This is a fun, illustrated article from the October, 1931 issue of Ladies’ Home Journal. On the left of the page, we have formal wear, and on the left, an informal version of the same item. For example, about the coat, the article says:
“You can take the coat on the left, belt it, as we have here at the right - and fashion-presto - you have an informal costume.”
I have to admit, though, that I think even the informal items would be considered rather formal today!
The article also provides a very concise explanation of fall 1931 fashion:
“Wider at her shoulders, narrower at her skirt hem, slimmer at her waist - that’s fall fashion 1931.”
The January 1942 issue of McCall’s magazine offers some recipes to make that taste good while using inexpensive types of meat. They are all supposed to appeal to everyone in the family, and you could choose from the recipes depending on what types of meat your family liked best.
“Is the family steak-hungry?” Then you should make the meal shown in the recipe above, “Barbecued Steak Sandwich Platter”. You can click on the photo to see a larger, readable version; but basically the recipe has you combine ketchup, vinegar, and a few other ingredients which you pour over the cube steaks and let sit for a while before you broil them. Personally, I think the onion rings look the best, but no recipe is provided for those. Oh, well, it’s probably better for me that I don’t eat them anyway.
pork chops casserole
“Do they cheer for chops? Try these!” This is a pork chop casserole, created using such ingredients as sliced canned pineapple, hominy, and end-of-loin pork chops. This dinner was served with spinach and turnips, carrot-raisin salad, baked apples, and cookies.
Stuffed Sparerib Roast
Finally, “Want a crackly-brown roast?” Then this is the recipe for you! A side of spareribs is stuffed with a mix of mashed sweet potatoes, breadcrumbs, onion, and eggs and then roasted until tender. It is served with apple rings, squash, green bean salad, and strawberry gelatin. (And aren’t those salt and pepper shakers with the little pigs cute? Although it seems kind of wrong to have them sitting next to a side of spare ribs.)
Because I can’t seem to get enough of the 1920’s, I have started a side blog called To the 1920’s. I will still be posting 1920’s items here along with everything else, but because I seem to have so many items from this decade I figured it would be better to have a separate place to post all of the extras. So if you love this decade as much as I do, please go and have a look around, and enjoy!
According to Wikipedia, “A corset is a garment worn to mold and shape the torso into a desired shape for aesthetic or medical purposes (either for the duration of wearing it, or with a more lasting effect).” From the 17th century up until the early part of the 20th century, corsets were a common part of women’s fashion. The desired body shape tended to change over time, but regardless of the fashion, corsets were usually worn underneath the dresses.
The illustration above comes from an 1880’s advertising pamphlet for the “Adjustable Duplex Corset.” Upon opening the pamphlet, you are treated to another image that provides the reason for Mrs. Brown’s perfect figure - The Adjustable Duplex Corset, of course!
The back of the brochure
Madame Griswold’s corsets were another option. This ad, which I found in the May 1880 issue of Peterson’s magazine, boasts that:
“The Mme. Griswold corset has become the favorite of the age, on account of its healthfulness, elegance, durability, and the easy adjustment to suit every form, which is gained by the different styles and lengths.“
The same ad offered permanent employment with a good salary, but assured readers that the corsets were sold by women only. Here is the ad, complete with illustrations of various styles that were offered.
Although they had a long run, corsets were beginning to fade away in the 1920’s. Dresses at this time were looser and shorter, and society was changing. Women were gaining more freedom and this decade saw the rise of the flapper. It makes sense that the constraining corset was also falling out of favor. Women were still wearing support garments, but these could be considered more like girdles. This Charis ad from the September 1927 issue of Ladies Home Journal (which also offers employment opportunities!) explains that:
“By providing miraculous improvement and complete support with perfect body-freedom, Charis is indispensable in an age where restraint and discomfort are intolerable.”
The September 1927 issue of Ladies’ Home Journal is full of elegant, beautiful images. Two such images come from these ads that appeared in the magazine’s pages, and both happen to feature sun rooms. I think they are gorgeous and I can easily imagine myself sitting there, perhaps having a glass of lemonade, and simply relaxing in the sun…
In the picture above, from a Gold Seal ad, I really love the woman’s stylish blue blouse, the green-topped table, and the mix of patterns in the entire room (and of course the pitcher of something cool and refreshing on the table!)
The image below (from an ad for Armstrong Floors) has a similar color scheme, more lovely greens and oranges that somehow all work together perfectly. The floral patterns on the chairs are wonderful, too.
This is a rather interesting advertisement that I found in my copy of the February 15, 1917 issue of Vogue Magazine. It seems that Cutex, a company which is still around today, had just come out with a new cuticle remover that prevented women from having to cut and soak their cuticles during a manicure.
What I found the most fascinating, though, was the way nail polish was applied at the time. According to the ad,
“Cutex nail polish rubbed on the palm of the hand and passed quickly over the nails gives them a soft, shimmering polish - the most delightful you have ever seen. If you like an especially brilliant, lasting polish, apply Cutex Nail Paste first, then the Nail Cake.”
I tried to find some information about these early manicures, but there doesn’t seem to be much out there. I did find one article from the British Independent, The History of… Nail Varnish: Talon-Spotting, in which the author Susannah Conway explains that
“Nail varnish as we recognise it is a 20th-century phenomenon. In 1917, Cutex introduced the first tinted liquid nail polish, made from natural resins coloured with dyes. Technology developed and the Twenties saw nail varnishes made from plasticised nitrocellulose (a man-made film-former), but this didn’t adhere well to the nail and wore poorly.”
So I suppose that, for the time being, my knowledge of early twentieth-century manicures ends here. I really did enjoy learning from this ad, and being introduced to the lovely actresses Mary Nash and Louise Rutter, both of whom seem very pleased with their Cutex Nail Polish. If only the ad were in color!
The October 1904 issue of The Delineator magazine features an article that, to me, was far more interesting for the pictures that accompany it than for the article itself. It is called “The Fountain of Youth: Physical Culture”, and it explains to the reader how important it is to exercise the body, which is really just a machine, after all - “If he does not work, he rusts out.” What was so fascinating to me is the way the woman is dressed to exercise. She actually has on a skirt, although admittedly a rather short one for the time, and what look like leather shoes and tights. Her hair is also done up in a more of an updo than the simple ponytails we tend to wear today when we work out. It is hard for me to even imagine being able to work out comfortably in that!
Whatever her attire, physical exercise seems to have really caught on by the early 20th century. According to this article,
“Many exercises recommended are unsatisfactory in that they do not tend to an all-round development. In the devotion to physical exercise of these later days - it almost amounts to a craze - the number of exercises that have been invented are legion. It requires much intelligence and discretion to make a proper selection.”
Exercising with a Barbell
“The practice with dumbells and Indian clubs of varying weights has gone rather out of fashion, as it has been demonstrated that as good results can be attained without them, when the tension or contraction of the muscles is attained through voluntary exertion in what are called ‘resistance’ exercises. A very good exercise, however, is that of the barbells, the balls of which are very light. A broom handle will do almost as well.”
First, Second, and Final Positions in Swimming
“For all-round muscular development, swimming has no equal. It calls into play all the muscles of the body, of the head and especially of the next, the extremeties and the trunk… It is necessary to become accustomed to the water, and to learn how to take the waves in surf bathing. The latter kind of bathing has a peculiar electricity, that is stimulating and life-giving. One who is delicate should not stay in the water too long; about twenty minutes is the limit.”
Fencing
“The practise of fencing has been taken up by many ladies in recent years as a means of physical culture. It has some advantages over the more ordinary exercises, in that it gives those who acquire skill in it a dexterity and quickness of movement that would be difficult to attain in any other way.”
These gorgeous fashions are straight out of the January 1942 issue of McCall’s magazine. The colors are vibrant, the dresses shapely and mature. There are a lot of narrow little belts here, too, and lots of matching hats. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I really like the look of the black dress worn with white pearls and gloves. But there are a lot of choose from, so see what you think:
I love this early 20th century photo of a pair of lovely young women, but what makes it even more wonderful is the writing on the back of the photograph:
“How do you think we look? We both look like we are sound asleep - but we were very much awake when this pose was taken. Lulu says tell you she is very much prettier than this picture represents her.”
In late September of 1914, the Milburn Wagon Company began the manufacture of their 1915 Milburn Light Electric automobiles, based on a design by Karl Probst, who later designed the Bantam Jeep. During their eight years of production, from 1915 to 1923, they turned out over 4,000 cars.
The website also explains that the Milburn was the most inexpensive electric car of the time, though from the gorgeous ad above I would have never suspected that.
Now we are on to cars that are more familiar to us even today. Moving ahead seven years, we come to this ad for Ford cars which I discovered in the November 1924 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine. There was a large female base of possible consumers, and the automobile manufacturers wanted to be sure to reach it. Thus we see ads like this one, in which the car is “ideally adapted for a woman’s personal use.”
Women were also being targeted in this 1934 Chevrolet ad from the September issue of McCall’s: “A woman has so many things to do, during the day, that call for the use of an automobile! Lucky for her there’s such a car on the market as the new Chevrolet.” On a side note, I love the little vintage details like the boy’s knickers and the mother’s apron, and the old license plate on the car in the garage.
Finally, here is an ad from the July 1949 Ladies Home Journal which helpfully advises women on how to tell your husband to buy you a car! You’ll notice that all the information directed to women tells about how roomy and easy-to-handle the car is, while the little postscript for the husbands at the bottom includes the more technical info.
