xv, 197 pages : illustrations, portraits, facsimiles ; 25 cm.non-fiction'My life in the ragtrade' is the story of the famous Australian brand names, many developed from humble beginnings yet made in clothing factories employing thousands of people, and the grand retail stores and clothing shops that stocked those brands. In 'My life in the ragtrade', author Fred Wilkinson takes us on a trip back in time to the days of Sidney Myer's beginnings in Bendigo, to Flinders Lane, Melbourne ('The Lane'), travelling salesmen and hawkers, and names and slogans which we've all but forgotten: Anthony Squires, Sutex, Keith Courtenay, Pelaco, Crestknit, Chesty Bond, Love Me in my Glo-Weave, Hard Yakka, He's so good he thinks he's King G, and more. Then there were the retailers - Winns, Farmer's, Anthony Hordern, Mark Foy and more. Shopping back then was an adventure, it was a pleasure to be served and customers were treated like royalty. There is a useful chronology of take-overs and closures of Australian department stores.clothing trade, fred wilkinson, clothing workers, ragtrade, sidney myer, sutex, keith courtenay clothing, flinders lane, robert reid & company, paterson laing & bruce, paterson reid & bruce, anthony squires, sax altman, myer emporium, ken fogarty, jon bentley's, maurie blackman, sidney sinclair, louis klein, don collier, stafford ellinson, levi strauss, levi jeans, amco, louis epstein, hiscocks saddlery, just jeans, jeans west, general pants, glo-weave, comfort shirt company, saul same, pelaco, pearson & law, james law, james pearson, david laidlaw, d k laidlaw & sons, yakka, chesty bond, george bond, bond industries, bob adcock, king gee, king gee clothing co, jack stahmer, d & w murray, commercial travellers, commercial travellers' association, james davies, fletcher jones