Yesterday David Jones shares were placed in a trading halt over concerns that earnings would be hit by fewer
people using credit cards to
shop. That's the story in a nutshell anyway. Before credit, people used to shop using mail order catalogues, like this one from 1973 which I found in someone's
recycling in
Surry Hills years ago. Flares were in and you could pick up a pair of Levi's jeans for $12.99 that, if pulled on could pull on freedom – that was the gist of the headline, and I'm not sure what it meant. From to cover to cover there are all manner of modern technologies and fabulous
fashions including a
purple woolen kaftan for dad. About halfway though, the intriguingly named Curiosity Shoppe appears offering pillow
speakers, invisible thread for panty-hose and a 'Snatch-n'-Catch
box designed to not only hold tissues, but to store used ones in the
car. This catalogue is a time capsule from a bygone era.
