Kiss My Knits!

I’m bringing a little something home from TNNA.

Vintage 1948 Colgate ad

Real-form Girdle ad from Real Experience, April 1948

What gets me is that she’s already very slim AND wearing a girdle. Yet she looks so guilty at being discovered with the fridge door open.

Honey, it’s okay. Eat the drumstick. We’re not judging.

We got a scanner with our computer years ago, but it never worked properly. We also have a printer that is fast going belly up. A scanner would be a convenience, because it’s a pain in the neck to take photos of my old magazines. The printer, however, is more important, since I need to print patterns for the Jayne hat kits.

This weekend, flush with cash, we decided we were finally going to get a new printer/scanner/all-in-one combo. Before buying anything, we checked the footprint of the space we were going to put it. I started to clear off a space for it where the old scanner was, buried under piles of paper. Just for kicks, I checked the internet one more time and whaddya know. A new driver for the scanner. And by new, I mean it was uploaded in 2003.

Check it out. The scanner works. It’ll be cheaper to get a good printer that’s not also a scanner, so this is a good thing.

My vintage ads and the scanner and I are going to have a grand time. The old pulps, like the 1945 “True Experiences” magazine that this Philip Morris ad came from, weren’t made to last. The paper’s thin and the back side bleeds through on a scan. But hey, who cares? I’m scanning! Yay!

I may have already pointed this out, but there are some really excellent color pictures from the 1930s and 40s in the Library of Congress’s Flickr photostream. “Photographers working for the United States Farm Security Administration (FSA) and later the Office of War Information (OWI) created the images between 1939 and 1944.” Neat look at an era that we usually only see in black and white.

P.S. – the same lady, but with a smile.

And now, direct from 1897, it’s time for…

Today’s missive comes all the way from Deadwood, South Dakota.
Take it away, MAY!

And now, direct from 1897, it’s time for…

Today’s missive comes from a reader who wishes to remain anonymous.
Take it away, Etiquette Queen!

Welcome to a new feature, which will run daily until I run out of responses or until I get tired of doing it, whichever comes first. Fresh from the July 1897 Ladies’ Home Journal, I bring you…

Young ladies write in with questions, and Ruth writes back discreet responses on proper etiquette and fashion.

Today is a response to “Mattie.” I can only assume that Mattie wrote about some really sweet piece of wedding bling. Ruth has a definite opinion.

So there you have it. Just like that, Ruth dashes Mattie’s hopes sets Mattie straight. If you like it then you should put a ring on it, but not too big a ring, because that would be gauche.

Until next time!

From July 1897 Ladies’ Home Journal. In addition to the usual soaps and baby foods, this issue was full of ads for bicycles, bicycle accessories, and “modern” undergarments.

Rock those bloomers, liberated lady.