Figure 1.-- |
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American mail order catalogs offer a very useful time line on changing fashion trends. American mail order catalogs in 1946 featured many of the styles of the 1940s. Knickers were still worn, but now given only limited room in the catalogs whch now offered mostly long or short pants. Long pants were becoming increasingly common. Younger boys still wire short pants, especially in the summer. Long stockings and waists or stocking sduporters were still avialable, but the ads are much less prevalent than the early 1940s during the War.
Kneesocks were declining in popularity. Boys increasingly wore ankle socks, both with short and long pants. Some boys still wore long stockings, but this was becoming increasingly less common.
A few long stocking ads appeared in the 1946 catalogs but only girls are shown wearing them, and the choices are significantly reduced, which must mean that children's long stockings had stopped selling well. In the Fall and Winter 1946 catalog, we find an advertisement for garter waists with both girl and boy models (p. 801)--a less than prominent ad, by the way-- but after this, no boys are shown wearing garter waists and these garments are no longer being
given much advertising prominence for either boys or girls. I think the
conclusion is fairly clear. Both boys and girls in fairly large numbers in
America wore long stockings during the period from 1943 to 1945, and in fact
boy models are quite prominent during this brief period (during the war).
But after 1945 the style was mostly for girls only.
The last time stocking supporters were worn to any extent was the 1940s, although they did not disappear until the early 1950s. They were still prominently advertised in the 1940s. The last waist or stocking supporter offered by Sears was in the 1946 catlog, although we believed that Ward continued to offer them for several more years.
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