1954 Best and Co. children's catalog

This house... oh my word. So many fascinating vintage relics are hidden away in unexpected places. I opened my old toy chest and found a stash of things that have been fun to explore, including this catalog.

Best and Company sold clothing and accessories for children and teens. The catalog has so many wonderful examples of '50's styles it's hard to decide what to show here. There are pages and pages of dresses, a reminder that we wore long pants and shorts for play and dresses almost everywhere else.

There are so many pictures I used smaller-than-usual images to help the page load quicker. Click on a picture to enlarge it.

GIRLS

My mom loved hand-smocked dresses.

Do children wear hats anymore?

TEENS

The waistlines are bizarrely tiny.

BOYS

Classic saddle shoes and rolled-cuff dungarees.

SHOES & ACCESSORIES

Instead of using photographs all 48 pages of illustrations were drawn by hand. I'd like to know more about the artists!