This "House of Shroyers" advertisement from 1960 shows dresses that seem typical for that era. The company was a long standing manufacturer of women's styles during the early to mid-twentieth century. I became interested in the label after finding a dress with this brand that was in excellent 'dead stock' condition.
My research led me to the Pennsylvania mining town, Shamokin. It seems that while the "House of Shroyers" label was produced there, several other apparel manufacturers were in town as well. The company that made this brand was the Shamokin Dress Company. It closed in 1984 and press releases at that time stated it had been in business for 70 years.
The company produced an early brand, the Climax Dress Manufacturing Company, a label that was known for simple house dresses. The "House of Shroyers" logo was patented in 1949. A large employer for the town, at its height in the 1950's it employed over 600 people, mostly women. During the entire time, this business was owned by John E. Shroyer and family of Shamokin, who began at first by producing cotton bib front aprons that postal workers wore to sort mail.
The company produced both private label (for companies such as Leslie Faye) and their own "House of Shroyer". The private label dresses sold for considerably more than the company's own label. Locals still tell stories about their experiences working at this major regional employer.
While there is no mention of a designer, it is easy to see that this brand tended to focus on the half-size customer. The styles are not progressive, and seem to be created for an older customer base, both in silhouette and design.
The dress shown above is currently listed in my shop, HERE. <
This blog post has become a very popular article on my blog. If you are reading this from Shamokin or know more about Shroyers, please feel free to leave a comment here, thanks!"
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