Figure 1.--Here we see a sports jacket outfit and a suit offered by Walter Field in 1952. These two-fabric sports jackets were popular in the late 1940s and early 50s. The pricing is rather curious. Why was the sports jacket outfir $0.03 cebts more.
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Figure 1.--Here we see a sports jacket outfit and a suit offered by Walter Field in 1952. These two-fabric sports jackets were popular in the late 1940s and early 50s. The pricing is rather curious. Why was the sports jacket outfir $0.03 cebts more. |
American advertisements and mail order and other catalogs offer a very useful time line on changing fashion trends. American mail order catalogs in 1952 featured jeans and other long pants for boys of various ages. Khaki slacks were a staple. Stores offered shirts in a variety of bold prints as well as standard white and blue colors. World War II style bomber jackets were very popular and saddle shoes seen as very stylish for boys. Suits were mostly single breasted and with long pants. Short pants suits might be worn by younger boys, often in the Eton style. A variety of "T"-shirts and shorts were available for summerwear.
Boys wore a variety of shirts during 1952. Boys wore short skeeves in the summer and long sleeves un the winter. We note solid colors and prints (tatersalls, and plaids), normally done in plain collars. Cotton "T"-shirts were especially popular for warm-weather summer wear and there were long-sleeved "T"-shirts for the Fall. Both were wirn to school by primary-age boys. . Stripes were popular for "T"-shirts. Colorful flannel shirts were popular for schoolwear.
World War II style bomber jackets were very popular.
American boys in the early 1950s were increasingly wearing single breasted suits. Black and navy blue suits were the conservitive choice which became a classic style. Grey was also a conservative choice, but much less common thin Britain. Brown was a color widely used fior boys' suits. Sports jackets had become very popular. A popular style for sports jackets were a two-fabric style. Most boys were wearig long pants suits, but boys under 10 years of age might stull wear short pants suits, especially boys from affluent families.
The Best & Co. catalog in 1952 offered "Best's Choice Dress-Up Clothes--Cool, Carefully Tailored. The suits here are all single breasted with blazer-type patch pockets. There is one Eton suit without lapels for younger boys, also with blazer-style patch pockets.
It was the 1950s when jeans made their real debut in American fashions. They were not considered fashionanle, but they were very popular. Jeans were worn by most elementary school boys. Teenagers also wore jeans, although many high schools did not permit them. Jeans were worn cowboy style with big cuffs as seen in the movies, so that had to be bought long. Corduroy was still a popular fabric, but not as popular as the 1930s when virtually every boy had a pair of corduriy knickers. Boys also wore a variety of slacks in a range of fabrics, often blended fabrics with rayon. Long pants were the predominate style, but some younger boys wore shorts. Many boys even at a young age wore long pants. Summer shorts were available in sizes up to 18 years, but mostly 6-12 years.
We see quite a range of footwear offered for boys. Most boys still wore leather schools extensively, especially to school. Saddle shoes were seen as very stylish for boys. We also note sandals, but they do not seem to have been very popular for boys.
Sears offered a range of childrens shoes. On facing pages there were both girls and boys styles. These were shoes for younger boys, sizes 12½ through 3. There were two categories. The heading "child stormwelting" was captioned, "between upper ??? sole seals out mud, dirt; helps hold shoes in ??? .. Made over small boys' lasts for ??? fit." Some of the shoes featured a double-thick tractor tread while others had plain rubber soles. The other heading was for "small boys' Biltwels". I believe that Biltwel was a Sears store brand. The caption read, "stamina-packed champions at a low, low Sears price .. made ove comfort-giving lasts .. sturdy leathers .. flexible soles."
The ad here again the father-son formula. The boys wear briefs with short legs whereas the father wears a long-leg model of knitted underwear. This is a style that was not as popular as briefs. Both father and son wear t-shirts. EZ is a company we have noted marketing underwear since the 1930s.
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