Wards Long Stockings: Fall and Winter (United States, 1941)


Figure 1.-- Montgomery Wards was the other major mail order company in America. And 1941 Wards catalogs featured long stockings foeven more prominently that Sears. We notice a full page almost entirely devoted to long stockings in their Fall abd Winter catalog. This is the last full-page treatment for long stockings that we have found in the major mail order catalogs, alhough they we sill offered for a few more years to varying degrees in the various catalogs. Wards offered quite a few different types of long stockings in the 1941 page, including different guages and material. One interesting item offered by Wards was a tights like version of long stockings which opened at the back. This was something we have not seen before and at the most was not very common.

Montgomery Wards was the other major mail order company in America. And 1941 Wards catalogs featured long stockings foeven more prominently that Sears. We notice a full page almost entirely devoted to long stockings in the Fall and Winter catalog. This is the last full-page treatment for long stockings that we have found in the major mail order catalogs, alhough they we sill offered for a few more years to varying degrees in the different catalogs. Wards offered quite a few different types of long stockings in the 1941 page, including different guages and material. Mot of the different offerings ere done in brown/tan shades. A few were also available in white and in one instance black and gray. This is interesting because as late as the 190s, black was the dominant color. One interesting item offered by Wards was a tights like version of long stockings which opened at the back. This was something we have not seen before and at the most was not very common. Wards adverized them as, "No draft gaps between stockings, undies". They also advertized the use of latex to hold up the long stockings, the item was 'Lastex keeps them up'. The availability of latex was radically affected after Pearl Harbor (December 1941) when the Japanese seized Malaya and Boreo,the promry source of natural rubber. This became a major problem the Allies had to solve. American industry launched a massive synthetic rubber program, but througout the War rubber consumption had to be dramaiclly retriced in the civilian economy. Rubber rationing was even more severe than gasoline rationing.







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Created: 8:56 PM 3/21/2014
Last updated: 4:41 AM 3/23/2014