And all of them priced under $1! In my sewing drawer which I open maybe once or twice a year. Because I happened to be looking for pins, I pulled out these assorted findings. Isn't that an interesting word? No idea where it came from, but it is the term used in the garment trade for those gizmos necessary to finish a piece of clothing.
49 cents max!!! To tell the truth, I'm not sure that I bought these cards individually; I vaguely recall buying a box of sewing Stuff at the annual Lab School rummage sale down at the University of Chicago long, long ago. I suspect that the dime cards predate my adulthood, though the grippers and velcro are post WWII. BTW, the elastic cord (which I threw out) still had a bit of stretch left in it.
Woolworth. Anybody reading this remember the five and dime stores? S.H. Kress, Kresge, Woolworth -- and Ben Franklin stores in small towns. I believe that Kresge morphed into K-Mart, but the others are but hazy memories of cheaper days (and cheaper wages, too). Oh, yes, there was Barbara Hutton, the Poor Little Rich Girl, heiress to one of the dime store fortunes; she was the 40s equivalent to whatsername Hilton, with a lot more style. Married more often, too, as I recall.
This card hid a small needle kit; I included it to show that Lileks is not the only blogger who features commercial art of bygone times. Of course, it reminds me of the time I allowed an acquaintance to waste a good hour of my time practicing his Filter Queen spiel; it was agony for me and horribly demeaning for the guy making the pitch.Squirrel Link: I've mentioned German red squirrel several times; now Alone on a Limb writes that he has been adopted by an adolescent squirrel.
Next Day Update/Woolworth: OMG -- Woolworth does live on -- not only in the UK, but in Germany, Austria and Cyprus, where one-time subsidiaries maintain a separate existence. Foot Locker is the old Woolworth group in a new guise and in Australia, a totally unrelated Woolworth is the biggest retailer. All this according to Wikipedia.
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8 comments:
I remember the very cheap but quite good complete turkey dinners I could buy at a Woolworth's (I think) lunch counter many years ago!
When I mention the 5 and dimes to my wife, she has to laugh.
Wow...I remember rummaging through your sewing drawer as a kiddo, finding all sorts of wondrous stuff. "Findings", indeed! Though it was the boxes of assorted buttons that were best.
cat-A -- thank you for reminding me; I too recall the wonderful Woolworth lunch counters. Never had a turkey dinner, tho. The 5 & dimes lingered on in downtown Chicago long after the newer style of K-Mart, etc., had been launched in the burbs.
steve -- so what's funny about them -- or is it the moniker?
dotter -- it's time I let the granddotter rummage through my small sewing drawer & especially the button box. What is it about button boxes? I recall just loving Mom's AND my grandmother's.
I think it is a combination of both. Woolworth's eventually got to Germany, but it wasn't during the time of five and dimes. Cost a little more when it got here. I don't believe they are here today. Perhaps in the big city, not sure.
steve -- you grow up with a phrase and it is automatically part of your cultural set. That said, I do recall one of the chains adding one dollar to the slogan mix. The K's & the Wal's were smart not to tie themselves down price-wise.
What a lovely idea for a post, don't they make good collages? On the patterns those sorts of things were called 'notions'!
lucy -- I have been found out! you"re right, the term is notions!!! My friend, the beader, should have caught that error; findings go with jewelry, right?
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