Behind the Scenes of Marketing - 1956

I was thumbing through an issue of Glamour Magazine from 1956 when I came across a six page advertising spread that prominently featured the name Janet Norwood.  Hmmmmmm, never heard of a designer named Janet Norwood.  Who was she?

In looking closer at the ads, I notice that the clothes featured are by several different manufacturers including Donnybrook, Jerell Juniors, and Modecraft.  Hmmmmmm, does Janet Norwood design for many different companies?  No.  Is Janet Norwood the name of a store?  No. Each ad features a list of stores at the bottom where you could buy the featured fashions.

Time to dig deeper. In my search, I found several newspaper ads for stores that mention Janet Norwood with the symbol "Value Approved".  These ads include the wording "As seen in Seventeen" or Mademoiselle or Glamour.  Finally, I find the words above in a large newspaper ad for People's, a store in Wisconsin.  "Janet Norwood, famous merchandising expert."  Ah-hah! 

And in tiny letters at the bottom of the photos below is a line that says, "If your favorite store is not listed write:  Janet Norwood, c/o Steinberg-Kass, ... New York.  Who is Steinberg-Kass? Steinberg-Kass in New York was a buying group offering merchandising services to stores nationwide.  Steinberg-Kass would make recommendations to those stores based on fashion and color trends, and would sell the stores pre-selected merchandise pulled from the many clothing and accessory manufacturers they represented.  They would then back up those recommendations with advertisements in national magazines like those shown here today.  Smaller stores and chains would use buying offices like these if they could not afford a staff of buyers who would travel the country to purchase clothing for the stores.

Was there a real Janet Norwood?   Possibly.  If so, she was a glorified stylist who pulled clothing from the specific manufacturers that Steinberg-Kass represented and put together outfits for the fashion ads featured here.  Kind of like an early Rachel Zoe.

Left:  Jerell Juniors black silk/cotton blend dress with plaid bolero.  Sold for $25 in 1956 (about $208 in today's dollar.)
Right:  Jerell Juniors cotton plaid dress.  Sold for $25 in 1956 (about $208 in today's dollar.)

Left:  Donnybrook wool tweed coat reverses to waterproofed corduroy.  Sold for $50 in 1956 (about $416 in today's dollar.)
Right:  Donnybrook wool tweed clutch coat with plush collar.  Sold for $60 in 1956 (about $500 in today's dollar.)

Left:  Brownie's fur-blend sweater worn with Jackfin's matching wool flannel skirt.  Sold for $28 in 1956 (about $233 in today's dollar.)
Right:  Fairfield's Orlon sweater with tweed trim worn with Eton's wool tweed skirt.  Sold for $17 in 1956 (about $142 in today's dollar.)
These outfits show an example of how Steinberg-Kass would have two different manufacturers work together to make co-ordinates that could be sold together.

Left:  Modecraft chinchilla blend jacket.  Sold for $30 in 1956 (about $250 in today's dollar.)
Right:  Rojay's wool jersey blouse and skirt trimmed in knitted panels.  Sold for $14 in 1956 (about $117 in today's dollar.)

Left:  A. Davis wool tweed clutch coat.  Sold for $75 in 1956 (about $625 in today's dollar.)
Right:  A. Davis wool tweed slim coat.  Sold for $75 in 1956 (about $625 in today's dollar.)

Stylist Glam Up for Spring

Something for the ladies.

Shortlist's sister magazine - Stylist - has glammed up for this week's issue portraying key trends for Spring 2011. Seven pieces from various designers like Cavalli, Prada and Gucci has been showcased, ranging from denim separates, exotic-skin inspired dress, floral prints and jumpsuits which is synonymous with the season. And to add to the clothes, in the accessories department Stylist gave you the Bottega Veneta Sfrangiato knot clutches with their signature woven leather in a burst of colors.

Aren't you girls ready for Spring to come anytime soon after seeing these? These are luxe at its best.

[pix from stylist issue 64]

Hermes 'Ulysse' Diaries

Do I write? No, I don’t. Well, yeah… sort of if you’re referring that to blogging. But writing as in handwriting – no, I don’t. I don’t call my handwriting a proper ‘handwriting’ though, but more towards scribble to be honest. Sometimes I don’t even know what I’ve written on the paper the other day, coz it’s somehow so hard to read. It's hideous. Kinda similar to the physicians’ scribbles coz I believe he also don’t even know what he had jotted down on that notepad. I think that’s the big disadvantage of living life in the wake of digital technology where everything now is just through typing instead of handwritten. From the PC to the mobile phones – all you see is the keyboard that you can just ‘press the buttons’ to key in your input. Similar to what you’re reading now. I think if I write all of these statements properly on a piece of paper, and scan it then posted it in here… my goodness, I think you’d mistaken it as the Sanskrit instead!

Anyway. My mom still writes until now. She has lots and lots of journals her own that she’s been writing through the ages which I think can be its own library by itself. I always see her, whenever she got time to spare she’ll be sitting on one side and pull out her journals and jotting down stuffs. The funny thing is, all of her journals are the hard-covered logbook! Yeah, the kind of A4-sized logbook that I normally used during those days to jot down the things I did in my lab sessions. Another thing, sometimes there's no 'period' or 'semicolons' or even 'punctuation' marks, that all sentences flows endlessly and you must take a deep breath to finish reading it. Haha... very interesting. Me and my siblings always go thru her journals to see the contents coz it’s not really that big a secret anyway. We were somehow quite astonished to read what she’s written coz everything is about her life story. The history thru all the years that she’s been living – from the moment she enter her first school back in the 40s, to the time she married my dad and had to follow him moving to different cities and different states due to my dad’s job requirement, to the stories about her giving birth to all of us 8 siblings. And that also include the stories about my brothers and sisters wedding day and they got kids… everything really a life story. All handwritten, and it’s remarkable! Sometimes I wonder, if I could published her life story and made it into a novel or memoir for others to read too.

Btw. Despite of the technology that really moves faster than a speeding bullet, some people out there still like to go on a traditional route of recording things through writing. And that’s why the business of paper-based diaries and notebook is never being out of sight. Just take a look at Filofax or Moleskine; do you think they got sidelined even that everyone now owns their iPhone or BB? No, they don’t. And they certainly won't.

And if you too belong to that category, you can be a handwriting Sartorialist if you’re seen carrying this Hermes diaries. The colors are subdued, yet utterly delicious. The supple, grained leather that looks buttery soft would definitely make anyone around you go gaga when they see one. I like that these Hermes diaries went for mujirushi concept of no label, just like Muji, the brand. Otherwise it'll look too conspicuous if the label really appears. One good thing about this diary is the flexibility to change the contents inside coz you can add/remove the papers as you wish since it has ring binders on the spine. Price? Okay… they’re not cheap, but at least they’re Hermes – that alone would made you already go gaga ooh la laa!! (Ahaks!)

[pix from stylist issue 60]

Victoria Beckham Bag

Something for the ladies.

Since her debut collection in 2008, Victoria Beckham has been showered with critical acclaim. And her recent nomination at the British Fashion Awards means she’s cemented her position as one of Britain’s most powerful fashion forces. Mrs B’s new handbag range was unveiled at New York Fashion Week in September, but has only recently landed in the UK. In structured shapes and lined in nappa leather, the six styles include a shoulder bag, travel tote and cocktail clutch. Our favourite, however, is the ‘Victoria’: a boxy design in an earthy fossil palette. Carry in the ‘V’ of your arm to mirror VB’s iconic style.

Victoria Beckham ‘Victoria’ Bag, £2,300, Selfridges.

Also available in blush, black and navy

[words and pix from stylist mag]

Seeing Double: Red 'Tulip' Dress

Something for the ladies.

Is it just me or I think both dresses look almost the same. Is this a case of highstreet copying highstreet again which seem to be happening many, many times before? But whatever it is I think these red 'tulip' dresses looks amazing. Either you wanna slip into the red sleeveless, crew-neck frock by Zara, or the one with V-neck and puffy sleeve by COS (which I saw last time in Stylist) - you ladies will definitely be the belle of the night. They look hot!

Red tulip dress by Zara - £99

Red puff sleeve dress by COS - £99

[pix from zara & stylist]

High Fashion Kitty...

Don't you just love cats? I do. They're definitely one of my weakness without any doubt. And that's why I gave part of my monthly allowance to the RSPCA - so that they can do their job in taking care of the cats in despair, alongside other animals too. Rumor has it that you do not own a cat (though you have one in your house). Instead, the cat itself is the one that 'owns' you. And that's why at my old rented house, there's lots of cats coming around to hang out. Maybe because I have strong scent that they like. Carolina Herrera Chic perhaps.... ahaks!

Anyway, in last week's issue of Stylist some cats made their way to model necklaces from the high-end brands like Bvlgari and Chopard. Very high fashion indeed. Not pretty sure which one has been insured higher though - the cat or the jewels? Coz they're both fantastic!

[pix from stylist]

Warehouse Aviator Jacket

Something for the ladies.

When Burberry Prorsum featured nine aviator jackets in its a/w 2010 catwalk show and the likes of Isabel Marant and Paul & Joe followed suit, it soon became clear this was to be autumn’s cover-up of choice. We love Warehouse’s chocolate-brown version. The buttery leather looks and feels expensive, the buckled belt creates shape and the exaggerated collar and lining are soft and warm. Throw it over a great dress for a seriously on-trend way to step into autumn.

Warehouse aviator jacket, £300, warehouse.co.uk

[words and pix from stylist issue 44]

Stylist Style: COS Puff Sleeve Dress

New collection at COS which is featured in the previous issue of Stylist. It's the puff sleeve dress in garnet which is tauted to be one of the highstreet most-wanted items for the ladies. Gorgeous dress which look very simple but chic and stylish. It looks quite retro since it is inspired from The Fifties with ballon skirt and nipped-waist. Could you be the modern version of Betty Draper in this?

This dress is indeed pretty. But somehow, it reminds me of Alessi Anna corkscrew. Hmmm... (no offence whatsoever).

[pix from Stylist]

Stylist Style: Miu Miu Applique Lace Dress

This week's Stylist mag features the dress that has given a hattrick treatment seen on Elle, W Magazine and Vogue covers for their last August issues. It's the applique lace dress by Miu Miu for autumn/winter 2010 collection. Gorgeous dress for any ladies who like to be the belle of the ball. It comes in various colors such as pumpkin, yellow and this lilac which I think the one worn by Lily Allen for Elle. Very intricate flower motifs which gives the splendour to this dress. You've gotta appreciate the people who make it - which is why reflected to its price too!

Miu Miu. Now that I know it's Muccia Prada's second clothing line after Prada!

[pix from Stylist]