Busy Bees

Glancing through old advertisements, I just never know what marvelous and colorful expressions I will stumble across next! Take, for example, this tidbit, tucked away in a rather busy looking ad in a 1910 issue of Men's Wear :

"Ha! Salesclerk at a haberdashery? Naw, I'm an at-home dealer. I give the honey and get the money. See?"  The full ad is below.

A Novel Approach

The international Tailoring Company comes a courting: 

This coquettish two page spread from a 1920 issue of The Clothier and Furnisher is really something else. The left-hand page looks like the cover a romance novel, and on the right, we have the opening page. They are willing, and if you are too, they say, "there's nothing to stop us from finding each other out," but will you take the first step and write? 

Well, if the menswear business is romance, then that explains this bold hat advertisement from a 1910 issue of The Clothier and Furnisher:

Your Best Asset

This ad copy is an absolute gem! It's so motivating! It just makes you want to get out there and tailor your way to success, "through the sheer attractiveness of good clothes!"

Full STEAM Ahead!

This Strauss & Bros. ad from a 1910 issue of The Clothier and Furnisher is everything and a bag of chips! It features a Muchaesque Progress, who reclines on a ship's wheel, a car, and a locomotive, while gracefully saluting the text: "High Art Overcoats for Men and Young Men." Meanwhile air-ships run rampant over an Italianate landscape, careening through a rose-decked archway that is precariously balanced on a flying globe. What a wonderfully bizarre celebration of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM)! 

Ready to Blossom?

You heard it here, folks. It's June; there are butterflies flitting through the fields, and the season is neigh for menswear customers everywhere to "blossom forth with the flowers!"

I love the bold deco look of this 1917 advertisement from The Clothier and Furnisher. I believe that the illustration is meant to be used as a detachable window card, since there is a cutting line below it. I wonder if it was featured in any shop displays when it was first published. It certainly is eye-catching.

Here is the backside of the page:

Young at Heart

Wise words from the Wolfer Press:

Ad from a 1912 issue of The Clothier and Furnisher.

Ads in Shining Armor

Here's a little collection of fairty-tail and mediaeval themed ads from the 1903 Clothier and Furnisher, reflecting the popularity of visual motifs from the "age of chivalry" around the turn of the 19th century.   

On the Clock

So many clock puns!
This ad is from a 1903 issue of The Clothier and Furnisher.

The Max Factor

When one artist or illustrator gets famous, we often start to see work that is clearly inspired by their unique style. If this ad below is not a Maxfield Parrish, then it's some serious Maxfield Parrish fan-art!

Selling Fashion with Fashion History

Every now and again, one stumbles across an editorial in a modern fashion magazine, which departs from the usual contemporary styles, and instead celebrates a moment in fashion history. Apparently this sort of thing has been going on for a while, as illustrated by these 1903 ads from The Clothier and Furnisher.

Who Wants Better Pants?

When it comes to learning about historical attitude towards menswear, The Clothier and Furnisher is a truly amazing resource. The publication was first issued in 1872 and catered to virtually everyone in the menswear wholesale/retail industry, from industry leaders and traveling salesmen to window-dressers. 

Ever-trendy, the periodical spanned the hay-days of Art Nouveau, and Art Deco, and enthusiastically embraced each style as it emerged. The add above ran in a 1903 issue, and is boldly graphic, yet swimming in Parishesque Art Nouveau glory.