Bathrobe made by Jeldi Manufacturing
Object No. 98/130/1
Supertex Industries Pty Ltd was established in the 1940s and had factories in Punchbowl and Goulburn. They manufactured chenille from raw cotton and made it into finished articles. The company acquired the assets of Jeldi manufacturing in 1987, a company that made similar products. In 1998 Supertex employed 250 workers in the Goulburn factory. Their jobs consisted of spinning. weaving, laying up of cloth, cutting, sewing, finishing and dyeing and they produced 2500 chenille gowns per week. Chenille became popular in the 1950s for bedspreads and bathrobes. Supertex had the monopoly on manufacture of bedspreads and gowns in Australia and at one point exported 80,000 bathrobes per annum to the United States where they were sold in Saks, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. This bathrobe dates from the 1950s when chenille was at its most popular.The Supertex products were also sold in Australia in Woolworths, Grace Brothers and David Jones. Chenille has enduring popularity combining comfort with casual styling and has seen a resurgence in popularity in the 1990s.
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Summary
Object Statement
Bathrobe, womens, cotton chenille, by Jeldi Manufacturing, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1950-1960
Physical Description
Bathrobe, womens, cotton chenille, Jeldi Manufacturing, Sydney, Australia, 1950-1960. Dark red full length cotton chenille bathrobe featuring fitted bodice and full circular skirt. Centre front opening which wraps across body and is tied in place by self fabric belt. Bathrobe features deep shawl collar, padded shoulders, patch pocket at right front at hip level, long sleeves. The chenille is worked into a fine ripple design with a border of loops. Tie belt of same fabric attached to side seams at waist.
DIMENSIONS
Width
510 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
Made by Jeldi Manufacturing, a Sydney based textile company, taken over by Supertex in 1987.
HISTORY
Notes
The bathrobe was probably first kept as a sample to be used to promote the product, it may later have become an archival sample of early bathrobe styles.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of Supertex Industries Pty Ltd
Acquisition Date
13 October 1998
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