Dawn Aplin Oral History (Part 2)

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00’ 10” Worked as a shop assistant for many years. She was introduced into the trade by her mother. She started at ‘Millers’ a clothing and drapery store at 115 Cuba Street. Started at the bottom, sweeping the store, collecting milk, polish brass fittings in the shop. No makeup was allowed to be worn as the owning family were members of the Brethren church. Goods were delivered from an associated store in Christchurch in large bails via ship. Worked there for six years.

04’ 30” describes lacing women into corsets and was eventually put in charge of ‘buying’ corsets and window dressing. Recalls V.E day and the concern from the owners that there would be a riot. Started on wages of £1 a week. She then went to work at Evans’s and became the buyer in the haberdashery department.

07’ 15” Was hard to buy haberdashery for the shop due to rationing. Worked there for six years and then went to work at Fyfe’s (sp?) as a buyer for hosiery and fabrics. Would have liked to have been a policewoman but didn’t meet the height requirements.  Always felt that men took the credit for all her ideas. Really enjoyed window dressing. Regularly worked Saturday at the shop when it was closed but got to take Monday off which was nice as everything would be open.

11’ 10” Was head-hunted by James Smiths as their hosiery buyer but did not greatly enjoy working there finding it difficult to make friends among other staff buyers who thought they were superior. Got staff discounts on hair dressing and facials. Management expected staff to look a certain way and insisted they wore black or navy blue. Ended up returning to Fyfe’s and returned to James Smiths as the ‘gloves buyer’ with six ladies in the gloves department. Learnt a lot at James Smiths and grew in confidence.

16’ 25” Was then invited to join ‘Nash’s’ in Cuba Street. Management was very controlling. Men would wear separate collars with their shirts. Martin’s Shoes would custom-make shoes for men. Denton’s only sold gloves which were all made in NZ because of the war when English gloves could not be imported. Once Dawn bought gloves from South Africa but was admonished by the British embassy for doing so (because they weren’t British) but then went on to buy gloves from Hungary. Fitting debutants in long gloves was quite an experience. A quick glance at a customers hands and one would immediately know what kind of gloves she needed and taught her staff how to do this.

23’ 50” Was respected by her staff if not loved. Everyone was address as ‘Miss’ or ‘Mrs’, no first names were used with the belief that familiarity breeds contempt. Was hard when she was younger and had staff who were older than her. This became easier as she grew older. Sales targets were set (especially at James Smiths).

26’ 20” Staff today lack knowledge of the product they are selling and are over familiar with customers. She misses people simply saying “Good morning, can I help you?” Feels that she wasn’t the best at sales as she didn’t like pushing people into buying something they didn’t need.

31’ 30 When she was the handbag buyer at James Smiths, they could only import five handbags per year which were supposed to be reserved for ‘special’ (wealthy) customers. Dawn disagreed with this system so tore up the list and put the bags out on display feeling that anyone who had the money should be able to buy one.

31’ 40” When at Fyfe’s recalls ‘Lady Collins’, the wife of the British Ambassador who used to come in to buy stockings but was very pompous. Women from the Russian Embassy also came in as did seamen in port buying for their wives and girlfriends. Lambton Quay always used to get quite quiet on Friday evening after 7pm as working women and girls would head to the other end of town or do grocery shopping for the weekend

36’ 15” Feels it is a shame that people now have to work weekends. As a ‘buyer’, she didn’t have to join a union but was supportive of the work they did to support staff who were often not treated well by owners. However, she eventually felt that unions started to get a bit too militant. Shop staff are ‘today’ (1992)  paid far less in real terms compared to what they were. Fridays at James Smiths were the hardest with 12 hour days (9am to 9pm) when staff would be on their feet all day; you were not allowed to sit. Dawn would reward herself with a taxi home on Friday night as she was exhausted and public transport options would be limited by the time the shop had been fully closed up. Last minute customers were always a trial.

44’ 30” Didn’t like the ‘new’ Kirkcaldie & Stains with its low ceilings and poor ventilation. She wishes managers would stop moving departments within stores as she feels that it is bad for business. 

46’ 50” Farmers is looking better after refurbishment but lack staff. Dawn retired from the trade in 1977 but notices how retailing really started to change in about 1980. Feels that there is nowhere left where one can enjoy an elegant afternoon tea while shopping. Shop assistants is are today so casually dressed that it is sometime difficult to know who is an assistant and who is a customer.

49’ 50 Ends work (‘Variety Bags’) in 1977 to look after her mother who was poor health for the last years of her life. Then looked after her father until he too passed away by which time she was too old to return to the work force. Feel that the lives of women ‘today’ are much more stressful and that we have ‘lost a lot’. Children aren’t dressed like children should be anymore (notes that the one thing she was never involved in selling was children clothing.

55’ 10” Describes tricks she used as a buyer to determine the quality of fabric being sold by wholesalers. That said, modern fabrics are easier to look after. Washing would never be hung out on a Sunday (it just wasn’t ‘proper’). People these days don’t seem to have time to rest any longer.

57’ 40” Saturday was Dawn’s special day of ‘peace’ as Friday’s were so exhausting. She would spend a lot of time on Sunday’s helping her parents but she feels that spending so much time on her feet was bad for her long-term health. Feels that poor staff should be ‘let go’ if they are unsuitable but militant unions started to make this difficult. The artist Ellinore Ginn was in Dawn’s glove department (James Smiths) who was very intelligent but a very poor shop assistant; an example of how not everyone is suited to the trade.

1 03’ 00” Looking back she thinks the role she enjoyed the most was window dressing. ‘Flintoffs’ in the Royal Oak building was her favourite shop to work in.