Better Living Through Mail Order: 1969 Fall/Winter Sears Catalog
Click on any image to see the full-size version. Or you can go back to the catalog home.
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- Those cats at Sears, Roebuck and Co. are tricky. To look at the cover to their 1969 Fall/Winter catalog, you’d think they were simply going to ignore the prevalent fashion trends that helped make the late ’60s so icky. You’d be wrong.
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- Alright everyone, take a knee. Look, I know it’s been a pretty hairy last few years, but if we all buckle down and just pretend like all that psychedelic crap never happened, we’ll end the decade on a sane note. Ready? Break!
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- That goes for you too, mac. I like the colors. Nice and brown. But can the scarf, I don’t like it one bit.
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- Those are the stiffest-looking shirts I’ve ever laid eyes on.
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- Hey! Hey! I don’t recall approving this at all. C’mon everyone, it’s almost the ’70s, let’s tone it down OK?
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- Ah, now this I like! Neil Sedaka, eat your cardigan-covered heart out!
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- Well I don’t care for the blue but HOLY CRAP – look at the meathooks on that kid!
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- Ah forget it. Hold on to your rods and cones, kids, because here we go! And how about a little heads up, Sears? I almost burned my retinas.
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- At some point, someone in a Sears purchasing meeting brought up the idea of tunic-over-pants hostess sets, and a bunch of heads nodded in silent admiration. Those were dark days, my friends.
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- Enjoy these stylish selections from the Bored Stewardess Collection. Oh, you want another blanket mister? Yeah well I want to make it through one flight without getting my ass grabbed by some drunk middle manager. Life’s full of disappointments.
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- As typefaces go, that one looks sufficiently wooly I suppose. Less clear is why they included a second period. It’s not enough for a proper ellipsis and the element of promise and mystery they were going for, nor is at as declaratory and confident as a simple “WOOL.” would be.
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- WARNING: Sears advises that the use of double-knit acetate may lead to temporary hearing loss and/or drowsiness. Do not operate heavy machinery while wearing these fetching dresses.
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- The ’69 catalog was all over this whole Neatnik concept. I saw the term used on no fewer than a dozen pages. Perhaps Sears finally figured out that selling clothes to slobs wasn’t good for business?
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- Can you see the ’70s coming? Because I sure can!
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- Ahhhh! Do not attempt to adjust the tint on your monitor. The greens you see are real. This is not a drill.
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- As vintage fashion trends went, women dressing like adjunct English professors was one of the stranger ones of the 1960s.
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- Blondes may have more fun, but they also show no mercy.
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- Well this is just perfectly creepy, isn’t it? These things are all over the junior girls nightmare, uh, nightwear pages.
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- I love the look of incredulity on the brunette’s face as she considers that pair of pink thunderpants.
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- In 1969 this was a clever image for a catalog page for stockings. Now it would be the banner image of some weird NSFW fetish website.
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- I’ve always said that the scarf makes the man. And looking at this page, I still believe it.
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- The poor bastard on the bottom hates that sweater so much he can barely hold back the tears.
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- Two observations here. One, yes, the pants are ghastly. But those sweaters would probably work today. Second, whoever inked those shadows did a lousy job. Look at the direction they go in for the two gents on the left, and then look at the shadow for the guy on the right.
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- So here’s an insight into how my brain works. When I saw these pajamas, my first thought was that I would never want to be killed wearing them because the cops who found my body would first have to suppress the urge to giggle. So undignified.
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- Bachelor #2 is looking at some women in a more interesting catalog. Good thing he’s got that snappy blazer on.
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- I’m going to start a Hank Williams tribute group, and I’m going to call my backing band the Ranch Tones.
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- While little Jack’s big brother Tommy was growing his hair long and protesting the Vietnam War, he was stuck looking like he just filmed a cute musical number on The Andy Williams Show.
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- Oh dear. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dowdy six-year-old before. I’m sure these girls are thrilled to be modeling housecoats from the Lil’ Miss Frumpy collection.
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- I really try to resist the temptation to judge stuff like this. But seriously, who thought that strapping a platform to the back seat of a moving car was a good idea?
