Figure 1.--
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Figure 1.-- |
The Ward's three piece suits with vests ( waistcoats ) were designed mainly for older boys and that the sizes in most cases go up to age 16 and begin with age 12. Only one suit of this type is made for a boy as young as 10. The wearing of a vest with a suit was obviously considered more grown up. Unfortunately, Ward's did not offer us a illustration of these suits.
Although the word "consumerism" has a modern ring, it was personal concern for an early consumer movement, the "National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry,"That inspired a young traveling salesman named Aaron Montgomery Ward to start the world's first general merchandise mail-order company in 1872. Aaron Montgomery Ward was born on February 17, 1844, in Chatham, New Jersey, to a family whose forebears had served as officers in the French and Indian Wars as well as in the American Revolution. Looking for something more compatible, Monty left home and followed the river to Lake Michigan and the town of St. Joseph, county seat and market for outlying fruit orchards. Chicago was the center of the wholesale dry goods trade and in the 1860s Ward joined the leading dry goods house, Field Palmer & Leiter. As a retailer, Potter Palmer had previously built a reputation for fair dealing. Ward absorbed these principles while working as a clerk
for $5. The Chicago City Directories for 1868 through 1870 listed Ward as a salesman for Wills, Greg & Co. and later for Stetthauers & Wineman, both dry goods houses. In 1870, after canvassing territory in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Ward was again footloose. The plan shaping in Ward's mind was to buy goods at low cost for cash. By eliminating intermediaries, with their markups and commissions, and cutting selling costs to the bone, he could offer goods to people, however remote, at appealing prices - for cash. Since its founding in 1872, the company has literally "grown up with America" and has had a major impact on the shopping habits of a nation of consumers. Montgomery Ward & Co. discontinued its catalog operations in 1
985 as part of its restructuring effort to change itself into a modern, competitive chain of value-driven specialty stores, a move which for a time saved the company. week.
Kilt suits and Little Lord Fauntleroy suits continued to be popular in the 1890s, especiallyb in America. Sailor suits became a standard for boys. The popularity and style varied from country to country. Boys increasingly wire kneepants suits. Knicker style pants were also popular, more in Europe than America. Eton suits were a
popular style, but more likely to be worn with long pants. We notice some boys like the Syder brothers wearing the old small jackets, but increasingly in the 1890s boys were wearing full jackets that buttoned to the collar and modern-looking jackets with lapels.
The Ward's three piece suits with vests ( waistcoats ) were designed mainly for older boys and that the sizes in most cases go up to age 16 and begin with age 12. Only one suit of this type is made for a boy as young as 10. The wearing of a vest with a suit was obviously considered more grown up. Unfortunately, Ward's did not offer us a illustration of these suits. The Ward's ad copy read, "Children's 3-Piece Suits Coat, Vest and Pants, 12 to 16 years only.
30900: All Wool Navy Blue Cheviot Suits, single breasted sack style. 12 to 16 years only. Style 25. Each $4.50.
30902: All Wool Black and Gray Checked Cassimere Suits. Coat, vest, and pants. Style 25. 12 to 16 years only. Each $5.75
30904: Navy Blue Tricot Suits, coat, vest, and pants. Style 28. 12 to 16 years only. Each $6.00.
30906: All Wool Imported Diagonal Clay Worsted Suits, coat, vest and pants. Style 25; gunpowder gray; size, 12 to 16 years. Each $6.50.
30908: All Wool Black Diagonal Soft Finished Worsted Suits; same style as above; three pieces. Style 25, 10 to 15 years. Each $6.50
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