Ads for luxury goods dominated page two and three of The Sunday Times, with international news acting as a space filler. Fur ads were particularly abundant. The hoi polloi might be dealing with clothing shortages but spring was the time for wealthy Manhattan matrons to store their cold-weather full length minks, and pick up fur scarves, capes, jacquets and stoles for the seasonably cool nights ahead.
Gunther's on Fifth at 53rd, which had been in the fur business for over a century, offered dyed South American broadtail coats, also available in processed lamb. Jaeckel, another long established furrier, at 10 E. 57th St. had scarves for $230 and capelets and capelet stoles from $2,200 to $2700 (about $25,000 to $30,000 in 2009 dollars). Stein & Blaine on West 57th had fur accessories. At Tailored Woman "you can buy natural Russian crown sables for less than you could before the war." That would be $174 per animal, including the 20% federal tax. The fur salon was on the fifth floor at 742 Fifth at 57th. Revillon Freres had short coats and jacquets at their store on Fifth at 54th St inspired by recent Paris openings. Bergdorf Goodman on 58th and Fifth, across from the Plaza Hotel, had spring furs in mutation mink and also advertised its perfumes.
It wasn't just about furs. Ultra-stylish Henri Bendel at 10 W. 57th offered a cloth coat for $83. Milgrim's proclaimed "at long last,the true golf dress you've been waiting for" for $25 and, on the fourth floor, women's wool gabardine suit for $55 to "see you through the most important suit season in years." Milgrim's was at 6 W. 57th, and also White Plains. Harry Collins on Fifth near 52nd St offered a collection of silk evening gowns for that charity affair or a night at Elmos. Tiffany & Co advertised a selection of brooches from a diamond and sapphire number at $3850 down to a 14k gold and topaz quartz for $37. David's Fifth Avenue Jewelry, with stores in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Garden City and Miami Beach, called its selection "heirlooms for tomorrow." "Cheerio" by La Valle was "a smart suit companion by that maestro of shoe artists." They came in black or navy suede with gilt-studded flap and platform. They were open toed and had a thick heel and back strap and were 16.95 at Jay Thorpe at 24 W. 57th St. Knox the Hatter featured a spring breton from its collection of Easter hats in starched lace straw with a bow. Straw hats ruled for Easter, at least in The Sunday Times ads, Knox's midtown and downtown locations suggested its target consumer was more the working girl rather than the uptown ladies who lunched.
"Father's always happy once his small son starts getting his clothes at a man's store--Rogers Peet ! Been so for generations." Or so said the ad for the venerable men's store with clothes for men from age 5 and up at three Manhattan locations. It was one of the few stores advertising menswear that day.
Fashion designer and tastemaker Hattie Carnegie lent her name to a line of candies from Blum's of Los Angeles. "Blum's candies as I like them." the ad quoted Carnegie as saying, noting that she had not only selected the chocolates but had also designed the "impressive wrappings" of blue tweed paper with blue sealing wax seals. Well, she probably didn't actually design the paper since she was more of a boss lady who told her talented minions what she wanted. The ad proclaimed that this box of candy was "definitely the GRAND gesture for Easter." Blum's had a store at 43 W. 49th,
The ads for upscale stores were even more copious on the next few pages.
Bonwit Teller took a full page on page five to announce that they were taking over a neighboring building for offices, freeing up more space in their main building for "all the wonders of the postwar world."
Page six was a full page ad for Russek's minks. The store had locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Chicago. Russek's is known today mostly because its owners were the parents of photographer Diane Arbus, and the writer Howard Nemerov. Their father, David Nemerov. the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, married the daughter of the store's owner and oversaw its transformation from a fur emporium into a fashionable department store. But furs remained its specialty. Diane married Allan Arbus, an employee of the store's advertising department in 1941 when she was 18. He studied photography in the Signal Corps during the war and after the war the couple set up a fashion photography business.
Best & Co, on Fifth at 34th, had frocks for sale. One ad featured a striped cotton frock with white eyelet embroidery for girls. It was "perfect for school and occasions, too" and came in pink-and-navy or aqua-and-brown for $8.95. This was one of the few ads in The Sunday Times for children's clothing, which were abundant in the Sunday News.. "The Accent's on prettiness for Smart Easter Frocks" for women , between $34-$45. Best was begun in 1879 as a children's clothing store but added women's fashions to its line as well. It was one of the first department stores to colonize the suburbs and in 1946 had branches in several affluent suburbs as well as in other US cities. According to the ad, the flagship was still at 34th Street at this time, although Wikipedia mistakenly has them already in the former Union Club building opposite St. Patrick's Cathedral further uptown in 1944. That location was under construction in 1946. The brand was revived by new owners in 1997, the original store chain having been acquired by McCrory's in 1966 and liquidated in the late 1970s.
Franklin Simon, on Fifth at 38th, had a big display ad for their perfumes, featuring Dana's Tabu, Lucien Lelong's Indiscret, Charbert's Fabulous, Prince Matchabelli's Stradivari, Evyan's White Shoulders and D'Orday's Le Dangy. Franklin Simon and Oppenheim Collins, which also had stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn, were owned by the same company in 1946. Oppenheim-Collins advertised in the Sunday News while Franklin Simon targeted the readers of The Times. Both are gone.
Smaller ads touted Nofade, "a national wash-word in shirts" since 1897 and Bloch Freres handkerchiefs at fine stores.
Minks in the Trencher tradition were found exclusively at 277 Grand Street and would set you back $5000 (about $55,000 in 2009 dollars). Ads for Coward Shoes, .Burnett's. McCutcheon's and others can be found here,