What American men, women and children wore in the 1940s, shown in 122 fully illustrated and captioned pages selected from rare copies of Sears catalogs, reproduced in large format on high-quality glossy stock. Hundreds of detailed drawings depict hats, overcoats and shoes, suits and dresses, sportswear, undergarments, corsetry, neckties, rainwear and personal accessories. JoAnne Olian is a curator of the costume collection at the Museum of the City of New York.

Entertaining pictorial record displays elegant dresses for special occasions, everyday wear, and two-piece suits for women; charming hats trimmed with ribbon and feathers, attractive sailor suits for little boys and more. Invaluable to collectors, designers and fashion historians. Descriptive captions.

Comprehensive view of what middle-class Americans were wearing in the fifties. One hundred twenty pages of illustrations, accompanied by descriptive captions, depict one-piece strapless bathing suits and dresses with plunging necklines for women; business suits with wide lapels--and equally wide ties--for men; bluejeans, plaid shirts, and full, knee-length swing skirts for girls; fringed cowboy suits for youngsters of both genders; and much more. Over 300 black-and-white illustrations.