Fashion catalogues. Who can forget the encyclopaedic tomes, roughly the weight of a brick, where Granny bought her Hattie Jacques-style Damart underwear and young schoolboys ogled the bra section as a rite of passage?
There was Great Universal, JD Williams, Kays, Grattan, Littlewoods and, of course, Freemans, all household names, although to be honest, fashionable clothes were hard to find between their covers.
There were exceptions, such as when Next Directory upgraded, in 1988, to a proper coffee-table book featuring Yasmin Le Bon and Naomi Campbell — well-known faces from Vogue. Still, by the time the internet muscled in on home shopping, the catalogue had long been a bit of a joke. Something to kick under the sofa when a stylish friend arrived. Even Boden. And this is where they’ve stayed — until now.
Dress, £175, shoes, £120, and bag, £29, toa.st
Shirt, £129, knit vest, £149, trousers and sandals, £139 each, plumo.com
Blazer, £295, shirt, £95, trousers, £175, and trainers, £195, meandem.com
Incredibly, the latest innovative concept for tech-savvy consumers is a distant relation of those weighty catalogues.
This month, High Street favourite Monsoon launched its new-look catalogue. The aesthetic is sort of fashion-mag-meets-World-of-Interiors. Called Back to Origin, it’s shot in India, and features a collection that shows off the brand’s classy hippy vibe and sustainable aspirations. It is very Kate Middleton in both style and spirit.
Notable brands including Toast, Jigsaw and — of course — Boden are all producing similar highly styled offerings. And smaller labels such as Plumo and Baukjen have used theirs to build strong reputations among the fashion set.
Dress and shoes, £120 each, bag, £60, boden.co.uk
Blazer, £249, tank, £29, and trousers, £139, baukjen.com; trainers, £120, jigsawonline.com
Cardigan (around shoulders), £79, jacket, £89, dress, £110, and sandals, £89, hush-uk.com
So why are these new-look catalogues being warmly welcomed back into middle-class homes?
Says Baukjen De Swaan Arons, who founded Baukjen 20 years ago: ‘There is something you get from looking at a physical catalogue that you don’t get from digital platforms.’
The new catalogues are also designed to complement digital shopping rather than compete with it. The idea is that you get inspiration from the catalogue then hop online to buy.
Despite two decades of email and social media marketing, Esther Roth, owner of Plumo, says their catalogue is ‘indispensable to connect with customers’. And it’s only sent out to those who actually request it, which helps create a sense that it’s a secret shared between those in the know.
Dress, £75, and sandals, £39, monsoon.co.uk