Sears, Roebuck and Co. · 1893–present (Roebucks jeans from 1949, Toughskins from 1971)
Sears started as a mail-order watch business and grew into the country's biggest catalog, opening its first stores in 1925. Its house brands covered everything, and in clothing the work name was Hercules, with coveralls sold on a lifetime guarantee, until the last Hercules item left the catalog in the mid-1960s. In 1949 Sears put Alvah Roebuck's name on Western jeans, and Roebucks carried on into the 1990s before the name moved to Sears work clothes. In 1971 came Toughskins, a polyester, nylon and cotton kids' jean sold on the promise that a child would outgrow it first. The store shortened its name to Sears in the early 1970s and stopped printing its catalog in 1993.
2 models we cover.
Sears clothing is usually dated by its style more than its label. Labels read Sears, Roebuck and Co. before the early 1970s and Sears after. The denim names are Roebucks on Western jeans from 1949, Toughskins on kids' jeans from 1971 with a patch on the right back pocket, and Hercules on older workwear.
Chicago, Illinois. Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck named their mail-order company Sears, Roebuck and Co. in 1893.
Sears · Straight leg
Roebucks1949 into the 1990s
$20–$45 typical ask
117 on eBay
Sears · Straight leg
Toughskins1971 into the 1990s
$25–$55 typical ask
84 on eBay