Figure 1.--The photograph here shows a group of boys looking at the widow display of a department store, perhaps Macy's, decorated for Christmas in 1910 (figure 1). It seems a strange wndow for the boys to be looking at the window has baby and girl things in it. The smaller boys seem to wear knee pants whereas the older boys wear knickers. They all wear caps and hightop shoes. . |
Some American department stores were known for their window displays. This was especially true of their window displays. These window displays were popular when the department stores were located down town and were useful in attracting shoppers that were on foot. With the move to the suburbs and the development of shopping malls these displays are no longer as popular or as spectacular as they once were.
I can remember as a boy noteing the boys' fashions in store windows. It seemed to me at the time (late 1940s asnd early 50s) that the more upsacle stores would often show case short pants suits. Eton sduits for the younger boys and single breasted grey or black suits for the older boys. Other department stores were more likely to have long pants suits or casual clothes.
Some stores were particularly well known for their Christmas displays which would include animated maniquins, elaborate model trains, and many other wonderful toys. These displays would often recreate Christmas past and the historical clothing worn during those historical eras. Wordword and Lothrop on Washington used to have particularly wonderful Christmas windows. I can remember seeing them to his day as I was brought along on my mother's shopping expeditions during which I was alwayd rewarded with a toy soldier. (A real metal toy soldier, not one of the modern plastic junk. The Macey's department store in New York were particularly well known for their Christmas windows. This has continued into our modern day. During the 1999 Christmas season, Macy's Department store had their usual window display. This year, it depicted scenes from the movie, Miracle On 34th Street. There is a court scene in the
movie where, among other people, a little boy testifies about his beliefs in Santa Claus. He was all dressed up to appear in court wearing a marvelous short pants suit with knee socks, just the kind that a lot of 8 or 9-year-old boys wore back in that era. This window attempted to show that scene. Unfortunately, the short pants suit that the boy in the movie wore was much nicer, but this one looks like an actual period suit.
Some available images show children viewing store windows. This provides additional fashion information. The photograph here shows a group of boys looking at the widow display of a department store, perhaps Macy's, decorated for Christmas in 1910 (figure 1). It seems a strange wndow for the boys to be looking at the window has baby and girl things in it. The smaller boys seem to wear knee pants whereas the older boys wear knickers. They all wear caps and hightop shoes.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing catalog/magazine pages:
[Return to:Main store window page]
[Return to:Fashion magazines and store catalogs]
[Main photo/publishing page]
[Store catalogs]
[Store windows]
[Fashion magazines]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Cloth and textiles]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Topics]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Satellite sites]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Sailor suits]
[Sailor hats]
[Buster Brown suits]
[Eton suits]
[Rompers]
[Tunics]
[Smocks]
[Pinafores]