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If you watch enough old 1930s movies, you can be forgiven for thinking the world once existed only in black and white. So it’s startling to see these 1936 fashions in a riot of colors. Continue reading Fashion in (almost) living color
Sears, Spring 1954 The Allies didn’t just liberate Europe after World War II, they liberated women’s fashion if these 1954 Sears pages are anything to go by. Pants, shorts, haltertops, short haircuts and skin are suddenly highly visible in the casualwear pages. Just the thing for the young woman-about-town. Of course, if you were a … Continue reading Modern Women, Modern Fashion.
Neiman’s reels them in at a young age, with the kind of outfits you might see on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s children. Continue reading Style Starts Early
In the Wizard of Oz movie, even before Elvira Gulch morphed into the Wicked Witch of the West she scared me, pedaling away furiously on her bicycle wearing tortuous-looking high-laced shoes…like these. Continue reading Sturdy Shoes, Sensible Savings
National Cloak and Suit, Fall/Winter 1913-1914 Once upon a time – say, over 100 years ago, groups like PETA didn’t exist and fashionable women wore furs. These two ladies look like influencers from a “Downton Abbey” episode – svelte and chic. The artist who drew them and the printer who printed these color pages did … Continue reading Going a Bit Too Fur…
Dr. Gustav Jaeger believed in the power of wool for practical clothing. It’s a long trip from the Dr. Jaeger’s “Sanatory Underwear” to the Jaeger fashion house of today… Continue reading Pulling the wool over your eyes (and other bits)
This early postcard-sized specialty catalog is charming on multiple levels. You can enjoy just how extraordinarily fancy ladies’ hats could be at the dawn of the 21st century – just how many variations and hat accessories there were. Or… Continue reading Spring and Summer Hats, in Assorted Colors
Is that model really making a duck face? She’s ahead of her time… Continue reading The earliest known Duck Face
These two Sears pages reflect the beauty trends of the moment – the moment in question being 1932. Continue reading Past Perfumes, Current Cosmetics
If there were any doubt about how strongly gender roles and expectations were once ingrained in American lives, this 1961 White’s Christmas catalog should remove all doubt. Continue reading Girls’ Gifts: Gender Definitions for 1961
