Kedettes Shoe Ad, July 1938

Full page advertisement for Kedettes shoes for women and girls. McCall’s Magazine, July, 1938.

I paid $2.99 for a battered copy of McCall’s magazine, July, 1938 issue, and definitely got my money’s worth just from this full color Kedettes advertisement on the inside back cover.  “25 styles (6 for children) 22 color combinations. At the better stores — $1.65 to $2.50. Children’s lower.”

I’ll break the ad up into many smaller images with legible text size. In the background, there are black & white sketches of women boating, holding a tennis racquet, and walking a dog.

Top of Page, Kedettes shoe ad, McCall’s, July, 1938.

Bottom of page, Kedettes shoe ad, McCall’s, July, 1938.

The first thing that caught my eye was the floral print open-toed shoe in the center, but then I became fascinated by the colorful striped soles on five of the shoes:  so much more fun than many shoes I see today! Starting at top left of the page:

“Girls’ Kedettes moccasin oxfords — they’re just like mother’s and the soles are striped like stick candy.” 1938 ad.

“Of course little girls adore their Kedettes moccasin oxfords — they’re just like mother’s and the soles are striped like stick candy. Made of whipcord twill and peachskin, they come all white; white with blue; and red, blue, or brown with white. They’re washable.”

The green shoes below are described as “subject to change” — they have removable flaps:

Kedettes Swiss oxfords with removable flaps. Ad, 1938

“Subject to change are Kedettes peachskin Swiss oxfords [above right].  Minus their removable flaps, they become trimly tailored bluchers and show off their perforated vamps. All white; white with blue, red, or green; and blue or brown with white. Thick, square-edged soles and wedge heels.”

Kedettes ghillies with a choice of college or wedge heels and candy striped soles. Ad, 1938.

This ghillie style was available in a wide range of colors and with a choice of heel heights: wedge (low) or college (this mid-heel). Several of the shoes pictured come in a range of color combinations and also with either low or mid-heels, which accounts for there being just eight illustrations for twenty-five styles. This ghillie was also available in white with blue or green trim; or brown, blue, or red with white trim, like the blue version pictured.

Near the top center of the ad was this simple white shoe:

All white, “comfortable, conservative, and charming” blucher oxford whipcord cloth shoe from Kedettes, 1938. Cuban heel only.

In the middle of the page was this eye-catching summer shoe:

Flowered, open-toe, oxford style washable cloth shoe with Cuban heel, from Kedettes ad, 1938.

“Flowers on the feet for astonishing color accent, thanks to Kedettes printed open-toe oxfords, designed to dramatize the demure and dainty summer costume. Made of a fine mercerized broadcloth that’s easy to wash, they come with white, blue, or red binding. Cuban heels.” What fun! and you could coordinate the binding to a solid colored red, white, or blue dress.

A dashing shoe available in two different heel heights was this oxford for “spectator sports.”

Perforated oxfords for spectator sports, made in a wide range of colors and with low or mid-heels. Kedettes ad, 1938.

Peachskin must have been a specific cloth used by Kedettes, since it appears often in shoes described as washable. “Perforations, stripes, and pipings join in triple accent on Kedettes peachskin oxfords for spectator sports. And being Kedettes, they wash beautifully. All white; white with blue or red; and blue or brown with white [like the illustration] in college and wedge heel models. White with green, wedge heels only.”

In other words, white with green had “wedge heels only” because it was this shoe, without the removable flap! (With the flap, it reminds me of a golf shoe, without spikes.)

These two shoes were shown at the lower left of the ad:

The blue and white shoe (right) is a “moccasin oxford” and the red and white shoe is called a “peasant tongue oxford.” Kedettes ad, 1938.

“Some wear them dark, some wear them light — Kedettes moccasin oxfords [above right] are summer favorites. All white; white with blue, green or red; and blue, brown or red with white in both college and wedge heel models. Green with white; brown with yellow; and red, white and blue — college heels only. Wedge heel models have candy striped soles. [At lower left:] Peachskin flaps, stitched to reflect candy striped soles, supply the big interest in Kedettes peasant tongue oxfords of whipcord twill…. Wedge heels. White with red or blue trim; blue with white trim. Washable.”

Kedettes shoes were made by the United States Rubber Company, as far back as 1916, according to The Vintage Traveler. (Lizzie, this post’s for you — I hope you find some of these for your collection!)

I wrote about a 1917  Keds ad — for a surprisingly modern looking flat with a bow on the toe — here.

You can see more vintage Kedettes ads at the Vintage Inn blog. Click here.

Shoe Prices 1938

Note:  These attractive Kedettes were very reasonably priced, and I suspect that, being cloth shoes, most of them were worn out by their owners. (I.e., they’re they kind of everyday fashions not likely to show up in museums.)  In 1936, several sources agreed that a young woman college graduate could expect to earn about $18 to $20 per week. The same 1938 McCall’s magazine that ran this Kedettes ad ran another, for Royal Baking Soda, that said, “You can’t afford baking failures when you’re raising a family on $25 a week.” (McCall’s, July 1938, page 54. )

Rivals to Kedettes

Summer sports shoes from the Sears catalog were even cheaper, and, in some cases, very similar — except that they were not described as washable, and styles and colors were far more limited:

Summer shoes from Sears catalog, Spring 1938, catalog p. 292.

The Sears descriptions for those shoes — half the price of Kedettes — usually say “crepe-like soles,” but this pair — very like Kedettes and priced comparably — have “crepe rubber soles and heel:”

Sears’ Convertible Oxford, very like Kedettes, but these only come in white, brown, and gray.

 

 

 

 

Waitress Uniforms, 1930s

Two waitress uniforms from the 1930s.

In the Depression-era movie of my imagination, the waitress is always Joan Blondell, cynical, wise-cracking, but good-hearted, slipping an extra piece of pie to a guy who’s down on his luck. Since all the 1930s movie waitresses I’ve seen were in black and white films, it’s exciting to find some period research in color.

Pic-Wic Frocks Uniform:  Green Dress with Detachable Apron

Uniform from Pic-Wic Frocks Direct.

This image on card stock was cut from a salesman’s (or saleswoman’s) catalog for showing Pic-Wic fashions to potential customers. It is undated, but the skirt length, style, and close-to-the head hairdos place it in the early thirties. In a black and white film, this green dress would photograph as gray. What a loss!

Pic-Wic logo: Pic-Wic Dainty U[niform]. The bottom should say “Pic-Wic Frocks Direct to the Home.”

There’s very little information about Pic-Wic online, except newspaper ads (“wanted women everywhere to sell Pic-Wic frocks direct to wearer“) and a 1930s sales receipt book on Etsy (sold) that says Pic-Wic was located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In this closer view (below), you can see how much detail went into this uniform, with its paneled apron, applied trim, pointed waist, pretty cuffs, and its little necktie tied with a bow. Oddly, the dress has pockets, but the detachable apron doesn’t. (Where would a waitress put her order pad and tips?) Perhaps this is a uniform for a manicurist, but I can also imagine it worn by the waitress in a tea-room.

Top of Pic-Wic uniform.

This view (below) of the dress without the apron shows more, expensive-to-manufacture, styling details in the bodice, which has points like a weskit. This much-nicer-than-it-needs-to-be work uniform wasn’t custom designed for a prestigious restaurant chain or hotel; Pic-Wic sold door-to-door to individuals and small businesses. A similar card showing nurses’ uniforms from Pic-Wic gives prices between $2.95 and $3.45 (less if you bought three at a time), including free shipping.

Pic-Wic dress without apron.

Perhaps Pic-Wic uniforms were just too well-designed to be profitable in the mass-produced clothing business. However, the vintage waitress outfit below is also graced with unexpected details.

Vintage 1930s Cranberry Red and White Dix-Make Waitress Uniform

Vintage 1930s waitress uniform. From a private collection.

I admit that I fell in love with this outfit the minute I saw it. It may look red on your screen, but it is the color of a ripe cranberry. Like the Pic-Wic uniform, this one has peaked cuffs on the sleeves, and styling details that go beyond the basic needs of a washable uniform. Although this apron is pretty basic, it is bordered all around with white rickrack, creating a delicate scalloped edge to match the collar and cuffs of the dress.

Dress details, white rickrack trim.

The rickrack on collar, cuffs, and pockets is inserted between two layers of fabric to create a subtly softened edge. The low pocket on the skirt of the dress gets a similar treatment.

Detail of dress front and pocket.

The center front closing on the bodice becomes a side front closing on the skirt, a detail that would add to manufacturing cost.  It does make room for the nice, big pocket. This uniform was heavily starched, presumably by a commercial laundry.

Dix-Make waitress uniform. The skirt is slightly flaired, but not pleated; it’s just wrinkled from storage.

The Dix-Make company is also hard to trace, but The Vintage Traveler says she found a Dix-Make advertisement in a Vogue magazine from 1925. The uniform she was trying to identify was white, and trimmed with white lace.

Dix-Make label from waitress uniform.

This cranberry red uniform is probably from later in the thirties than the green Pic-Wic uniform, because it is somewhat shorter — but still far below knee length. It has slightly puffed, set-in sleeves, but not the exaggerated puffed sleeves or the broader shoulders and snugly fitted waist of the later 1930s and 40s. So:  mid-1930s is an educated guess — corrections are welcome!

In a black and white movie, this deep cranberry red dress would definitely photograph as black. Try to keep that in mind the next time you watch a black and white movie; the past was much more colorful than we might think!