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This Wards page was headed, ""All wool Suits that Wear Well". Wards offered Knicker suits for boys in sizes from 9 to 18 years of age. Some American boys in the early 1920s often wore knickers until they graduated from high school, i.e., up to the age of 18, although some more liberally minded parents allowed boys to switch to long trousers at 16 or 17. There was some overlap. Notice that all the jackets pictured here have a degree of Norfolk styling. The illustration here offers useful information on the construction of knickers. Notice the bottom illustration that shows the way the trousers are doubly reinforced.
Although the word "consumerism" has a modern ring, it was personal concern for an early consumer movement, the "National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry," That inspired a young traveling salesman named Aaron Montgomery Ward to start the world's first general merchandise mail-order company in 1872. Aaron Montgomery Ward was born on February 17, 1844, in Chatham, New Jersey, to a family whose forebears had served as officers in the French and Indian Wars as well as in the American Revolution. Looking for something more compatible, Monty left home and followed the river to Lake Michigan and the town of St. Joseph, county seat and market for outlying fruit orchards. Chicago was the center of the wholesale dry goods trade and in the 1860s Ward joined the leading dry goods house, Field Palmer & Leiter. As a retailer, Potter Palmer had previously built a reputation for fair dealing. Ward absorbed these principles while working as a clerk for $5. The Chicago City Directories for 1868 through 1870 listed Ward as a salesman for Wills, Greg & Co. and later for Stetthauers & Wineman, both dry goods houses. In 1870, after canvassing territory in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Ward was again footloose. The plan shaping in Ward's mind was to buy goods at low cost for cash. By eliminating intermediaries, with their markups and commissions, and cutting selling costs to the bone, he could offer goods to people, however remote, at appealing prices - for cash. Since its founding in 1872, the company has literally "grown up with America" and has had a major impact on the shopping habits of a nation of consumers. Montgomery Ward & Co. discontinued its catalog operations in 1985 as part of its restructuring effort to change itself into a modern, competitive chain of value-driven specialty stores, a move which for a time saved the company. week.
am not sure how knickers evolved. One might think that they were a natutral evolution from 19th Century knee breeches, but boys mostly wore long pants with skeleton and sailor suiys and other outfits during the first half of the 19th Century. I'm not sure precisely when boys began wearing knickers, but the appear at the mid-19th Century, especially during the 1860s. They appear to have been wore in both the above and below the knee style, but the below the knee style was the most common. Knickers do not at first appear to have been specialized children's wear. They seemed at first to have been more worn as a kind of sporting or outdoor wear. They were often associated with Norfolk jackets. The term Knickerbockers originated with the Dutch settlers who first populated the New York area in the 1600's. It became better known as the style of pants that the Dutch settlers wore. The pants were rolled by the knee and became associated as "Knickerbockers" or more commonly in America as "Knickers". The figure of the Dutch settler became symbolized by the figure of "Father Knickerbocker" in full Dutch outfit of cotton wig, three cornered hat, buckled shoes, and knickers.
Wards offered Knicker suits for boys in sizes from 9 to 18 years of age. Some American boys in the early 1920s often wore knickers until they graduated from high school, i.e., up to the age of 18, although some more liberally minded parents allowed boys to switch to long trousers at 16 or 17. There was some overlap.
Notice that all the jackets pictured here have a degree of Norfolk styling. The suits were actually styled very similarly, but we notice differences with the pockets.
The Wards ad copy read provides useful infomation about material, sizes, and construction details. There were three differet suits offerred.
These suits were, "All wool brown or olive cassimere Or navy blue serge". Wards stressed the fact that
there were "Double Seat, Double Knee, Double Elbow". This suit has a self belt and knickers that fasten just above the knee so that the blousing comes exactly to the knee cap. See the illustration. The ad copy read, "$8.95. 50th Jubilee Special. All wool Brown or Olive Cassimere Or Navy
Blue Serge. Sizes: 9 to 18 years.
Mothers who want to dress their boys in the best of style and at the
same time secure suits which will stand the wear and tear of after
school football and baseball, will appreciate the value of these All
wool Suits. Winter weight cassimeres in either dark brown or closely
woven All Virgin Wool blue serge. The illustration above shows the
style details. Ivory buttons. Full lined throughout. Gibralter serge
lined coats. These suits have double elbows, knees and seats which
insures longer wear, less mending and a money saving. The illustration
below shows inside of knickers. State size wanted. 39 C 3363--Brown
Stripe. 39 C 3369--Olive stripe. 39 C 3219--Navy Blue Serge. Price
$8.95. Postage, each 10 cents extra." Wards provides here an inside view of the knickers which helps us understand how the pants were constructed.
This Wards knicker suit had slghtly different pockets than the Jubilee style. The Wards ad copy read, "All Wool Brown or Dark Olive Stripe. $11.45. Sizes 9 to 18 years.
Notice the style details, both front and back, of this All Wool, belted
cassimere Suit. It is a manly style for a manly boy, designed and
tailored according to our exact specifications. A big value both in
workmanship and material. We wish to emphasize the superior quality of
these fabrics. Their durability will be a continued pleasure to you.
Coat lined with Gibralter serge. Knickerbockers full lined and
excellently reinforced at every strain point. State size wanted. 39 C
3345--Striped Brown. 39 C 3349--Striped Olive. Price $11.45. Postage,
each, 10 cents extra."
Again the major difference with the other Wards knicker suits was the pockets. The Wards ad copy read, "All Wool Cassimere Brown Stripe $13.50. Sizes 10 to 18 years.
Ask your boy what he thinks of this Suit. Snappy model with four fancy
patch pockets and "nobby" back. The suit is as good as it looks, too.
Full Gibralter serge lined coat with inside breast pocket. Knickers
are full lined and have four pockets. Double sewed, taped and serged
seat, crotch and inseam. The pattern is exceptionally neat in a shade
of dark brown with indistinct dark stripes having very faint silk
decorations. Your boy may not appreciate the good workmanship, but he
will recognise and appreciate the individual style. State size wanted.
39 C 3373--Dark Brown. Price, %13.50. Postage, 10 cents extra."
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