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The Sears catalog also offered long pants suits. There were five different long pants suits. All were done with single=breasted suits. They were offered on a page with knickers suits. Like the other suits in the catalog, they were all single=breasted suits. The illustrations depict older teenagers wearing the longpants suit. Actually there were not a great difference in the long pants and knicker suits depicted together. The long pants suits were made in sizes down to age 9 years.
A history of mail order catalogs is helpful in understanding the time line of tese catalogs and the clothing sold through them. Sears-Roebuck and Montgomery Ward catalogs were the great cornucopias of material goods for the early 20th century. All the new things that were changing American life danced across their pages. Through it, huge warehouses offered to modernize the farms and small towns of the Midwest. The booming city of Chicago was the center of the American wholesale dry goods trade at mid-century. It was thus no accident as the railroad spread out through the
midwest that the two giants of American merchanizing were born in Chicago. Creating a huge industry is only part of the impact made by Aaron Montgomery Ward. The lifestyles of America were altered by catalog merchandising. Not only
material but social and cultural aspects of American life were deeply affected. In 1946, the Grolier Society in New York included the Montgomery Ward catalog in
its collection of 100 American books chosen for their bearing on the life and culture of the people. In the words of the Grolier selection committee, "The Mail order
catalog has been perhaps the greatest single influence in increasing the standards of American middle-class living." While Sears and Wards were the first companies,
they were followed by many others. Pennys was especially important in America. Quelle was very important in Germany.
These knicker suits were offered in the 1930 Sears catalog
(Spring and Summer), p. 289.
The individual suits here are for older boys and are keyed to texts on an adjoining page by letters--A, B, C, etc. We are not sure why the knickers suits are displayed here with the long pants suits. We assumne that there was just not enough room on the other page with knickers suits. The fact that Sears offered so many more knickers than long pants suits suggests to us that American boys much more commonly wore knicker than long pants suits. There were difference in age ranges, but the long pants suits were made in sizes down to age 9 and knickers suit were made for boys up to age 18, although this varied.
The long pants suits were all single-breasted. They were made in sizes up to 16-18 years, the same as many of the knicker suits. The long pants suits were made for boys a young as 9 years old. The texts are keyed to the illustrations of boys' long pants and knicker
suits by letters--A, B, C, etc.
The ad copy read, "One glance at the illustration tells the style story. The two-button coat lined with Seropaca, the Tattersall vest, the pleated long pants, are just what every peppy young fellow is wearing--or will wear before the summer
is over. As for wear--we have spent months of experiment developing this
fabric, and in our opinion it comes nearer to indestructability than any
we have ever offered. Good looking, too--a medium blue gray shade with
attractive stripes. Absolutely all wool and silk. SIZES--10 to 18 years.
State age size; also chest, waist and inseam measures. 40 V 3184--All wool
Suit with only one pair long pants. Postpaid $9.50. 40 V 3185--Same Suit
with Two Pairs Long Pants. Postpaid $11.95."
The ad copy read, "What fellow wouldn't be proud to step out in this suit? Navy blue is always a favorite color, and it really looks better on most fellows than
any other shade. Add to that the pep of this stylisth shadow stripe and
the sheen of all wool worsted, and you could hardly name a more desirable
fabric. As for style, you'll have to wear this suit every day for a long
time if you expect to wear it out. SIZES 10 to 18 years. State age size,
also chest, waist, and inseam measures. 40 V 3186--Navy Blue All Wool
Worsted With One Pair Long Pants. Postpaid $12.95. 40 V3187--Same Suit
with Two Pairs Long Pants. Postpaid $16.50.
The ad copy read, "We have yet to see the young fellow who wouldn't be "tickled pink" to have this suit! To begin with, the fabric always pleases--all wool and silk, made extra dressy with Rayon stripe decorations. It's a medium gray
novelty weave, and a beauty! Then, the trousers and Tattersall vest are
pleated to conform to the latest dictates of fashion, and the coat has the
same style lines, and the same peak lapels as big brother's. And if you
don't want the vest, you don't have to pay for it. We will sell you the
suit without it! SIZES--9 to 16 years. State age size; also chest,
waist, and inseam measures. 40 V 3221--Medium Gray All Wool Three Piece
Suit. Postpaid $7.50. 40 V 3183--Coat and Long Pants Only. Postpaid $6.50."
The adcopy read, "You never saw a suit like this at a price like this! We know because we never did ourselves until we saw this one! It's a firmly woven, all wool
and silk cassimere, which means both plenty of good looks and lots of hard
wear. Then, it's a stylish herringbone weave--herringbones are "it" this
season, you know. And it's styled in an up to date two-button model with
notch lapels, "peppy" flaps on the lower vest pockets and wide cuff bottom
trousers. You'll be as proud of it as we are when you see it! SIZES 9 to
18 years. State age size; also chest, waist, and inseam measures. 40 V
3182--Medium Brown All Wool and Silk Postpaid $6.95."
The ad copy read, "All the qualities that make a really good suit! The fancy weave all wool and silk cassimere from which this suit is made provides a full measure of peppy good looks and "bulldog" wear. Its medium dark gray blue shade is
right in style, and very attractive. Its tailoring you would expect in a
man's suit but seldom find in boys' clothes. "VALUE" tells the story in
one word. Coat is lined with stylish durable lining. Regular single
breasted four pocket vest. 40 V 3200--Medium Dark Gray Blue All Wool
Cassimere. Postpaid $7.50. 40 V 32227--Same Suit with Two Pairs Long
Pants. Postpaid $9.50."
There were also four knickers suits on the page with the long pants suits. They were also single-breasted suits. The sizing of the suits shown here varied somewhat but were done in sizes up to 16-18 years. All of these suits both the long pants and knicjers suits seem to have the same style and jacket cut. We don't see any destinctive aspect of these four knicker suits, only that they were additional choices of colors and fabrics to the other knicker suits offered by Sears. The differences also occur in whether or not there is a vest (waistcoat) and an extra pair of pants.
The sizing chart for the knicker suits in the Sears Spring and Summer catalog (1930), correlating chest, waist, and inseam measurements to age. It appears on p. 287 right next to the text descriptions of the individual suits on p. 286.
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