Tag Archives: WWII

The Latest Styles for Men & Young Men, Autumn & Winter 1942-43, Ferris Woolen Co. Chicago

This catalog of Men’s and Women’s Tailored Garments would have been published about 6 months after the US joined World War II in December 1941.  It is the sort of thing a store would keep on hand as a guide for ordering semi-custom made garments, even though with rationing on wool being rather severe, the trade in civilian garments would have been considerably curtailed.  Therefore, unlike pre-war catalogs of similar type, there are pages of officer uniforms and women’s work wear suits shown as options.  This type of catalog was usually used to order suits that were 90% mass manufactured, that were later finished to size on the cuffs of jackets and hems of trousers at the store where they were purchased after a fitting on the wearer.

Interestingly, the color images appear to all be printed using only 3 colors of ink: black, bright red and deep blue, which are cleverly used to create the browns, grays and dark blues of the woolen styles.  This makes for all the pops of color having a patriotic flavor, as well as ties in with the theme of “All American Styles!” which is featured in the catalog text and illustrations.  It also likely saved on ink, which would be viewed as both patriotic and practical.