Tuesday 23 August 2016

Carolyn's - a fashion icon.

Mrs Alice Minut, (born Alice Penrose Hepher in 1926) owned and ran Carolyn's Frock Salon in Campbelltown for many years. In 1951, the frock shop trading under the name "Miami Fashions" was bought out, and became "Carolyn Fashions". Alice Minut was employed there for five pounds a week. She eventually bought the business, and the name "Carolyn's" stayed.
On one side of the shop was Alice's brother Jack Hepher's bicycle shop, and on the other, Mrs Fairburn's fruit shop where Alice's sister Nell worked. With a tiny seven foot frontage, and a tiny turnover to match, Alice would be buyer, sales lady, cleaner, and also do alterations when required.


In about 1956 the shop moved to a new location, in the old Bagley's Newsagency building. The business grew, and so did the team. Carolyn's held fashion parades, entered floats in local parades, did fancy window displays for special occasions, and ensured that their clientele were offered up to the minute fashion choices.




Through the sixties and seventies the iconic Carolyn's Frock Salon continued - does anyone know when it finally closed it's doors? Or have memories of shopping there? We would love to hear from you!




Written by Claire Lynch

Sources
www.heavenaddress.com/Alice-Penrose-Minut/423741/obituary
Campbelltown Ingleburn News 11.4.1967 & 15.6.1976
Our Past in Pictures Database, Campbelltown Library



4 comments:

  1. We had a Carolyn's frock salon in Camden too. It was on the corner of the same arcade as Cols barber.

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  2. Hi Susan! thanks for your comment. Do you have a picture of your shop? Apparently there was also a Carolyn's in Wollongong.

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  3. My father's pharmacy was next door to Carolyn's after it moved to the old Bagley's shop. Actually there was a stairway in between and Geoff Eves, the photographer was upstairs. Michael Veness

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  4. Really nice to receive this comment Michael. I have read about your father's shop. We have photographs of it in our historical photographs online collection. (click on Photographic Database link on our Local Information page on our library's web site).

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