*** American mail order catalogs with boys clothes -- 1942








American Mail Order Catalogs with Boys Clothings: 1942

boys' suits 1940s
Figure 1.--Here we see short, knicker, and long pants suits for boys. There are also shorts and long sets with coordinated shirts and pants. The outfits were for boys 3/4-8/10 years old. The Eton suit was made for the younger age range and the knicker suit for the older age range. Knickers were becoming increasingly less common in Anerica mailorder catalogs. The same was true for detchable Eton collars.

American mail order catalogs offer a very useful time line on changing fashion trends. America entered World War II in December 1941 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. War time restrictions thus did not begin to hit Ameruica until 1942. The War of course had a significant impact on the styling and availability of clothes. American boys very rapidly stopped wearing knickers in the early 1940s. We are not The Government issued regulations designed to reduce the amount of material used to produce garments. sure if they were still offeredfby the major catalog companies. Sears continued to carry ads for long stockings. One impact of the War was that Sears began to recycle the ad illustrations in their catalog.

Toddler Clothes


Shirts

We notice ypounger boys wearing a variety of both "T"-shirts and collared shirts. For school in the fall both long-sleeved "T"shirts and polo shirts and flannel shirts were popular styles. Striped "T"-shirts and plaid flannel were widely worn.

Sets

Catalog stores commonly offerred sets which included both shirts and pants. These included both casual and more dressy sets. Some were "T"-shirts and others were collared shirts. They were normally paired with eith long or short pants. The idea of these sets was that the color of the shirt was coordinated with the color of the pants. The material and suspensionm of the pants was also appropriate with the style of the shirt. We have not commonly seen these sets made up with knickers. And they were not always called sets. Sears in 1942 referred to them as suits.

Sears longie suits (sets)

Here Sears grouped together both a long pants suit and long pants sets. There were one suit and three sets offered. Sears here used the term suit rather than "set". This was beause a suit was essentially an outfit weith matching jacket and pants. Here Sears has picvked up on the term suit because the shirt and pants are coordinated. As they were offered in the Fall-Winter catalog, they would have been seen as appropriate school fashions. These sets could be dressy, but the only dressy or formasl outfit here was the blue suit. The sizes were 4-9 years of age. Blue was the dominant color, but there was also maroon and brown.

Sears shorts sets

Here Sears offered four short pants sets. These were also offered in dressy and casual styles. Note one has a tie. The Long-sleeve "T"-shirt might be seen as a play out fit, although boys did commonly wear them to school. The polo shirt is similar to one shown with the longpants sets. There was also a swater set. Here Sears also uses the term suits rather than sets. Notice that these are outfits in the Fall-Winter catalog showing that boys still wore short pants in the Fall-Winter weather. Also note that they are shown being worn with kneesocks. For some reason, blue is not as dominant with the shorts set as with the longs sets at lest with the illustrations, blue was an option for these sets. The age range for the shorts sets was a little different than the long sets.

Sweaters

We note a variety of sweaters available for boys in 1942.

Sears Fall-Winter cardigan sweaters

A page from the Sears 1942-43 Fall and Winter catalog, p. 287, advertising Boys' Coat Style Sweaters. They are meant to appeal to boys who aspire to be college fraternity "prep" students like their older brothers. They were done in the cardigan style.

Coats


Suits

The big catalog stores offered a range of suits. We note Sears offering short, kinicker and long pants suits. We note Eton and Rugby as well as single and double breasted suits.

Sears Fall and Winter younger boys' suits

Sears offered Eton as well as single and double breasted suits for younger boys. The single-breasted suit was called a Rugby suit. The suits were done with short, knicker, and long pants. There are also shorts and long sets with coordinated shirts and pants. The outfits were for boys 3/4-8/10 years old. The Eton suit was made for the younger age range and the knicker suit for the older age range. The Sears page here certainly suggests that blue had become the dominany color for boys' suits, although one was also offered in teal.

Pants

We notice American boys wearing short and long trousers. Knickers were still available, but rapidly going out of style. Knickers were stll quite common before the War, but during the War rapidly went out of style. American boys very rapidly stopped wearing knickers in the early 1940s. We are not The Government issued regulations designed to reduce the amount of material used to produce garments. Knickers were still available from the main catalog companies, but short and long pants were much mopre common. Long pants were becoming increasingly common. Younger boys still wore short pants, especially in the summer.

Hosiery

We notice most boys wearing ankle socks and to a much lesser extet kneesocks. Striped ankle socks seem especially popular. Long stockings sere still available but rapidly going out of style. One interesting feature of the long stockings was that they were available in many colors.

Sears Fall-Winter hosiery

Sears offered a range of hosiery for boys in 1942. They highlighted their Boyville store brand. Note the variety of boys' socks shown here--both ankle length and knee length (the latter to be worn with both knickers and short pants) These are referred to as "dress socks" and were obviously an alternative to long stockings which were also featured prominently in the same catalog. This is the Sears Fall and Winter Catalog for 1942-43, p. 296.

Sears Spring-Summer long stockings

Sears in this advertisement for long sockings showed a boy in play clothes. It is a little incongrous as the short sleeve "T" shirt and short pants suggest warm weather and the long stockings cold weather. This advertisement for long stockings appeared in the Sears Fall and Winter 1942-43 catalog and was reprinted as a somewhat different image in the 1943 Spring-Summer catalog. The early 40s was the last time long stockings were widely advertised in America although they were still included in the catalogs through the late 1940s. Both garments were rapidly going out of fashion in 1943. Selection of a boy model shows that Sears was still pitching long stockings for boys. The only long stockings we notice to any extent by 1945 were those worn by small boys and to a greater extent girls. We believe that they were worn in the late 1940s by children in the northern states as part of winterwear. We know girls wore them, we are less sure about boys as they were mostly wearing long pants.

Stocking Supporters

We still notice fairly substantial ads for stocking syupporters. This suggests that long stockings were still being worn by children, especially in the colder months.

Sears gater waists

Sears in the Fall and Winter catalog (p. 302) offered garter waists in sizes 2 to 12. I think the sizes were expressed in chrnological ages. The ads were fairly prominently placed. There was a choice of two styles. There were both Child's and Kern'a garter waists. The ads stressed that the garter waists helped the children to look neat. The ad copy sressed that they were wasy to wear, comfortable and made for active wear. The ad stresses that they were appropriate for both boys and girls.

Sears Pilgrim waist suits

Sears offered waists suits in short and long leg styles. There were also variations in sleeve length and neck style. These waists suits were inderwear with buttons that could be used to hold up long stockings. These were Pilgrom brand suits. Pilgrim was Sears house brand for hosiery. The suits were done in sizes 2-12 which I think means chronological years. The same styles were worn by both boys and girls.

Underwear

We note some recognizeably modern types of underwear in 1942 along with some styles that look decidely dated. Both Sears and wards provide a great reservoir of source material.

Sears children's underwear

nother Sears 1942 page--from the Fall and Winter catalog for 1942-43, p. 298. This page illustrates three alternative styles of boys' underwear--(1) the traditional union suit with long sleeves and legs at the top for cold weather; (2) sleeveless shirts and broadcloth shorts for warmer days; and (3) the increasingly popular white knit briefs and tee-shirts for younger boys. The union suits come in sizes from 4 to 16 years of age. The broadcloth shorts and sleeveless shirts fit boys from 6 to 16. The briefs and tee shirts offered here only go up to age 10, but they were also worn by older boys and adults because the ad specifies that they are "styled like dad's and big brother's."

Sears children's Pilgrim underwear

Sears had itown brand of underwesr--Pilgrom. Sears offered various styles of winter underwear for boys and girls. Notice that the styles are unisex and suitable for either gender. Waist suits were generally made for children up through the age of twelve, because by the early 1940s most children older than this had ceased to wear long stockings to school. Notice that the garter tabs for hose supporters are a feature of all the different types of union suits offered here--which means that some children were still wearing long stockings on top of long-legged underwear. It presented a rather lumpy appearance, and many children hated the double-layering. In more fashionable circles waist suits in short-legged styles were preferred because mothers felt that the stockings along (if worn high on the leg with hose supporters) would keep children warm enough. But union suits, whether short legged or long legged, were still the regulation underwear for children up through the age of 12--and often much older.

Wards children's underwear

The Wards catalog (Fall and Winter 1942, p. 312) that gives some useful information on the various styles of children's underwear available in 1942. It seeks to enlighten parents or prospective buyers about what was available at the time with a view to helping them make their choices. It displays a group of line drawings illustrating the various types of underwear on offer at Wards, dividing the styles into three categories (1) Girls, (2) Children (both boys and girls up to age 12), and (3) Boys.






HBC







Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing catalog/magazine pages:
[Return to the Main American mail order 1940s page]
[Main photo/publishing page] [Store catalogs] [Fashion magazines]



Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[About Us]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Countries] [Girls] [Theatricals]
[Bibliographies] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Images] [Index] [Links] [Registration] [Search] [Tools]
[Main HBC Topic page]
[Boys' Historical Clothing Home]



Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Sailor suits] [Sailor hats] [Buster Brown suits] [Knickers] [Eton suits]
[Rompers] [Tunics] [Smocks] [Long stockings] [Stocking supporters] [Underwear]




Created: 11:33 PM 11/28/2004
Last updated: 2:38 AM 8/16/2015