Figure 1.-- Ladybird is still going and sell through Woolworth's as shownnin this 2003 advertisemet.

The Ladybird clothing for younger children was available in a wide range of clothing stores. There were shops that specialised in this company's outfits for boys and girls. I do not know if this range of clothing is still available. Freemans appears to be promoting the Ladybird brand. All their clothes had a label with a picture of ladybug on it. I'm wasn't sure at first why they weren't called Ladybug. [HBC note: It turns out that ladybugs are called ladybirds in Britain] I'm sure Woolworths stocked their clothes as well as other stores and mail order catologues like Freemans here. They were at the cheaper end of the market, I think. A reader writes, "I recall having ladybird pyjamas and underwear." For a while they produced a free comic book for children. The Ladybird comic came as a supplement to the Ladybird catologue - kids would think it "cool" (they hoped) to wear clothes like those in the comic. And guess what? - those very clothes were included in the new ladybird catalogue which you could pick up in stores. The stories always featured children having various adventures--and of course showed them dressed in ladybird clothing. One story I remember featured a group of children being swept out to sea on a raft they'd made but as one of the boys was wearing a brightly coloured Ladybird vest they were able to hoist it up the mast and so get spotted by a passing liner!. I wonder if anyone still has any of these comics? Tthey were well-produced with quite realistic illustrations. There were a famous series of children's books called Ladybird Books--always with text on one page and illustrations on the other. These were very well illustrated. There were geared to very young readers with titles like "Going to School" and "Cubs" as well as a host of others. Their books were used as graded reading courses by some schools. I'm not sure if these were linked to the clothing manufacturer or not - I don't think they were.

Availability

The Ladybird clothing for younger children was available in a wide range of clothing stores. There were shops that specialised in this company's outfits for boys and girls. I do not know if this range of clothing is still available. Freemans appears to be promoting the Ladybird brand. I'm sure Woolworths stocked their clothes as well as other stores and mail order catologues like Freemans here. See a 1974 Freeman's ad for a sample of Ladybird adverising. They were not only availavle in catalogs, but stores, ranging from small shops to chainstores. Later on Ladybird were able to compete by importing clothes from abroad which were cheaper to manufacture while BHS always used to boast that their clothes were “British Made”.Now even BHS clothes are manufactured abroad – the British schoolwear industry being again left to the likes of “Trutex”, Ladybird is still going and sell through Woolworth's as the 2003 advertisement here shows (figure 1). A reader writes, "The thing with catalogues and buying from Woolworths (which is not a specialised clothing store but sells all sorts of goods) is that you can't try the clothes on like you can in the big stores and I know many mums were dissapointed that the clothes they ordered from catalogues or picked up off the racks in Woolwoths did not look as good on their boys as on the models illustrated. Others weren't so bothered as the cheapness of the clothes were more important."

Icon

All their clothes had a label with a picture of ladybug on it. I'm wasn't sure at first why they weren't called Ladybug. [HBC note: It turns out that ladybugs are called ladybirds in Britain.] As a British reader tells us, "As a kid I'd been told that you could tell the age of a ladybird by counting it's spots and remember asking my mum why the picture on the label of my pyjamas was the same as that on my little brother's, I thought my Ladybird picture should have more spots as I was older, I was always an awkward kid."

Clothing Line

Ladybird were at the cheaper end of the market, I think. They offered a wide range of items, incliding shirts, trousers, undewear, and pajamas. I think they only did children's clothes, but am not sure about that.

Reader Comments

A reader writes, "I recall having ladybird pyjamas and underwear." For a while they produced a free comic book for children. The Ladybird comic came as a supplement to the Ladybird catologue - kids would think it "cool" (they hoped) to wear clothes like those in the comic. And guess what? - those very clothes were included in the new ladybird catalogue which you could pick up in stores. The stories always featured children having various adventures--and of course showed them dressed in ladybird clothing. One story I remember featured a group of children being swept out to sea on a raft they'd made but as one of the boys was wearing a brightly coloured Ladybird vest they were able to hoist it up the mast and so get spotted by a passing liner!. I wonder if anyone still has any of these comics? Tthey were well-produced with quite realistic illustrations. There were a famous series of children's books called Ladybird Books--always with text on one page and illustrations on the other. These were very well illustrated. There were geared to very young readers with titles like "Going to School" and "Cubs" as well as a host of others. Their books were used as graded reading courses by some schools. I'm not sure if these were linked to the clothing manufacturer or not - I don't think they were."

Another reader writes, "I told you that when I was very young I remember having Ladybird brand underwear and pyjamas. I remember the labels which had a picture of a Ladybird on them, ..As far as I can remember Ladybird only used to sell casual clothing like socks, underwear, pyjamas and t-shirts at that time and sold them through various outlets – for instance the woolshop ran by the sisters I mentioned sold them." HNC readers may want to read more about Bill's observaions from the late 1960s and early 70s.

Marketing Trends

Chainstores by the 1970s were taking up this market and Ladybird diversified into more “fashionable” clothes like those shown here and did deals with both catalogues,like Freemans,and sold their clothing in Woolworths stores - which had more local branches than the big clothing stores like BHS. One British reader tells us that clothes began to becoe much more important toBritish boys in the early 1970s than was the case in the 1960s and earlier years. The trends were being set by the major retailers and the more expensive brands like “Trutex” with catalogues and smaller stores catching on to the trends a couple of years later. For instance in the “Trutex” advert they were setting the new trend for round collared shirts which Ladybird has taken up (and exaggerated!). Ladybird also used to cater for younger boys whose mums wanted them to be fashionable but at a smart price. As the chainstores moved in on this market too Ladybird diversified again and got in on the lucrative schoolwear market. A British reader writes, " Like I say around my way most went for the “middle way” - neither the ultra-fashionable and expensive “Trutex” - type brands nor the “cheap and cheerful” catalogue/Woolworth brands (which could look “dated”) but the main high street store own labels like BHS."

Books

The best known series was the Ladybug books, comparable to the Little Golden Book series in America. In England from the 1950s onwards a series of children’s books appeared in the bookshops. The series was published under the title of Ladybird Books. They were written for boys and girls. They were slim books and easy to carry because they could fit in the blazer pockets. The books were well produced. They had about 50 pages. The text was uncomplicated but well written and factual. The printing was on good quality paper. All the books had full page, attractive colour illustrations on every other page. They were widely available and could be bought in almost every type of shop. The books were good value for money because they were inexpensive.

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Created: February 27, 2004
Last updated: February 27, 2004