Ad Campaign – Hockanum, 1948

TROPIC SEA… the new blue with the sparkle of a holiday mood..by Hockanum, makers of beauty, quality and lasting wear.

If this East Coast weather continues, it looks like it will be coats at the beach this summer.  I love the Tropic Sea color with that touch of green at the neck.  I can’t help but wonder if the “sparkle of a holiday mood” is literal or figurative.

But what I love the most about this ad is how Hockanum bills itself as “makers of beauty…”  They really cut to the heart of the matter, because I think what people really want and need is more beauty in their lives.  And that includes the fabric of one’s coat.

Ad Campaign, Hockanum Woolens, 1938

Azure skies, turquoise seas, golden sunshine… and half the colors of the rainbow going down the gangplank to met the other half on the dock!  Colorful as a Bermuda arrival are the new soft shades of Hockanum Woolens for Spring!  Coats, suits and dresses made of these beautiful fabrics… for Southern resorts or immediate wear at home…. are now being featured by good shops all over the country.

Whatever happened to fabric awareness?  There was a time, not so very long ago, that the makers of your dresses’ fabrics were just as important as the makers of the dresses themselves.  People knew that quality began with the fabric, and the designers knew that the fabric was an important part of the over all design, and that consumers knew the difference between high quality goods and shoddy ones.

Today, a great deal of the fabric that makes up our clothes is made by giant, anonymous Asian factories.  However, there are still some American weavers, and you can sometimes spot a label that declares that the fabric was woven in Italy or France or Ireland, or even Japan.  Pay attention, because the makers are trying to tell you that they are proud of this fabric.  Feel it and see if you agree.