These colorful pages from old Sears catalogs will get you in the mood for spring

Remember when all your clothes were yellow and Vincent Price decorated your house?

1964 Sears Spring/Summer catalog cover / midcenturyliving

Sunshine and flowers are just around the corner. 

But we're looking forward to next season by looking back — way back. We flipped through some vintage Sears catalogs from 1958 and 1964 to find the brightest, mid-century-est pages in the book. Nothing takes you back quite like old shopping ads. 

As you will see, hats, lemon and Vincent Price were all the rage.

Ah, soak up the sun. The future was so bright, you had to wear shades. Well, he did, anyway.

Image: grayflannelsuit.net


Do you also get the sense these women were about to start snapping fingers and break into a dance routine?

Image: midcenturyliving


Hey, fellas. Playing ball, going sailing, cycling, horseback riding or to the beach? Get a Shirt™. All you need is a Button-Down™ Shirt™.

Image: grayflannelsuit.net


Something tells us none of these women were about to dive into the pool.

Image: midcenturyliving


The rise in humidity makes a mess of your hair. So just wear someone else's.

Image: midcenturyliving


Why doesn't anyone wear hats like this anymore?

Image: midcenturyliving


Are those hats above not enough hat for you? Try these big hats.

Image: midcenturyliving


Rainy day and gray skies? Stay inside and look up at your groovy drop-ceiling tiles.

Image: midcenturyliving


And brighten up your view outside with some Revolutionary War patterned curtains.

Image: midcenturyliving


No window? Gaze into another world — and the soul of Vincent Price — with this exclusive art collection.

Image: midcenturyliving


Floral patterns will make you want to twirl.

Image: grayflannelsuit.net


All yellow everything.

Image: midcenturyliving


The idyllic backyard. We wish more retail outlets employed painters.

Image: midcenturyliving

Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
Close

50 Comments

AndreaZ 23 months ago
My best friend growing up had that red fence around his house. I'm not sure when they put it up (probably early 70s), but I remember his dad having to fix it up all the time. Not the sturdiest thing. Finally came down for good in the late 80s
Rob AndreaZ 23 months ago
My dad put a fence like that around our backyard in the early seventies.
Coldnorth 23 months ago
On The hat page, the lattice hat would have left the wearer with strange tan pattern if worn in the sun too long
MissTheOldDays Coldnorth 20 months ago
I thought the same thing.
Pacificsun 23 months ago
My mom had a really good sense of fashion, and later worked in Department Store. And never wore anything like these clothes. Of course we lived on the West Coast which was probably too far away from the NYC runways. But those color combinations required sunglasses.
sherry 23 months ago
I’d like to see more like this. Practically every spring I had a yellow shirtwaist deess to wear to high school. Would love to have one again.
CaptainDunsel 23 months ago
It is (or was) common practice for fashion models to remove all personal jewelry before a shoot. One year, this ingrained habit caused Sears a bit of a publicity nightmare when they published their annual catalog of maternity wear (remember the Sears specialty catalogs?) - with clearly pregnant models and not a wedding band in sight.
KJExpress CaptainDunsel 23 months ago
Oh, my! Lol. Back in the 70's one of my cousins told me that a sports celebrity (I may have the sports part wrong) was suing Sears because they posed in the underwear section and apparently were not pleased by the outcome. I looked in our Sears catalog and never could find anything out of place. I never saw any sports stars either. 🤷‍♀️
Pacificsun KJExpress 23 months ago
I'm not sure that makes any sense. Care to explain what they were implying.
KJExpress Pacificsun 23 months ago
I either didn't remember it correctly or my cousin got her facts wrong, but there was an incident in the Sears catalog. I can't cut and paste too well with my phone, so if you are still interested do an internet search of "Sears catalog page 602."
AndreaZ KJExpress 23 months ago
I just looked it up. Seems overblown and not really what people thought they were seeing. But I can totally see how it became a 70s urban legend....LOL
Lacey 23 months ago
I am sorry but I miss Sears.
KJExpress Lacey 23 months ago
Same here. That was where my mom bought all our clothes and I would still go to Sears for some things even up to when they closed.
bonnieeyde Lacey 23 months ago
Same...miss Sears!
Runeshaper 23 months ago
I didn't know that Vincent Price was an Art authority. I totally would've wanted a piece from his collection in my place (-:
Lantern Runeshaper 23 months ago
I think some of the Vincent Price-curated artwork have appeared on Antiques Roadshow over the years and are actually worth many times their purchase price.
CaptainDunsel Runeshaper 23 months ago
Also a connoisseur of fine cooking. I have a copy of the cookbook he coauthored with his wife, Mary.
Runeshaper Lantern 23 months ago
That's pretty cool!
Runeshaper CaptainDunsel 23 months ago
Oh wow! That's AWESOME!
Barry22 23 months ago
That "All-Yellow" ad reminds me of the opening credits of That Girl.
Andy 23 months ago
Andy Andy 23 months ago
Also on tonight's program:

Andy Andy 23 months ago
Part two:

KJExpress 23 months ago
I love looking at old advertisements and old TV commercials. Takes me back in time.👌
MissTheOldDays KJExpress 20 months ago
Me too. I watch old tv ads on YouTube from m the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. I love looking back.
MrsPhilHarris 23 months ago
Love these vintage catalogue stories!
Sway 23 months ago
Remember seeing those hats on ladies in church.
Vintage ads bring back memories.
MissTheOldDays 23 months ago
I loved looking at these ads. I’d wear a lot of the outfits I saw in the ads, today.
LoveMETV22 23 months ago
Rainy day and gray skies? Stay inside and look up at your groovy drop-ceiling tiles. Why not, at the same time I will admire the view outside with some Revolutionary War patterned curtains, set against some luxurious wood grain paneling. Who could ask for anything more.
Pacificsun LoveMETV22 23 months ago
So I enjoy those "owl overnight hours" of TV. Of that era, it seems like interior decorators accessed only one color, which was olive green. From carpets to chairs to drapes to refrigerators to paint. Did they never compare the "look" of sets from show to show? And why was the only available color, olive green?
WordsmithWorks 23 months ago
The artwork and layout screams 1960's Sears. Although a bit later, I can feel my Mom's hand in mine as she led me through the store shopping for Toughskins. Sears had some solid brand names (Craftsman, Kenmore, etc.). It's a shame then went belly up.
LoveMETV22 23 months ago
" Do you also get the sense these women were about to start snapping fingers and break into a dance routine?" I got that sense, but which dance routine I couldn't decide.
Insert your favorite dance routine (music video) here _________________________
texasluva LoveMETV22 23 months ago
I tried to put in the space you provided but failed miserably . So decided just to put one here.
.

Classic one by the Contours- Can You Do it.
LoveMETV22 texasluva 23 months ago
Thank You. I guess it would be interesting if one could ____ place answers within a post lol, but they would need to re-design their commenting system. I'm satisfied with it though.
justjeff 23 months ago
Many of those hats (amongst other fashions of yerteryear) are better left in the past... but I kind of miss high-waisted men's pants. They were more comfortable than wearing your belt at mid-stomach (or for some - below stomach) level, and the pockets were long and deep.

Sure, your legs looked longer and your torso looked shorter, but at least you looked kind of stylish. Add a pleat and a cuff and you were good to go!
Zip justjeff 23 months ago
Personally, I would rather look at any of those fashions than most of what passes for fashion today. Though some of the men's shirts above look like ones you could buy at Walmart right now.
Pacificsun justjeff 23 months ago
So not all the Sixties TV coms depicted men in casual ware on TV. I'm not sure why they needed to look so business-like. (Check out Perry Mason) except for Paul Drakes very distinguished sportscoats. Although my dad had very, very few casual shirts for weekends, and he usually wore slacks that were worn out from part of a suit. I know that people didn't have much of a budget in those days. But it's fun to see Beaver's dad in some nifty sportswear. He was of course a golfer, and he managed to wear old clothes if he was painting or fixing things. I liked that show because it was pretty close to decent reality. Although no one will ever forgive June for "vacuuming in pearls." She was actually a former fashion model who never lost her figure, or her under stated elegance.

[ Seems off-topic but at least we're discussing fashions and trends! ]
Catman 23 months ago
I am geeking out over Sears selling original artwork by Picasso, Rembrandt, Pollock, and Goya.
What? No Van Gogh?
Sway Catman 23 months ago
Reminds me of the line in the Billy Joel song, Scene From an Italian Restaurant "They got an apartment with deep pile carpet and a couple of paintings from Sears"
LoveMETV22 23 months ago
I love these Vintage stories.
So in the first pic the woman had no concern staring at the sun?☀️☀️
The women with hats never met the pop band "Men Without Hats."
The Wigs: Quite the difference in price for human hair, $69.50 or 100% European Hair $119.95, Was European Hair not human?

KJExpress LoveMETV22 23 months ago
I was thinking the same thing about those wigs! What is "European hair" and why is it more expensive?! 👩‍🦱👱‍♀️👩‍🦰👩‍🦳
Pacificsun KJExpress 23 months ago
I could be what is called virgin hair, meaning no history of chemical processing. Or it could be coming from a source that you'd rather not know.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?