When I was a poor kid growing up in the foothills of the north Georgia mountains, one of my favorite days of every year was the afternoon in late September when the mailman dropped off the Sears Christmas Wish Book. My sister and I never knew when it was coming, just that it was coming, and as soon as it arrived, we holed ourselves up in the attic on our lime green beanbags and combed through the pages of the Wish Book like we were looking at a royal people’s yearbook.

Who were these human beings who could afford pajamas that matched their robes that matched their slippers that they wore on Christmas morning while sitting in front of a fire in their mansion with a golden retriever and a cup of coffee, smiling as they waited their turn to open up what was surely a box of gold bars and uncut diamonds? We did not know, but we wanted to be them.

It wasn’t until much later in life that I realized the Sears Christmas Wish Book was also the first publication to give us the gift of women standing around in their underwear exchanging presents and longing looks with each other. Eat your heart out, Victoria’s Secret; this thing happened in 1942:

And so when I was home visiting my family a couple of weeks ago, I dug out the old Wish Books my grandma keeps around and decided to curate the 50 best photos of lesbian subtext Sears gifted us with over the years. The Wish Book may be gone, but the accidental lesbianism will never be forgotten.

Happy holiday shopping, everyone!