Peggy Page Advertisements (1959)

 These ads were originally published as two double page spreads in a 1959 issue of (British) Vanity Fair. Peggy Page could clearly afford to place four colour full-page ads in one issue of a fashion magazine!

The firm had been founded in London in 1933 by Harry Massey, who brought an expert, Sam Krohnberg, from the United States to set up production along American lines.  His most important innovation was introducing American sizing to British ready-to-wear. 

 

 

 These dresses are typical of the youthful fashions popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  Fitted bodices spread out into full skirts reaching a little below the knee.  Nothing is too extreme or exaggerated.

 

 

 Also typical of the late 1950s are the brightly coloured prints.  Flowers are popular, along with stripes and geometric shapes.

Found Online: Winns Catalogues VI (1950s)

 Now for the final installment of our study of Winns catalogues.  The State Library of New South Wales takes us to 1955, just before the advent of rock n' roll.  It's a conservative era, so don't expect any dramatic changes to the fashions.

Autumn and Winter 1950

As if to make up for the scantiness of the war years, all the clothes here use lots of material.  The skirts are long and full, the jackets boxy and full.

So snug and comfy are these finger length Topper Coats of Luxurious All Wool Coatings with brushed wool effect.  An ideal any occasion coat, being equally attractive over your evening frock as with street or sports wear.

A Superior Quality All Wool Fabric is used in this Sweepingly Full Flared Skirt.

Knitted Two-Piece Jumper Suits smartly styled in all wool fancy knitted design of self colours.  The jacket fits snuggly over the hips, the skirt is cut on a flare to give that swing.

My mother recalls being an awkward teenager around this time, and finding the calf-length skirts most unbecoming!

Spring & Summer 1950

This copy of Winns catalogue has been mended, and tape covers part of the text on the front cover.  This is a pity, because the dress on the left is made of a "Wonder Fabric", but the actual name of the fabric is hidden!   A number of new fabrics (trademarked or not) were being touted as "wonder fabrics" in 1950.  Here are a few of them:

• Miltum, a silvery fabric with a metal finish on one side
• Terylene, (an early polyester) just going into production at ICI in Britain
• Celanese, an acetate fabric
• And of course, Nylon, a decade old at this point, but coming into its own as the fabric of choice for making shirts, socks, lingerie, nightdresses and, of course, stockings!

That's leaving aside the natural fibres that were now being treated to make them crease-resistant, flame-retardant, moth-proof and colour-fast. Wonder fabrics indeed!

Autumn & Winter 1951

Winter 1951 sees a full-length coat and a suit feature on the front of Winns catalogue.  

These Smartly Cut Coats are featured in English All Wool Mohair Like fabric.  Generous swing style (note inset of back which is the feature of coat).  Attractively finished with large pockets and novelty button trim.  Fully lined of course.

This Charming Tween Seasons Suit is of Smooth Satin Back Crepe, the collar and pockets of the slimly styled Jacket are cleverly trimmed with embroidered thread, popular gored skirt.

Your Little Girl's Favourite Frock for this winter.  A nice rich Corduroy Velveteen with its lace collar and velvet bows, the pockets are trimmed to match, ties at back.

The coat is very full, but the bodice of the suit follows the wearer's figure closely.  Having watched re-runs of the 1950s Superman TV series in my childhood, I always think of suits like these as "Lois Lane suits"!

Spring & Summer 1951

All Winns' summer dresses for the 1950s are going to conform to this basic pattern: short sleeves, nipped in waist, bouffant skirt, light materials.  The variations for Summer 1951 are:

New, muted brilliance and the crisp feel of fashion in Floral Organdi.  Graceful flared skirt, wide sash, pearl buttons, cap sleeves and collar are effectively scalloped.  The captivating frock for any occasion.

The prettiest frock you can wear this summer, featured in Satin Back Crepe.  The soft falling skirt is gored with an unpressed pleat in front, pockets are lace trimmed matching the yoke, pretty plastic gold buttons and neat roll collar all add to make this a classic for you.

Autumn & Winter 1952

In the upper left hand corner is a "A cosy Winter Frock in the popular Velvet Cord" for a "Winsome Maid".  For the adults:

Popular coats in pinwale Velveteen (finely corded), the all-occasion garment, being ideal for either sports, street or casual wear.  Yoke action back gives ample freedom, finished with belt at back.  

The Very Newest in Ladies' Skirts, now so popular overseas.  They are in a nice All Wool Fabric with diagonal contrasting coloured stripes, cut with twelve gores.

Smartly Cut Casual Coats in All Wool Coating, very popular box style (note inset for the very attractive back treatment).  Beautifully lined throughout, finished with two very large pockets.

Spring & Summer 1952

Summer sees more summer frocks on the cover of Winns catalogue.  The little girl at the top left is described as wearing a "Winnsome" (pun no doubt intended) spot dimity with Swiss embroidery.  Her elders are wearing a "Morocain crepe Frock... with self toned embroidery" and a "Summery Frock ... in a panel stripe and floral British crepe".

Autumn & Winter 1953

An interesting thing to note is that all the garments illustrated on this cover are made of pure wool (as is all the knitwear inside).  By the end of the decade you would expect to see at least a few of the jumpers and cardigans advertised to be made of Orlon or a similar artificial fibre: light, moth-proof and easy to wash!

Lest you get the impression this catalogue is dominated by separates and casual wear, page 3 illustrates (in colour) "dressy" frocks with pearl and bead embroidery, and classic 1950s evening dresses made of taffeta.

Spring & Sumer 1953

The word of the moment is "Everglaze", a new-ish (in 1953) method of treating cottons.  The little girl at the top is wearing a "Winnsome" (that pun again!) dress in checked Everglaze, and the woman on the right is wearing a "gaily coloured floral frock, featured in an imitation linen with new "Everglaze" finish.

Everglaze was:

...the trade name for a scientific process which imparts stiffness, spring, lustre and other permanent properties to cotton materials as well as giving them new surfaces.

The possibilites of these new fabrics in the fashion field are legion.  Suitable for round-the-clock wear, and equally attractive for beach or ballroom, the bring within the range of the budget buyer long-wearing garments with the luxury appearance of those made from more expensive materials.

(Weekly Times, Melbourne, 31st of October 1951)

Autumn & Winter 1954

Autumn and Winter 1954 sees Winns promoting suits and separates.  The little girl wears a double breasted all wool suit.  In the centre a woman models a "superbly tailored Ottoman suit" with a nipped-in waist.  At the right is a model wearing a short coat with "novelty button pockets... a perfect combination with your skirts for casual wear".  The skirt is made of flannel and has sun-ray pleats.

Spring and Summer 1954

The dress in the centre is "styled in the latest Straw Fabric" and is "strikingly different".  Though straw cloth was mainly used in the making of hats, it seems to enjoyed brief popularity as a dress fabric.

However, not all "straw" fabric was actually made of straw.  The Glen Innes Examiner of March the 17th 1954 reported:

One of the new cloths of moderate price which will be in the shops this year will be "straw" fabrics made from cotton yarn in which thick and thin yarns and coarse weave help to capture the appearance of the original straw cloth which is too expensive for the average woman.

It's up to the reader to guess whether the dress on the cover of this catalogue was acutally made in "straw fabric", or whether it was made in a cotton imitation!

Autumn & Winter 1955

The cover of Winns catalogue for Autumn and Winter 1955 is unusual, because it features fashions designed for "the larger figure".  Larger women usually don't appear on the cover of clothing catalogues, unless it's for a firm specialising in selling outsizes!  Perhaps Winns discovered that they had a large number of older women customers in 1955 and wanted to represent that part of their market.

Except in size, these shirtwaist dresses don't differ much from similar fashions for slimmer women on the inside pages of this catalogue.  Perhaps the most interesting thing to note is they're made in darker fabrics with small repeating patterns: an old trick to make the wearer look thinner than she really is!

Spring & Summer 1955

... And finally we come to our last catalogue.  

The figure on the right illustrates how haute couture got translated into inexpensive ready-to-wear.  It is described as "the new H-line, manufactured in Polished Cotton".  The "H-Line", intoduced by Dior in 1954, featured a slightly flattened and raised bust and a dropped waistline.  Here, a year later, Winns is selling a dressed belted at the normal waist, but with a bodice fitting tightly to hips where the skirt flares out.

You'll notice that the larger woman on the left is not wearing an H-Line dress.  This was a silhouette definitely not for the full figured: the Australian Women's Weekly insisted that it was preferably worn by the slender and small-boned!

"The Sports Coat is Short and Swagger" (McCall Style News, November 1932)

 

 

 

Inside this little brochure this ensemble is described as : "Ladies' and Misses' Ensemble; coat in three-quarter length... four piece skirt".  It is portrayed on the cover in some kind of tweedy check with contrasting patterned collar and cuffs.  The dress buttons on one side and has a low hip yoke: the coat has patch pockets (trimmed in the same material as the cuffs and collar on the dress). 

100 Years Ago (The Delineator, November 1922)

 In its November issue The Delineator included a number of patterns for evening dresses.    This would give home dressmakers plenty of time to make their outfits for the upcoming round of Christmas and New Year's parties.

All these dresses seem strangely uniform, though they are in fact different designs.  The key features of these designs are:

• A straight, tubular silhouette
• Very low waists, dropped to hip level, and either draped to one side or emphasised with floating panels
• Skirts falling to the lower calf or just above the ankle, and
• Square or scooped necklines just below the collarbone (bosoms were not fashionable in the 1920s!)

The pattern designers attempted a couple of novel touches with Pattern 3990 (second left, top) being decorated by fabric roses and Pattern 4043 (bottom right) having an open hem-length sleeve.  I can't be sure, but I think these dresses were intended for young and older wearers respectively.

Between Seasons (Beyer Mode, October 1960)

 Spring and Autumn can be a difficult time sartorially.  What do you wear when it's too cold for short sleeves, but too warm for coats?  In October 1960 Beyer Mode made a suggestion.  The slim-skirted dress on the cover of the magazine has a characteristic early-1960s elegance.

 Das schmale Tageskleid mit betont sportlicher Note.  Hemdblusenform - ist ein beliebter Anzug für die Zeit zwischen Sommerkleid und Herbstkostüm.  Breit abgesteppte Passen akzenturien das Oberteil und die Hüftpartie.  Kennzeichen des Herbstes: die halblangen Armel, das krӓftige Material und die aktuelle Farbe.

 [The narrow day dress with a decidedly sporty touch. Shirt-blouse form - is a popular suit for the period between summer dresses and autumn suits. Wide quilted yokes accentuate the upper part and the hip area. Characteristics of autumn: the half-length sleeves, the strong material and the current color.]

"With Or Without Pockets" (New Idea, October 17 1956)

 This was a "Gold Seal Pattern" offered in the New Idea issue of October 17 1956 (just send postal note for 3/6 with your order form).  The pattern was available in sizes 14, 16, 18, 20.

A SMART coat-frock style that is suitable for any time of the day.  Make it in a fabric for Spring, or in a Summer material for the warmer days ahead.  This is a must in your wardrobe, as it is so variable.

I've got to say that I find those big pockets on the left-hand model enviable!

Found Online: Winns Catalogues V (Late 1940s)

Welcome to my second-to-last look at Winns catalogues (as made available by the State Library of New South Wales).  Starting from here we've reached the last days of World War II, and will be moving into the post-war period.

Autumn & Winter 1945

This catalogue would probably have been issued a couple of months before VE Day, and still been current at VJ day.   We really have reached the end of the war!  Winns has decided to showcase some of its more casual styles for women on this cover.  From left to right the models are wearing an all-wool twinset (pairing a short sleeved jumper with a long-sleeved cardigan), a boxy sweater coat in heavy wool ribbed knit paired with "all wool flannel slacks for leisure or labour", and at the right, an all-wool knitted pullover with a polo neck paired with a flannel skirt.

Spring and Summer 1945-6

 It's peace, but alas not yet prosperity.  Clothing is still rationed in Australia (and will be until 1948).  This Winns cover shows fashions for females of every age, from the small girl wearing a "dainty frock and bloomer set" at the far left, to young woman next to her in a floral frock, the "maid" (i.e. teenager) in the insert wearing a "two piece tunic suit in chalk stripe Art Silk Rayon" and her younger sister wearing "an Attractive Frock in the popular peasant style".  At the bottom right is a "Glamorous Shady Brimmed Picture Hat" worn by a mature woman.

Autumn & Winter 1946

One thing about these catalogue covers is you can see what the younger generations were wearing as well as the grown-ups.  The problem is, their clothes are very like their elders'!  Teen subcultures were clearly not yet a Thing, and teenagers were not yet considered worth marketing to in their own right.

Here we have a woman in a double breasted diagonal tweed coat, a teen in a wool two-piece tunic suit, and a little girl in a double-breasted coat cut on princess lines.  Apart from the size of the clothes, what chiefly distinguishes these models are the accessories and details: the grown woman wears her hair above her collar, while the girls wear theirs down, the little girl's hat resembles a bonnet, and the woman wears high-heeled pumps, the teenager flats, while the little girl wears mary-janes and ankle socks.

Spring and Summer 1946-7

Though the artist has posed his models on a beach, he's dressed them in outfits more suitable for a trip to town than a stroll by the shore.  On the right we have a dress made in imitation silk linen, trimmed with Cornelli stitching.  On the left is a "smart two piece costume of crease-resisting Imitation Knop Linen" by Adelyn.  

Autumn and winter 1947

Judging by these covers, women were dressing less formally than they did before the war.  While we have a woman in a "Smartly Designed Dressmaker Suit... attractively trimmed with fur" in the middle of this group, at the left we see a model more casually dressed in an "All Wool Ribbed Twinset" and an "All Wool Tartan Skirt".  Page 2 of the catalogue makes this postwar informality even clearer, with a colour picture of a woman in a sports jacket and flannel slacks.  Earlier in the decade outfits like that were relegated the middle pages of the catalogue and illustrated in black and white!

Though clothes rationing has about a year to run in Australia, the coupon price of clothes is starting to come down.  The suit is now available for 11 coupons, the skirt for a mere 4, while the twin set requires no coupons at all!

Spring and Summer 1947-48

Dior had launched his "New Look" earlier in the year, and while it was yet to be adopted by the world at large, elements of the style were creeping into popular fashion.  In this picture it's clear that ready-to-wear clothes manufacturers have adopted the narrower waists and fuller skirts of the New Look.  However, shoulders are still broad and skirt lengths still moderate.

Left: "Smartly Tailored Two Piece Jacket Suit in a Rayon Like Linen... Jacket is elaborately trimmed with Cornelli."  Right: "Style and Value in this Attractive Frock in "Marveloon"... Bodice opens to waist and is effectively trimmed with drawn thread and Cornelli."

Autumn & Winter 1948

In April 1948—mid-Autumn in Australia—a reader wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald:

Sir—Recent visits to a large number of inland retail businesses revealed that a very serious clothing and coupon problem exists. 

The stock of frocks at the end of the summer season is, in the aggregate, enormous, caused by two successive unfavourable seasons.

The Government belatedly recognised this, and reduced the coupon rating from 8 to 5 until April 30.  This is inadequate to shift the accumulated frocks stocks, and especially so with the advent of the "New Look" styles, and winter frocks coming in.

The solution may be to abandon all clothes rationing, to help the sale of the abundant stocks and new manufactures, then to review the other articles of cotton (which is definitely scarce in and from most world markets, though the garment trade offers a substantial second choice).  Rationing of the other articles essentially of cotton could, perhaps, be reviewed every six months until rationing can be entirely abandoned.

E.C. BRUCE MIDLANE. Sydney.

Meanwhile the clothes featured on Winns Autumn and Winter Catalogue for 1948 are very like the clothes on the cover of their 1947 catalogue.

Spring and summer 1948-1949

Histories of high fashion in the late 1940s make it seem as if styles changed in an instant.  Looking at publications like this, however, it becomes clear that fashions worn by ordinary women were only changing by increments.  Once again, Winns has decided to illustrate its summer catalogue with a "Smartly Cut Frock in Marveloon" and a "New Look Rayon-like Linen Two Piece Jacket Suit".

What has changed, however, is that these clothes are no longer valued in "coupons".  After six years, Australian clothes are no longer rationed!

Autumn and Winter 1949

For once there were no fashions illustrated on the cover of Winns catalogue—the store decided to use the space to sell bedspreads and curtains instead!   I took this picture from one of the three coloured pages at the beginning of the catalogue instead (the other two advertised lingerie and hats respectively).  The formal coats and suits have been banished to the black and white pages a bit further on.  By this stage the look is decidedly early fifties, even for casual wear!

Spring and Summer 1949-50

And so we reach the end of another decade.  Once again Winns chose to feature a "frock" and a "jacket suit" on the cover of its summer catalogue, but one only has to look back a year to see how popular fashions have changed.  Waists are nipped in and skirts flare out and fall to calf-length in these grown-up and ladylike outfits.

This Charming Frock is a "Hodgson" production garment... featuring the latest in new pleated back and bow belt... Smartly cut square neck line with embroidered trimming on collar...

SNAPPY JACKET SUIT... that you will be proud to wear.  The snappy little Jacket is effectively trimmed with White Collar and Cuffs; a generously cut skirt swings from the waist.