys' fashion in the late 19th and early 20th century, although they were initially invented for adults. Knickers may have evolved from the knee breeches worn in the 18th century. They were not all first specialized children's wear. They seemed at first to have been more worn as a kind of sporting or outdoor wear. Knickers are today generally associated with the 1900's-30's, but modern knickers were worn as early as the 1860's. Knickers came into their own in the 1910's, especially in America. When European boys began commonly wearing short pants and kneesocks after World War I, American boys were more likely to insist on knickers. Even so they do not seem to have been very popular with the boys. They went out of fashion in America after the 1930's, but lingered a little longer in Europe.