1920s Business to Business advertisement, and Knit Fashion ad

These fascinating 1924 business-to-business advertisements offer a rare glimpse into the commercial side of the roaring twenties fashion industry—a world where retailers, manufacturers, and display companies converged to shape the shopping experiences that defined the Jazz Age.

The Art of Window Display: Walter F. Zemitzsch Co.

The first advertisement showcases The Walter F. Zemitzsch Co., located at 1617 Washington Avenue in St. Louis, a company specializing in shop décor and window displays. What makes this particularly captivating is the featured product: a decorative background setting rendered in polychrome colors on luxurious gold cloth, designed specifically for window displays and interior retail spaces.

During the 1920s, window displays had evolved into an art form unto themselves. Department stores and boutiques competed fiercely for the attention of passing shoppers, and the window display became the silent salesperson working around the clock. These elaborate theatrical presentations required specialized backdrops, props, and decorative elements—exactly what companies like Zemitzsch provided to the trade.

The use of gold cloth and polychrome (multiple color) decoration reflects the opulent aesthetic of the era. The 1920s embraced bold colors, geometric patterns, and luxurious materials, influenced heavily by the Art Deco movement that was sweeping through architecture, fashion, and decorative arts. Retailers understood that creating an atmosphere of glamour and sophistication could transform a simple shopping trip into an aspirational experience.

Washington Avenue in St. Louis served as the beating heart of the city’s garment district during this period, housing manufacturers, wholesalers, and the businesses that supported them. This concentration of fashion-related enterprises made St. Louis a significant regional hub for the apparel industry in the Midwest.

Gibson Knitting Mills: Fashion Meets Manufacturing

The second advertisement comes from Gibson Knitting Mills, situated at 1510-1512 Washington Avenue—just down the street from Zemitzsch, further emphasizing Washington Avenue’s role as the city’s fashion corridor. This ad welcomed visitors attending the St. Louis Fashion Pageant, indicating that the event drew industry professionals from beyond the local area.

The illustration featured in the Gibson ad perfectly captures the quintessential 1920s fashion silhouette: a young woman wearing a drop waist sweater, the iconic cloche hat, and holding a cane—an accessory that had become a fashionable prop for women during this era of androgynous style and liberated femininity.

The Revolution in Knitwear

The 1920s witnessed a revolution in knitted garments. Previously considered primarily functional undergarments or sportswear, knits became high fashion. The decade saw the introduction of jersey knit dresses popularized by Coco Chanel, and sweaters evolved from athletic wear to everyday fashion staples. Drop waist sweaters—with the waistline sitting at the hips rather than the natural waist—epitomized the decade’s relaxed, straight-line silhouette that marked a dramatic departure from the corseted Edwardian era.

Knitting mills like Gibson capitalized on this shift, producing fashionable knitwear that combined comfort with style. The sweater became a symbol of the modern woman: practical, active, and independent.

The Cloche Hat: Icon of the Jazz Age

The cloche hat illustrated in the Gibson advertisement deserves special mention as perhaps the most iconic accessory of the 1920s. The name “cloche” comes from the French word for “bell,” describing its distinctive bell-shaped silhouette that hugged the head closely. Designed to be worn low on the forehead, just above the eyebrows, the cloche complemented the short, bobbed hairstyles that became ubiquitous during the flapper era.

The cloche wasn’t merely fashionable—it was revolutionary. Its snug fit required women to hold their heads at a particular angle, creating an instantly recognizable posture that embodied the confidence and modernity of the 1920s woman. Made from felt, straw, or fabric depending on the season, cloches could be embellished with ribbons, flowers, pins, or left elegantly plain.

The St. Louis Fashion Pageant: Industry Event Extraordinaire

These advertisements appeared in materials related to the 1924 St. Louis Fashion Pageant, an event that served multiple purposes. Unlike modern fashion shows aimed primarily at consumers and press, many fashion pageants of the 1920s functioned as trade events where retailers could view upcoming styles, connect with manufacturers, and source inventory for their stores.

The concentration of advertisements from Washington Avenue businesses suggests that the pageant drew significant attendance from out-of-town buyers and industry professionals. These events facilitated the commercial relationships that kept the fashion supply chain functioning—from textile mills to garment manufacturers to retailers.

Fashion pageants also served an educational purpose, helping smaller retailers stay current with rapidly changing styles. The 1920s saw fashion cycles accelerate dramatically compared to previous decades, partly due to improved mass production techniques and the influence of Hollywood films that showcased new styles to audiences nationwide.

The Business Behind the Glamour

What makes these advertisements particularly valuable from a historical perspective is how they reveal the infrastructure supporting the fashion industry. We often focus on the glamorous end products—the beautiful dresses, the stylish accessories—but advertisements like these remind us of the complex network of specialized businesses required to bring fashion to consumers.

Display companies provided the theatrical backdrops. Knitting mills manufactured the garments. Wholesalers connected manufacturers with retailers. Trade publications and fashion pageants facilitated communication and commerce throughout this network. Each business played an essential role in the fashion ecosystem of the roaring twenties.

The addresses—1617 Washington Avenue and 1510-1512 Washington Avenue—place these businesses in close proximity, highlighting how fashion districts developed organically as related enterprises clustered together for mutual benefit. This geographic concentration facilitated collaboration, allowed buyers to visit multiple suppliers efficiently, and created communities of shared expertise.

A Window Into 1924

These seemingly simple advertisements open a window into a transformative moment in American fashion and retail history. The year 1924 fell squarely in the middle of the roaring twenties, a period of unprecedented economic prosperity, social change, and cultural innovation. Women had won the right to vote just four years earlier, and fashion reflected this new social reality with styles emphasizing movement, practicality, and a rejection of Victorian constraints.

The business-to-business nature of these ads reminds us that fashion wasn’t just about individual expression—it was a significant industry employing thousands of workers in manufacturing, retail, design, and supporting services. Cities like St. Louis competed to establish themselves as fashion centers, creating jobs and contributing to local economic vitality.

Today, many of these historic buildings along Washington Avenue have been repurposed, and the garment district that once thrived there exists only in photographs and ephemera like these advertisements. That makes documents like these invaluable for understanding not just what people wore, but how the entire system of fashion commerce functioned during this fascinating era.

These 1924 advertisements capture a moment when American fashion was coming into its own, when retail displays were becoming increasingly sophisticated, and when cities like St. Louis played vital roles in connecting fashion manufacturers with retailers across the nation.