1954 Spiegel's Atomic fashions and more,..

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Found this nifty catalog at the local antiques place. A treasure trove of Atomic Era fashion and more.

[/IMG] Apparently The Bold Look was in full swing.

[/IMG] Your dad's pants,....

[/IMG] Some great deals on horse hide leathers.

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This guy reminds me of James Dean.

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And of course they sold hats. The Adam sold for the princely sum of $7.50.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I wish these were the options in today's catalogs.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

1954 Spiegel's catalog images,..continued.

Some ladies' fashions.

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Note the Wasp-Waist look. Some of these gals couldn't have had over a 22" waist! And we think modern fashion models are too thin.

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[Maj.Nick Danger]

Of course they had EVERYTHING.

The coolest toys by Marx and pedal cars from Murray.

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[/IMG] "Rollfast" bikes, with Rocket-Ray Headlights!

[/IMG] The very latest in electronics. TVs were quite pricey.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Even mail order livestock for the farm.

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And last but certainly not least, glow in the dark footwear.

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[Maj.Nick Danger]

I wish these were the options in today's catalogs.

You and me both. The leather jackets are probably the same ones we sometimes see on ebay for 10 times the price.
One thing I noticed is that the marketing is really essentially the same as today's. The entire catalog is geared toward women as the main consumers. All of the men's fashions are depicted with illustrations, whereas most of the women's fashions are depicted with photographs, with a fair amount of them in full color. I think it was more expensive to print color photos back then, as opposed to hand drawn illustrations?
Here's a few more for the ladies,...

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[Atomic Age]

When I started researching my movie, which takes place in 1954, the first thing I did was go to ebay, and buy a 1954 Sears catalog. Amazing the things you can find out about how people lived from a catalog.

Doug

 

[flat-top]

The saddle stitched slacks in the first pic are killer. And I NEED some "nite-glo welt" shoes!

 

[AtomicEraTom]

The marketing certainly hasn't changed much. It seems that when you figure cost of living, things are cheaper now.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

The marketing certainly hasn't changed much. It seems that when you figure cost of living, things are cheaper now.

In some regards yes. It seems that some appliances and especially televisions were much more expensive comparatively.
Clothing was a fairly good deal I think compared to a lot of what we get today, if you weigh the quality and style against modern stuff.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

And I NEED some "nite-glo welt" shoes!

We ALL do! No idea why they didn't catch on,....

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I think the glow in the dark footwear would be great, I'm always smacking my clod-hoppers on something, stumbling through the house at night!

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I think the glow in the dark footwear would be great, I'm always smacking my clod-hoppers on something, stumbling through the house at night!

Then you are truly Atomic Era, Tom.

And speaking of shoes,....

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[AtomicEraTom]

Knowing the tech back in the Atomic Era, they probably gave the wearers cancer.

Then you are truly Atomic Era, Tom.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

And,...

More leathers. Indiana Jones shopped at Spiegel's? [huh]

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A lot of guys depicted smoking a pipe too. About 20% or so of the illustrations of men show them with their pipes.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Knowing the tech back in the Atomic Era, they probably gave the wearers cancer.

Right, they were probably made with RADIUM! :eeek:

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

One more for the road,..

For all the shade tree mechanics with an old jalopy in the back yard. Why not breathe new life into that old clunker with a rebuilt motor or transmission?

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[Atomic Age]

Right, they were probably made with RADIUM! :eeek:

Which is perfectly safe as long as you don't ingest it.

Doug

 

[AtomicEraTom]

110 bucks for a Ford Flathead 8? Wish I could get that deal now!