Mail Order Catalogs

In my childhood world of the 1950s, we didn’t have television nor a wide assortment of books and magazines, so our entertainment came partially from leafing through mail order catalogs. That’s where my fondest dreams were created.

Magazines were rare, and whenever we got a hold of one … any kind, we leafed through it until we couldn’t turn the pages anymore. Some people called mail order catalogs “dream books.” Whenever they saw us gazing in a catalog, they’d say, “I see you’re dreaming again,” which was more true than not.

Waiting for the new Spiegel catalog was the highlight of my life. Once it arrived, it was like finding that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I’d thumb through the pages for hours, checking every blouse, skirt, dress and shoe, knowing that I would probably only get one item, but wishing is still a lot of fun, and wishing, I did.

I still remember a dress that Mother bought me and my younger sister. They were identical … black/white plaid skirt and solid black velvet top. They were fine dresses, I mean, too cute. If my memory serves me correctly, they were ordered from Spiegel and purchased for us to wear on our next trip to visit our cousins in Louisiana. You know how those impressions go. When you visit relatives, you have to be dressed up so they’ll think you’re doing a lot better than you really are.

My mother had an account with some of these catalogs, and when she could afford it, she’d order us clothes and shoes. The system then is pretty much the same as today. For us, everything was on credit, meaning you had an account, and whatever you wanted was charged to this intangible account that was paid off in small increments.