Terms Which Have Disappeared

[Fading Fast]

As a collector and avid reader of antique and very vintage books on millinery, hat making, sewing, home arts, general house decor, upholstery and home restorations, I often read the following phrase when following directions and instructions on a given project:

"You can find all the needed supplies at any of your local notions counters"

I WISH!

So, do you have a local notions counter in your town?

I remember when I was little, seeing signs for "Notions " at J.J. Newberrys and other five and dime stores.

So that is a term I never hear anymore. I wish it was that easy to find some of the vintage supplies they reference in these old books!

When I first started working at the department store Sterns - in '81 - it still had a notions department which, as someone always looking for more hours and at odd times (fitting them in around my college class schedule), I spent some time in. No teenage boy should work in notions as I had no idea what any of that stuff was for, what sewing was about (other than the general concept) and all the nuances to notions that women customers (stereotype or not, 99.999% of the customers in notions were women, and the .00001 that were men, were buying for their wives) cared about. I don't remember the exact year it was eliminated, but I left Sterns about six years later and the notions department was no longer there.

 

[LizzieMaine]

We have a shop on Main Street that sells fabric, patterns, and "notions," and even our Wal Mart still has a thriving notions department. Sewing is still A Thing here -- with our population skewing heavily to 50+ women, quilting is a big deal.

 

[Upgrade]

There was a scene in the recent movie Carol, based off the Patricia Highsmith novel, The Price of Salt.

The leads encounter a "notions salesman" while on the road. He has no idea what notions are, but it's the term he's instructed to tell the customers.

 

[Fading Fast]

Manager: We can get you some hours, can you help out in notions?
Me: um, sure
Manager: You have no idea what notions are?
Me: um, not a clue, sorry, what are they?
Manager (a man): I don't really know, stuff woman use to do something with
Me: I'm your man
Manager: Shut up, just go down there and report to Carol - tell her you're the extra help for today.

Carol was awesome. She knew I had no business being there, but heck, I could ring stuff up and restock - so it was fine. She also managed the luggage department and hired me to be her night manger. I worked for her for several years - rarely saw her, as she worked days and we communicated by notes (way before email), the occasional call and a few in person meetings. I have nothing but the greatest respect for her as she knew her business, knew how to run a business, and let you do your thing as long as you were doing it well (if not, she'd call you on the carpet without hesitation).

For years, we laughed about my first day in "notions."

 

[kaiser]

We have a shop on Main Street that sells fabric, patterns, and "notions," and even our Wal Mart still has a thriving notions department. Sewing is still A Thing here -- with our population skewing heavily to 50+ women, quilting is a big deal.

My Wife is really into sewing too so she was really happy when our local super market put in a notions department. Well stocked and at competitive prices. I asked the manager why they added the department and he said it was because of the 50+ women thing as well.

 

[tonyb]

I've come to think of a sewing machine (and notions) as almost as necessary to a well-functioning household as an assortment of hardware and basic handtools.

In an increasingly specialized economy it should come as no surprise that DIY materials and supplies (sewing notions fall under that banner) might not be found just anywhere anymore. Hell, I know people who hire out much of what I consider routine household chores. I doubt they would know how to thread a sewing machine.

 

[tonyb]

A very small dash of the peppermint variety was always a welcome addition to a cup of hot cocoa on a cold winter day (or night) in days of my younger adulthood.

Might much of the alcohol in that dash of schnapps flash off when it hit that hot liquid?

The missus occasionally takes a bit of bourbon in her tea and honey. Soothes her throat and her nerves. But I doubt there's any alcohol to speak of in that bourbon once I pour the just-off-boiling water over it.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

I don't think the alcohol sublimates off that quickly. I've had many an Irish coffee that retained its requisite effect nicely.

 

[Upgrade]

After many years of enjoying the Savoy Cocktail Book, I did have a chance to stop by one of the bars in the Savoy and enjoy a Blue Blazer, made with mostly brandy (or whiskey), lemon, sugar, and boiling water. Of course being a typical blusterly London night, it really warms you up.

Unfortunately while the hotel has been around since the 1880s, the additon of smoke detrctors made the effect of watching the blue flaming cocktail being poured between two pewter mugs was somewhat subdued. The illustrations show Harry Craddock pouring the flaming drink with spread out arms while I'm still practicing with water.

 

[tonyb]

I don't think the alcohol sublimates off that quickly. I've had many an Irish coffee that retained its requisite effect nicely.

Consensus elsewhere in this brave new online world appears to favor your perspective. Yes, alcohol boils at a lower temperature than water but not so much lower that it would flash off rapidly.

 

[GHT]

I've come to think of a sewing machine (and notions) as almost as necessary to a well-functioning household as an assortment of hardware and basic handtools.

Absolutely!

In an increasingly specialized economy it should come as no surprise that DIY materials and supplies (sewing notions fall under that banner) might not be found just anywhere anymore.

Except perhaps in a bespoke, purpose built cabin, somewhere near England's southern coast.

Hell, I know people who hire out much of what I consider routine household chores.

Guilty as charged, couldn't be without our ironing fairy.

 

[BlueTrain]

I'm not so sure I agree with those assertions. Mind you, I'm comparing things where I live now with things in my small hometown 60 years ago and that's not really a fair comparison. There are, around where I live, numerous craft stores and hobby shops, including at least one woodworking shop two doors from the last good small hardware store in the area. There are also fabric stores with very large notions departments. The big box home improvement stores like Lowe's and Home Depot are one of the reasons the little hardware stores eventually disappeared. The other reason is probably that they were family owned and the family didn't produce an offspring who was interested in keeping the business going. They tended to be stuck where they were, too, and could not easily move to a better location. The big box stores might be seen as glorified lumber yards, because that's how they evolved, and are not really grown-up hardware stores. Doesn't seem like it to me, anyway.

Not everything was do-it-yourself in the old days. Commercial laundries have been thriving in this country since before the Civil War. Some old-fashioned clothes really required the services of a professional laundry to produce the proper effect, which usually involved a lot of starch. Heavily starched clothes have gone out of style, mostly, but some people still have their shirts done. There are still even pickup and delivery services in some areas. But I do all my own laundry and ironing. There is a certain amount of satisfaction in ironing a shirt but I stop at doing a heavy oxford cloth shirt and so I don't have any. Polishing your own shoes also produces a kind of satisfaction, too, of a sort that is difficult to describe. That might be debatable because otherwise, shoeshine boys would be the happiest people on earth. Maybe it just has to be your own shoes. Part of that comes from being in the service where you're expected to turn out with highly polished boots and shoes but your reaction to boot polishing is just as likely to be just the opposite for the same reason.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Nearly died out:
"Schmollen" (pouting/sulking)

 

[MisterCairo]

Haberdashery. Haberdasher.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Haberdashery. Haberdasher.

Aaah, got you!

 

[BlueTrain]

Are there still millenary shops?

 

[Upgrade]

I watched an episode of Hogan's Heroes where one of the POWs replied to the German landlady, "Gnädige Frau".

I was surprised that the closed captions spelled it out too.

 

[Trenchfriend]

"dunk"

For example:
-dunk your cookies into your coffee

Todays teenagers don't use this term, I think.

 

[MisterCairo]

"dunk"

For example:
-dunk your cookies into your coffee

Todays teenagers don't use this term, I think.

My daughters do (they learned it from me!)...

 

[1mach1]

My daughters do (they learned it from me!)...

Good man!