The Collection Collection Vol. 3: Frederick's of Hollywood Catalogs
Get Yourself That Marry-a-Millionaire Look
Welcome to The Collection Collection, Volume 3 and this one is bust’n out all over! This issue will focus on the covers of Frederick’s of Hollywood catalogs dating from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. As with my previous installments featuring Sunday School postcards and roller skate labels, there will be a dozen images provided, as well as a brief history of the items and why and how I ended up collecting these catalogs
As with a lot of items in my collection, owning more than thirty Frederick’s of Hollywood was never something I set out to accomplish. Back in the halcyon days of early 2009, I was at an antique store in Niles, Michigan. I was almost assuredly looking for postcards or weird magazines when I stumbled on to the catalog above. As I often do, I scanned the catalog and shared it on my Flickr page. Not surprisingly, the catalog garned a lot of views (for me) and I went on the hunt for more.
Over the next few months I tracked down several more catalogs and the artwork and items for sale seemed to get more ridiculous.
I had written an entire section here on the history of Frederick’s of Hollywood’s history, but due to the size of the scans, I had to cut some things. I don’t think I am going to be adding too inciteful to the story. Frederick Mellinger started Frederick’s of Hollywood in 1947 and it was successful until Victoria’s Secret took over the market. Frederick’s of Hollywood filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2015. The company that owns them now bought the name and the rights to the legacy from another company.
So, in lieu of a longer history, let’s just get on with the covers as they’re way more bound to be far more interesting than anything I could write on the subject. I have more than enough scans for another post if you would like further instructions on how to get that marry-a-millionaire look.
Love your posts, thank you! I looked up the street view of Frederick’s on the catalog and it’s sad and decrepit, there’s an old KRESS sign too. I definitely remember seeing the store on Hollywood Blvd in the 80s/90s, fascinating and mortifying.