Figure 1.--These were the budget-priced long pants suits offered by Sears in 1941. They were done in both single and dounle-breasted suits for boys 4-10 years of age. Notice that Sears considers that double-breasted suits are especially dressy. |
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At this time we have one catalog ad for suits from the Boston edition of the Sears catalog. It is for younger boys age, age 4-10 years. Among the different suits are sports jackets, a leisure suit, and a sailor suit. Almost all the suits are long pants suits, there are, however two short pants suits which Sears calls Rugby suits. Notably there are no knickers suits at all. I'm not sure about the suits for older boys, but there were no knicker suits offered for the younger boys. Knicvkers had not yet disappered, but they clearly were disappearingfrom the American fashion scene. We note mostly standard single breasted styles, but a cinched waist was a lingering influence of the Norfolk jacket. The younger boys styles seem to be virtually idebntical to the suits older boys or even their fathers are wearing. We also have a Brooks Brothers back to school ad. The compny was a high end clothier that often emphasuzed traditional styling. They offered Eton suits and a Rugby-style jacket with short pants for younger boys.
These were the budget-priced long pants suits offered by Sears for 1941 in the Boston catalog edition. They were done in both single and dounle-breasted suits for boys 4-10 years of age. The colors were various shades of blue, brown, and grey. The materials were cheviot, diagonal weave, and herringbone. Sears seems to suggest that the double-breasted style was dressier than the single breasted style. The jackets were all done with cinched waists. The pants have a full, baggy cut and did not have cuffs. Unfortunately we do not have the Sears ad copy for these suits. The prices ranged from $2.79-$3.79.
These two suits were sporty outfits. The blue double-breasted suit had an extra pair of white pants, a popular Summer style. The oher suit was a leisure suit. The leisure suit is most assiciated with the 1970s, it is interesting to seen them in the 1940s. This is the first one I have seen. I'm not sure if they were offered erarlier. These suits were offered by Sears for 1941 in the Boston catalog edition. They were done for boys 4-10 years of age. The leisure suits were done in camel tan andcteal green. The jackets were both done with cinched waists. The pants have a full, baggy cut and have cuffs. The prices ranged from $3.29-$4.95.
Here we have two short pants suit and a short pants sailor suit. The fact that only two of the Sears suits offered in this catalog were short pants suits suggests to us that boys more commonly wore long pants suits. Thesecwerecalso suits offered offered by Sears for 1941 in the Boston catalog edition. both suits were single-breasted suits and available in blue and green. The sailor suit was a blue double breasted. The age range was a little different than the other Sears suits. The suits were done in sizes 4-9 years. The sailor suit was done in sizes 4-8. The jackets were all done with cinched waists. The shorts are not cuffed. The prices ranged from $1.98-$2.98. The suits are called Rugby suits, I believe because they are short pants suits. The coonection is that short pants are worn for Rugby.
Searsin a section marked "Our Finest" offered two double-breasted suits and a sports jacket and sklacks referred to as a sports suit. The two double-breasted jackets were cut similarly with wide lapels. These suits were all done in blue which is clearl the dominant color for boys. The long pants which look to have cuffs are full cut with a kind of baggy look. The suits were done in sizes 4-10 years.
We also have a Brooks Brothers back to school ad. The compny was a high end clothier that often emphasized traditional styling. The ad offered a variety of clothing for back to school. The ad primarily depicts the suit jackers, but the ad copy describes the shirts and pnts to be worn with the jackets. They offered Eton suits and a Rugby-style jacket with short pants for younger boys. The shorts were done to about 12 years of age. The ad shows thetargetted consumers. Younger boys did not commonly wear suits to school in 1941 unless they were from well-to-do families who often sent their children to private schools. Also short psnts suits were not commonly worn beyond age 10 years. Here the Sears catalogs were a better infdicator of populsr trends.
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