CLOTHING LEADERSHIP AMONG BOYS

Personal appearance is tremendously important to
Americans. Our interest in looks is attested by the
time and money we devote to the care, modification,
adornment, and camouflage of our bodies*
In the immense and diversified field of clothing,
the emphasis upon appearance values is so great that
comfort, economy, and functional suitability are often
overlooked or even deliberately sacrificed. Our children cannot avoid the effect of this pervasive pressure
and in varying degree and in different ways each child* s
personality is shaped by it. (Stola, 1942) 

Apparel and appearance, as Stolz suggests, represent influences which reach into many comers of our culture, and are reflected in many facets of the personalities who are parts of it—
not the least of whom are the children. Small wonder then, that
those who have been commercially, professionally, or parentally
concerned with children, have raised many questions regarding the
role of clothing in the adjustment and behavior of the younger
members of society.