Before Coca-Cola popularized the modern Santa, his look was much more varied. He could appear as a tall, thin bishop-like figure, a folksy “Father Christmas,” or even a small elf, and his clothes and colors were not fixed to the familiar red suit.

Early inspirations

Santa’s image grew out of several older figures, especially Saint Nicholas of Myra, a 4th‑century bishop often shown in long religious robes and a bishop’s mitre rather than a fur‑trimmed cap. In Europe, related figures like Father Christmas in Britain and the German Weihnachtsmann were typically drawn as robed, dignified men associated with midwinter feasting, sometimes more solemn than jolly.

19th‑century transformations

By the 1800s in the United States, artists began reshaping Santa into a more magical, secular character with reindeer and sleigh, influenced by the poem often called “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Cartoonist Thomas Nast’s illustrations from the 1860s onward made him rounder, bearded, and more jolly, but Nast experimented with many outfits and colors, including tan, yellow, and patterned suits, not just red.

Clothing and colors

Before Coca‑Cola’s 1930s ads, Santa was depicted in a wide range of clothing styles: sometimes long robes, sometimes a short fur coat, sometimes looking like a kindly grandfather, and sometimes like a smaller elf‑like figure. Red outfits did exist well before Coke—by the mid‑19th century, several advertisements and Christmas cards already showed a plump Santa in a red, fur‑trimmed suit—but this look competed with other colors and styles rather than dominating them.