Found Online: Winns Catalogues III (Late 1930s)

 I get the impression that the person designing the Winns Mail Order Shopping Guide in the late 1930s had fallen into a bit of a rut.  All their winter catalogues feature covers depicting the latest in warm coats, while all their summer catalogues depict the latest in summer "frocks".  Still, they are nice enough coats and frocks, and very typical of their era!

Winter 1935

The coats depicted on the front cover have a typically narrow 1930s silhouette with large collars.  The collar of the coat on the left is made of all wool tweed with "big squared revers that look just as smart when buttoned as when worn open".  The coat on the right is made of wool velour with a "Coney" (i.e. rabbit) fur collar.  The copy stresses the value for money

The hats on the right of the cover are fashionably shallow-crowned and worn tipped over one eye.  The hat at the bottom features "Something new!"—"the New "LASTEX" head lining".  LASTEX was the first elasticised fibre, and had only appeared on the market in 1932.

Spring & Summer, 1935-36

The dress on the left is made of "British Crepara".  Doing a bit of research into the term I've discovered that it was a mixture of rayon and cotton with a silk finish.  The earliest reference to "crepara" I can find is from 1929, and the term disappears from advertising after around 1937, indicating that the fabric was a passing fad.   Also popular in the mid-1930s was the cape sleeve, seen here on the two models on the right.

Autumn & Winter 1936

The State Library of New South Wales has not one, but two editions of Winns Mail-Order Shopping Guide for Autumn and Winter 1936.  The first, above, is from their Sydney store.

The coat on the left has a large collar made of "imitation nutria" (no coypus were damaged in the making of this coat).  The interior pages show more coats with broad collars, some made of "coney" (i.e. rabbit) fur, as befits a store catering to the budget-conscious.  On the right is an "actual photograph" (a first for these catalogues?) of an all-wool cardigan.  More cardigans, in full colour, are advertised on the second page of the catalogue.

Of interest is the plain hat in the middle which WILL NOT CRUSH and vaguely resembles the men's hats of the era.  Of course the model has it stylishly tilted over one eye!

Newcastle store, Autumn & Winter 1936

And from Newcastle (New South Wales) comes a catalogue featuring two coats in diagonal "coating.  The one on the left has a collar of "lapin" fur (that is, angora rabbit.  It is remarkable how the writers of these catalogues avoided the word "rabbit" in their copy.)  The description of the second coat emphasises the wide lapels and the big collar: anything to increase the apparent width of the shoulders!  The plain, "sports-like" hat on the right is very like the one sold in the Sydney catalogue, and once again is tilted over one eye.

Spring and Summer, 1936-37

Spring and summer 1936 brings the usual collection of summer dresses, including the one on the right which has a matching jacket.  The shoulders are still the main focus here: they are not only padded, but use wide and puff sleeves to look even broader than they are.  The summer hat in the top right is fancier than its winter counterparts ("with... Smart French Trimming"!) but it is still worn tilted forwards.

There are more "frocks" inside, of course, but for those interested in what women wore under their dresses, check out the lingerie on the second page.  

Autumn and Winter 1937

Styles don't appear to have changed much since the previous winter, with a cardigan jacket depicted on the left, and a coat in "all wool Boucle Coating" with a "LAPIN fur collar" on the right.  In the centre is a plush felt hat which, if anything, looks more like a man's hat than ever.

Summer and Christmas, 1937-38

Winns is selling a wedding dress on page 10 of this catalogue, which seems to be a first!   On the cover, however, the models wear printed frocks (on the left in imitation linen and on the right in floral flat silk crepe) with puffed sleeves.  The line is slowly, but surely, becoming less fussy and hems are rising.  

Also, for the first time in years, Winns depicts a child's costume on one of its covers.  The dress is a "Pretty Party Frock and Bloomer Set in Swiss Hail Spot Muslin".

Autumn and Winter 1938

Winns turns practical with this coat on its cover from Autumn and Winter 1938: 

Ideal for sports and travel wear.  All wool Boucle Coat which can be worn without or with patent belt as illus. Fully lined art. silk.  Two pockets.

More elaborate coats—including ones with fur collars— can be found inside on page 19.   Winns also advertises some formal wear, "For All Occasions" which can be found on page 31.  Garments include a wedding dress and evening clothes.  Alas, somebody has cut out one of the figures on this page in the original catalogue, so we can't see the illustration of the "Satin-back Crepe ... Maternity Gown" that once featured here.  It's a pity, as we don't often get a glimpse of formal maternity wear!

Summer and Xmas, 1938-1939

Summer and Xmas sees two floral dresses on the cover of the catalogue: a summer "sheer" on the left, and on the right at half the price, a "tub frock".  In spite of the price difference the dresses are nearly identical in cut, with puffed sleeves.  (The little girl in the centre of the picture is also wearing a dress with puffed sleeves very like the ones worn by her elders.)  

In fact sleeves seem to be the big fashion feature in 1938.  While not every dress in this catalogue has puff or leg-of-mutton sleeves, the majority of them do.  The bridal gown and bridesmaid's dress on page 6 are particularly good examples!

Autumn and Winter 1939

This was the last Australian winter before the Second World War.  As if in anticipation of grimmer days to come, the fashions depicted here are quite austere.  Firstly, on the left, a suit—I beg your pardon, a:

Smart man tailored 2-piece Costume in All Wool Novelty Suiting.  Coat fully lined—pleated skirt.

The coat on the left is an "All-Wool Boucle Coat—fully lined."

Spring-Summer 1939

For some reason Winns decided to go casual for its last catalogue of the 1930s.  The two women on the left and right of this cover are hatless, and the one who is fully visible is bare-legged and open-toed sandals!  The dresses appear to be designed for wearing on the beach or in the garden.  To the left we have a "Bright and Gay" peasant frock, in the centre a dirndl for a child and on the right a dirndl for a woman.  All three garments have shirred waists.