Bubbled up recently on Facebook and elsewhere, references to two chapters in the history of American advertising: Interwoven-brand stockings as icons of male sexiness, first in the 1920s and 30s, then for Interwoven Esquire socks in the 1970s.
Overview. In the 1920s and 30s, the illustrator J.C. Leyendecker (a frequent subject on this blog because of his inventive and often complex artwork and because of the vein of homoeroticism in it) drew a ton of ads for Interwoven socks, showing men enjoying the pleasures of the company’s stockings — some showing sturdily masculine men (the stocking counterparts of JCL’s creation the Arrow Shirt Man), some more sexual — but in the 1970s, the company’s agency created a series of photo ads highlighting men’s sexiness, some of them using nude models. At least two offered groups of naked man showing off their socks. It was the golden age of men’s sock ads. Let us mourn its passing.
The Leyendecker era. Sturdily masculine from 1929, sexier from 1938 (not a great copy but the best I could find):
(#1) A 1929 ad: the pipe-smoking college student
(#2) A 1938 ad: a fabulous robe and sexy ankles (note the sock garter, for socks without elastic in them)
1970s dudes in the nude and groups. The zenith of the 1970s sexy photoshoots. Random guys, plus a rock group:
(#3) Five assorted guys in the nude and polka-dot stockings; everybody smiles, at least a little
(#4) A five-man rock group, with big grins and a variety of socks
Apology. Sorry about the nude zeugmas; I hear that it’s a winter-weather thing here in the Bay Area.
February 10, 2025 at 8:41 pm |
Cheers for the zeugmas, especially since I hadn’t noticed them.
February 11, 2025 at 4:28 pm |
I seem to recall someone saying (in the 1960s) that a “nude” image was ok if there was any item of apparel being worn. So as long as they had socks on it would pass censorship. I doubt that was true but interesting memory.
February 11, 2025 at 5:10 pm |
I’m sure that’s not true, but it’s an entertaining story.
February 14, 2025 at 3:59 pm |
I’m surprised to see how much the sock patterns in the first nude ad look like the pattern on the one with the college man.
That “college man” reminds me that I almost reached out to a podcaster recently to explain that, as far as I know, “co-ed” was never used to refer to male college students, just to women. It really jarred my ears to hear it.