Tell Me About the “Old” QVC - Page 5

on the bay · ‎03-09-2010

What did you watch? I would love to see it!

@smoochy, is there a video of it we could watch? We will only laugh with you!

"If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"

rockygems123 · ‎06-04-2012

@Effie54 wrote:
@rockygems123 wrote:
@Effie54 wrote:
I go way, way back to,when QVC first started with the original hosts. They talked about the product....and, as another poster said, they took measurements showed different fabric swatches with jewelry, and highlighted every aspect of the product. There was little or no talking about themselves, no boasting, no silly nonsense. No overkill on TSV's. It was entirely different.
@Effie54

I LOVED how they showcased the jewelry in front of different color swatches. I thought that was very clever and very informational.
@rockygems123 @Right?!! They knew how to really sell jewelry back then. I remember a show when Kathy Levin was hosting with Joan Rivers as the guest; they had so much fun, showcasing the beautiful jewelry pieces with all these beautiful fabric swatches. The show hosts kept their lives pretty private back then, and never bragged about their lives. It was much more professional.

@Effie54

Joan and Kathy, that was worth the price of admission! And that was when Joan had her jewelry manufactured in Rhode Island, the place where most US costume jewelry was made starting in the 30's or 40's until it was made overseas.

I had the pleasure of buying vintage Joan jewelry a couple days ago at an estate sale. As a jewelry dealer it was a thrill and as a buyer of Joan's jewelry in the good old days it warmed my heart.

rockygems123 · ‎06-04-2012

@AZfem wrote:
They had things you didn't see everywhere else like Hydron & Principal Secret cosmetics, which were both good lines. They featured unique products not the same stuff everyone else sells like now. They were always bringing in something new & you looked forward to seeing new products on the schedule & learning about them.

There were almost no hosts I couldn't watch, except the one with the dancing daughters. Most hosts were warm, calm & friendly. It felt like a family you belonged to.

They had special days like the gold rush & they dressed up in 1880s costumes, dressed up for the weekly gold shows - think Jeff Hewson used to wear a tux. Always something new to look forward to. Keyword is NEW & creating excitement about it.

@AZfem

Your post brings back a lot of memories and just shows how things have changed so much. Definitely was new and exciting

rockygems123 · ‎06-04-2012

@NYCLatinaMe wrote:

The biggest thing about the old QVC that I miss is the gold, even though I could find better prices at Value Vision, and the prices now are even more ridiculous so I am not buying. I never bought a gold herringbone, which QVC used to offer all the time, boring I thought, and now I kick myself for not buying.

I never thought QVC fashions were as great as some would have you believe. Every once in a while something was good from Louis Del'Ollio, a QVC line called Dialogue, and Joan Rivers, are the fashions that come to mind. They were well made, and some classics. HSN had better fashions but they were capsule collections, except for DVF, who was there for a good while. And Terry Lewis brought great leathers, which I bought but hardly ever wore except for a long black leather coat that I wore to death. And I liked Tiana B dresses that were available on HSN for a while, IMO classic looks, but polyester. George Simon and Bob Mackie did nice tops and some pants for QVC, but they were also polyester. So good for work, but IMO, not that special. I bought some Susan Graver as well, polyester, just for work.

Lisa Robertson, who used to host, gave really good styling tips. She would talk about what shapes, styles and colors were good for different people. The hosts used to tell us when clothes fit laege or small.

The models wearing the clothes were a bigger part of the presentation, like the hanger rack is now. The models used to turn around and show us how they look from the sides and backs.

Now everybody always wears their regular size, everything fits exactly the same on everyone, everything goes with everything, and no one shows us sides and backs.

More recently, I think Laurie Felt did some beautiful blouses and I was sad she was done, but understandable.

The Joan Rivers fashions look nothing like they used to, except every once in a while, they bring something good. Dennis Basso has also gone downhill in terms of selection and design, but I still find good things that I buy.

Another big change in fashions in QVC is that they don't bring things back. QVC used to promote itself as a place where you could find the same items for years. I don't need that, but I wish they would bring some of the good items back, like some of the dressier pieces from Peace Love World.

Some of the Isaac Mizrahi pieces are as good as anything QVC has ever brought. I wish the dresses were a little longer. I still look for the good pieces.

Weirdly, Zuda and Anybody are upscaling their lines, and there are some good pieces to be had. I bought some nice stylish pants from Anybody. The new Zuda suit looks really good to me! I'll find out when I get it home. The Canyon Ranch line has a few good things. And I mean few. Haven't bought any yet.

They should have something to replace the Laurie Felt aesthetic. I bought many of her blouses.

And I see too much NYDJ. The pants don't fit well (I tried them) and the tops are overpriced.

I don't miss the 50 in 50 tours, or the prize wheel, or the call in customers. There has always been silly stuff.

@NYCLatinaMe

I was sad to see Laurie Felt go too so when it was announced grabbed several pairs of her jeans which I love. Love the quality, love the fit.

rockygems123 · ‎06-04-2012

@Bookplate wrote:

@AZfem wrote:
They had things you didn't see everywhere else like Hydron & Principal Secret cosmetics, which were both good lines. They featured unique products not the same stuff everyone else sells like now. They were always bringing in something new & you looked forward to seeing new products on the schedule & learning about them.

There were almost no hosts I couldn't watch, except the one with the dancing daughters. Most hosts were warm, calm & friendly. It felt like a family you belonged to.

They had special days like the gold rush & they dressed up in 1880s costumes, dressed up for the weekly gold shows - think Jeff Hewson used to wear a tux. Always something new to look forward to. Keyword is NEW & creating excitement about it.

I have to think that the hosts were relieved whenss those dress up days went bye-bye. Imagine the male hosts dressed in lederhosen on Octoberfest shows? And everyone dressed in 19th century western fashion on Klondike gold rush days? Beyond humiliating.

@Bookplate

A lot of the hosts were / are actors so they had worn sensationalistic costumes in the past.

Rick Domeier was in Evil Dead II as well as Young & the Restless, not only costumes but think of the dialogue from that show, wow. Suspended belief for sure.

SaveTheTurtles · ‎10-09-2023

@on the bay wrote:
@SaveTheTurtles,
What did you watch? I would love to see it!
@smoochy, is there a video of it we could watch? We will only laugh with you!

😂 Awww, I was just kidding.

Biftu · ‎02-05-2011

In the 80's who knew we could shop on TV instead of going to the mall or flip through catalogs or fashion magazines! It was a new experience and fun. When things sold out they really sold out never to appear again. You had rush to the phone to place your order.

Gold Rush days with hosts dressing up in silly outfits was crazy. Loved watching Lisa on her trips to Italy to present gold pieces. Great deals but gold was less expensive in those days. Loved the silver Strike shows as well. I also learned a lot about different gem stones I never knew existed.

My girlfriend collected Boyd's Bears presented by that crazy guy, I think his name was Gary. He always presented with Mary Beth and he would always make her blush.

i think if we could see those shows today we would laugh!

seaBreeze · ‎02-04-2014

Late 80's watcher here .. I still have 3 FASHION FORMULA "curly" belts (long polyester fabric)...yes, and in the summer still use them. QVC could brag of their quality in that decade!

My guy was Jeff Hewson ... remember his romance/wedding with Judy C ... those were the good 'ole days.

nelc · ‎11-27-2010

I had forgotten about the timer on the screen to let us know when they would move on to the next item. In those days there wasn’t an app and you would have to write the items number down when you saw an item you liked but wanted to think about it before purchasing it.
I had several pieces of paper around the house with item numbers and a small description so I can recall what the item was. 😂

roeroe1005 · ‎03-13-2010

In my opinion, the era when Barry Diller ran QVC was one of the best. He was able to get the high end designers who created their own lines for Q.

I still watch, or have it on as background noise, but definitely not the way I used to. The clothing lines all look the same with minor differences. Q turned me onto wearing silver jewelry. Miss those monthly Sunday morning silver style shows. Miss Silver Day. I always took a vacation day from work and would do most of my birthday/holiday shopping for the year.

We have a different way of shopping now, not necessarily better, just different.