Figure 1.--This page from the Quelle 1960 fall and winter catalog shows a range of both tights and long stockings for boys and girls. They are presented as cold-weather clothing, not as dressy wear which was once the case. The ad also stresses their use in winter sports. This is a realtivly rare ad in that tights rapidly replace long stockings and the twp appeared together in ads for only a few years in the late 1950s and early 60s. |
One Quelle catalog page, presumably from a fall/winter catalog, offered a varierty of both tights and long stockings for boys and girls. They are presented as cold-weather clothing, not as dressy wear which was once the case. The ad also stresses their use in winter sports. This is a realtivly rare ad in that tights rapidly replace long stockings and the twp appeared together in ads for only a few years in the late 1950s and early 60s.
The German mail order house Quelle Versandhaus was established in 1927. Quelle, is a German mail order company located in in Fuerth, Bavaria (where Henry
Kissinger was born). I don't aware if Quelle was involved in export sales before World War II (1939-45). My guess it thar Quelle in the 1930s was primarily
focused on the domestic market. This changed after the War and a considerable interest was palced on export maketing as well as foreign sourcing. A HBC reader
reports that Quelle continues to be a very important mail order company. It also operates in France. A French reader reports that, "the articles sold in Germany are
practically the same found in France. One of the older manufacturer is located in Orléan, France". There apparently were several different editions of theQuelle
catalog. A French reader, for example, tells us that the catalog for French Guiana (also used in Guadeloupe and Martinique) didn'y have winter articles. Quelle still
exsits and is quite an important one. Quelle in 1995 opened what they claimed was the world's most modern mail order house in Leipzig. Quelle incorporated as
Quelle AG in 1997. Karstadt and Quelle merged in 1999 to form KarstadtQuelle AG.
This page looks to be from the Quelle fall and winter catalog. The page shows that both long stockings and tights were seen as cold weather garments. The implication here is that they are warm for warmth in outdoor activities. Formerly tights and long stockings were also worn as part of dressy outfits, but this was much less true in 1960, at least for boys.
Quite a ange of garments are shown on this page. They are, however, given very little coverage and this is one of the last Quelle catalogs in which they appeared. Theare obly available in green and two tan shades. The long stockings are showed in a ribbed weave.
This Quelle page is primarily devoted to tights--a new garment appearing in the late 1950s which was rapidly replacing long stockings. I believe this was because they were much more convenient. Unlike long stockings they did not keep falling down and required no awkward supporter which boys in partticular disliked. They are show here under the heading "Sequem für den Sport"--emphasizing their utility in outdoor sports. All of the tights shown here are flat weave. They are offered in a wide range of colors. The two children modeling the tights show that they were worn by both boys and girls. Note that the boy wears blue tights, as gender color coventions soon developed.
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