Just Woke up Like This

Just waking up from a long winter's slumber, looking luxurious and radiating glamour.

An ad from a 1921 issue of The Haberdasher.

More Stories from "The Haberdasher"

A couple more entertaining tales from a 1922 issue of The Haberdasher.

The Fashion Police

Harold, the self-appointed fashion policeman, wants to know where you got that outfit! 

Tie Breaker

Ooh! I wonder what the outcome of this little correspondence in a 1922 issue of The Haberdasher was? 

Assurance

Yep. This gentleman has on his confidance-boosting Globe Trowserseat Union Suit, and is ready to have a serious talk with your manager, and your manager's manager, if need be. 

Gid'up!

This is just too cute! Papa the noble steed, is being a very good sport, letting the little equestrians hold on to his mane for support. This ad was printed in a 1921 issue of The Underwear & Hosiery Review.

Tie Trouble

Another marvelous cartoon by Art Helfant, published in a 1921 issue of The Haberdasher.

Just Peachy!

An International Tailoring co. ad from a 1921 issue of The Haberdasher. This one speaks for itself. 

The Razor of Youth

According to this ad from a 1922 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, shaving with the Valet Auto-stop Razor is the key to keeping young. "Leading dermatologists now tell us three men in four, past 35, look years older than they are because of improper methods of shaving," they say, and go on to declare "For youth, a keen blade." I can honestly say, I've never seen this precise angle taken with a men's razor ad before, and the illustrations drive the message home, sketching out a dire warning to the reader: "Don't use the Valet Auto-stop Razor? Then, say hello to crow's feet, bags under your eyes, and a double chin." It is very dramatic.

The "Gartlet"

Lord and Taylor advertised these combined garter and hose in a 1909 issue of The Clothier and Furnisher. I wonder if, when the ad was printed, the inventors of the "Gartlet" had any inkling that one day, little elastic bands attached to the tops of socks, would virtually wipe out the garter business.

A Friendly Cardi

Hats are not the only articled of apparel that you can befriend. According to this 1922 ad from The Saturday Evening Post, Tom Wye knit jackets make great pals! They are practical, stylish, and always up for an outdoor adventure. 

Portlandia

Is there anything more Portland than an artisanal confectioner's-smoking lounge fusion, where you can get a shave, and try on the latest thing in hats? 

The Men of Men's Wear

Below are a collection of headers and titles from 1910 issues of Men's Wear. They are all very carefully illustrated, but at first glance, they might seem like a rather unusual choice for decorating the articles in a fashion trade journal. You see, despite the title of the publication, there is remarkably little men's wear to be seen in them. Perhaps they are the result of a bold attempt to make the magazine stand out from the rest, as undisputedly artsy. they might also be the sartorial community of 1910's equivalent to decorating the pages of a car magazine with assorted engine parts- a kind of decorative use of the figures that hold up and round out the men's wear. 

The title page is decorated with what appears to be Industry, gracefully waving a banner and balancing a globe. He is flanked by two glossy companions, who I'm guessing might be Trade and Agriculture. I keep chuckling, because the title for the semi monthly men's wear industry report is "THE SITUATION."

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The header for the "Selling Ideas" section is a little harder to interpret. Are these fit fellows thinking inside the box? Their boxes do appear to be decked with festive strands of floating ribbon. Are they gifted thinkers? 

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The Men's Wear market report header is decorated with a sheet clad horseman, riding into the fray of a fiercely competative market, perhaps. 

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Gravity defying ribbons make another appearance in the header for "Stock Taking in a Country Store." The illustrator appears to have been determined to squash his men into one of the most dramatic S curves I've seen in a while. Hogarth would have been proud! I'm pretty uncertain about the objects that the men are carrying. They appear to be mallets of some sort, but might also be a kind of a torch. 

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Last, but not least, is one of the least abstract headers in the group. It is made up of two picturesque painters in wind-swept drapery, and they seem right at home above a section of the publication dedicated to ads, signs, illustration and typography. 

Exchanging Hats

Here is another Art Helfant comic strip about the haberdashery business. This time it is from from The American Hatter in 1921. 

There's No Party Like an Amtex Party

In 1921, Amtex ran a series of full-page ads, that, in my opinion, really take the cake for bizarre 1920s underwear advertising. Each ad features a photograph, that by itself, borders on the inexplicable. However, when all the ads are viewed together, I begin to get the strong impression that they could be a record of one very wild and memorable slumber party, thrown by a very eccentric assortment of freinds and relations. 

Here is a tour of the slumber party: 

In the living room, Joe finds himself playing, what he fears are the dual roles of peace-maker and babysitter. No one batted an eye, when, after dinner, Sal produced his new fishing tackle and began to cast wildly about the room. However, when one wayward cast hooked Phil's slipper, and Sal, refusing to give up his prize, danced off merrily with it, Joe was recruited to get it back again. Caught between Sal's laughing taunts, and Phil's smug assertions that Joe would "show him!," Joe begins to wish that he had joined cousin Oswald, and his less vivacious freinds, in the library. 

Everyone is suddenly startled by a hoarse shriek and a crash coming from uncle Howard's room. Billy and AJ, who just completed a course in first aid, rush heroically to the rescue! They find uncle Howard standing on a chair, mopping his brow with a handkerchief, and pointing in mute horror at a small bureau. 

"What's the matter?" ask his would be rescuers. 

"It's behind the dresser!" comes the throbbing reply.

"What's behind the dresser?"

Uncle Howard mops his face again, and whispers "A spider!"

Billy and AJ compose their features, out of respect for uncle Howard, and set to work coaxing him down from his chair. He reluctantly descends, but will not be easy until the offending spider is extracted from behind the bureau, and removed from the premises! 

Cousin Oswald, and his bookish compatriots are quietly ignoring the wild shouts and sounds of scraping furniture that emanate from uncle Howard's quarters. They are comfortably settled in the library, with cigars and chocolates, for a dramatic reading of the newspaper. 

Meanwhile, at the other end of the house, Ted, Pete, and Wilbur (who everyone calls Stretch) have gotten into uncle Fred's weapon collection, and are up to no good, kicking up the carpet and stepping all over the sofa cushions. Pete tries to look stern, and warns Stretch not to horse around with sharp objects. It's mighty hard to take him seriously, though, when he can't stop giggling.   

Poor uncle Fred, oblivious to the chaos reigning in his study, has just convinced his brother-in-law to try out a new, invigorating, fitness routine that he learned about in a promotional pamphlet for a correspondence course. Like any dignified gentleman in possession of a rec room, he had originally wished to hold his impromptu mini course there. However after peering into that useful apartment, he suddenly changed his mind and relocated to the dining room. If we take a look in the rec room, the reason for his quick departure becomes apparent.

You see, Felix, Carol, and Thaddeus, have gathered there to learn one of Felix's picturesque baton dances that he, and several of his artistic freinds, have been hoping to perform, one day, when they feel that their choreography has reached perfection. Both Thaddeus and Carol are somewhat in awe of Felix, who knows several real photographers, and has had, what he claims is his likeness, in several art galleries. 

They don't tell Felix that they can't make sense of half of what he says. Felix doesn't tell them that he's been leading all of his artistic acquaintances to believe that he's from Sicily. There is an electric light in the room, but Felix says he dances better when he "can see the moonbeams," and Thaddeus and Carol have yet to achieve anything by arguing with Felix. 

A Hat Style Creed

In 1921, The American Hatter published "A Hat Style Creed," outlining five fundamental beliefs of the conscientious hatter. The creed was created in celebration of the fall hat style weeks, which ran from September 1st to 15th, 1921. 

Men deserve to have all the fun there is in hat wearing!     

The piece is attractively framed in a boarder of wild roses, and offers a message to hat sellers, and hat lovers everywhere, touching gently on themes of service, gender equality, aesthetic harmony, and embracing individual style. The instructions say to read the creed and then pass it on. To assist in reading the small text, I've re-typed A Hat Style Creed below the original. 

A Hat Style Creed

• We believe that hat wearing is more a matter of pleasure and pride than of strict necessity; that the hat is more an article of ornament than of protection; and that the men we sell to deserve to have all the fun there is in hat wearing. 
• We believe that a harmoniously hatted man can create a stir of admiration in the human mind as well as a cleverly millinered woman. 
• We believe that no man is well hatted unless his hat properly harmonizes with the shirt, collar, cravat, suit and shoes he is wearing at the time. 
• We believe that every gentleman should have enough hats always to be well-hatted, according to the above definition.
• We believe that it is the duty of the hat seller to assist and advise his patrons so that the hat is always the one most suitable to the face and costume under it. 

Jr. Shutterbug

What an adorable sock ad, from the pages of the June 1920 issue of The Underwear & Hosiery Review! It looks like this young fashion photographer has found a very stylishly turned out little model, to take pictures of. 

Adventures in Haberdashery

During the early 1920s, The Haberdasher ran a nifty little contest called "The Funniest Sight" where shopkeepers and sales clerks could share stories of their most amusing or bizarre experiences in the the haberdashery business. The top two or three entries would be printed and illustrated each month, and the winner received $5.00.

Below are two hilarious anecdotes from The Haberdasher's "Funniest Sight" contest of April 1922. Click the text to zoom.

Fashion Disaster

Behold, a tale of fortunes reversed, of trust betrayed, and the revelation of concealed truths! 

This priceless bit was printed in a 1921 issue of The Haberdasher

Merry's Windows

The Haberdasher and The Clothier and Furnisher would regularly run contests for the best window displays in the country, and I noticed, after scanning through several issues, that a certain window dresser from the midwest kept appearing in the winners' circle. He stood out, because while all the other winners usually had their hair slicked back, or to one side, the talented Mr. Merry, was always pictured with his locks piled into a wonderful pyramidal structure, daringly perched on the top of his head.

There he is, on the right, above some of the other winners of The Haberdasher's Display Championship. In 1921, he would win the championship for a second time. 

Here he is some years earlier, winning 2nd place in The Clothier and Furnisher's 1912 window dressing contest. 

And Here he is again, winning a Clothier and Furnisher competition in 1913, giving a little credit to his school. This bit was printed in Merchants Record and Show Window.

Below are some more examples of Mr. Merry's prize-winning work from The Haberdasher's 1920 Contest:

So, after seeing this shining star of window dressing pop up in periodical after periodical, you can imagine my excitement, when I saw the headline: "The King of Display Men Speaks!"In the following article, Mr. Merry sets down his guidelines for success: 

Working the Long-johns

Several articles I've found on window-dressing in 1920 and 1921 issues of The Haberdasher, included the opinion that long underwear were an inherently awkward article to display, model, or illustrate, since, as one contributor put it: they just aren't aesthetic. However, my reading also revealed a sort of consensus, that the addition of a dressing gown could increase the window-appeal of a union suit exponentially. 

The illustrator of the advertisement on the cover of The Underwear & Hosiery Review, below, seems to have taken that advice and flown with it, and the result is an explosion of plush luxury and fierce attitude.

I'm not sure who the illustrator is, but their work contains many similar elements to Rene Gruau's menswear illustrations from the mid to late 20th century. Perhaps this illustrator's work provided Gruau with a little inspiration?  Two of Gruau's pieces are below, for comparison. 

Story Time

I truly felt as if I'd stumbled across buried treasure, when I discovered an entire twelve-page picture book, printed in the July 1910 issue of Men's Wear. It is a beautifully illustrated allegorical tale about a rowing match between two different marketing approaches. The whole thing is a delightful treat from start to finish, so I've gone ahead, and posted the entire piece below. Enjoy!