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Thursday, May 28, 2020

Thank You Sears



As Sears circles the drain and a comeback is becoming less likely, I want to state again how much the Sears Winter, Summer Catalog and Holiday Wish Book meant to this country kid. It arrived and I would study every page of the women's, petite and shoe section. Lingerie mysteries were unveiled and there was always an outfit I wanted to wear; dreamed about owning. 

Lantor's! South Boston VA
Since 1906, 3 generations of Lantor’s
have worked hard as a first class retailer
 of fine ladies clothing.
My little home town had a main street with two stores the exclusively catered to the town's women shoppers. Going in and browsing was out of the question, so the Sears catalog was my best proxy. 

I learned how lingerie was sized, how heel heights were measured / looked and about coordinating colors. I would play a game where as I scanned every page, pick one item then go the next page; repeat.  Hours of entertainment ensued.  
  
A memory of days gone - Thank you Sears for being a part of my tender years and providing a visual fashion outlet where none existed.





The 1956 fall/winter Sears catalog showing women's clothing. 

History.com - When the Sears Catalog Sold Everything from Houses to Hubcaps.
The catalog was the Amazon.com of its time—packaged in hundreds of pages.










5 comments:

  1. I mourned the loss of the Montgomery Wards catalog and now the Sears catalog is nothing but a memory

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  2. I shared your memories of the Sears Catalogs and I liked the Penny's catalogs also. As a kid, even being in the Sears or Penny's store near their woman's sections was cause for a pleasant reverie.

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  3. In our home, the Sears catalog came infrequently, AND given the fact the house was so small I had to watch my own back while maintaining TWO marked places in the catalog-- usually BICYCLES or TOOLS as a cover while secretly viewing the ladies clothing/undies section.
    Velma

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  4. I too share your experience with all the catalogs our Mom received when I was young. When I started getting serious at being Marie the Penny's Catalog was a godsent. For a while I did most of my shopping in person at Macy's but like many others I frequently shop on line now from Macy's and DSW. The sizing is better on line. I also have an account with Amazon, but the quality can be disappointing.

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  5. For me it was the JC Penney catalog! My Mother was not into Sears for some reason? Any way I think either she didn't want me to see the womens section because boys don't look at women in their underwear or maybe some how she picked up on my female behavior? when the catalog came in the mail she would take a big knife and slice the catalog in two! cutting the womens section out and hiding it in her bedroom! Cause I would find it on the night stand in the bedroom when I would sneak into her closet!

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