At the end of the summer, I lucked out at an estate sale and, among many other awesome things, I found a nice little stack of vintage magazines. Every now and again, I like flipping through the pages. I like seeing the old products. The ads. I like reading the articles to find out what was important to people then. What they thought of as healthy. What the roles of husband, wife & child were. How the houses looked. How much a new washing machine cost. :)
I find history fascinating (especially recent history - namely 50s-ish). And I often wonder why I do. It's not like I was around in these bygone eras I love so much. It's not like my parents were especially nostalgic about their childhoods. I don't have any particular tie or anything. I just love it. And I feel that, even considering how much closer to home
war was, the political state of things, the segregation of the races, etc, etc, even with all that - I feel it was a much simpler time. People were kinder to one another. Neighbors were neighbors - not strangers. The clothes were awesome! Yaddayaddayadda. I dunno. Maybe I'm just idealistic about it. If you have a similar fascination though, you know what I mean.
Anyway! So I got all these magazines. And I love them. And instead of sitting silently in my private library - I figured I'd come share some of these gems with you guys once in a while. :) Today's images all come from this May 1951 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine (and I'm digging her kitchen!):
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| Love all the color schemes! (By the way, if you're trying to read any of these - just click on the pic - they should blow up bigger. :) ) |
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| A tribute to mother. |
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| I can just feel the interior decorators cringing. |
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| "How to Brighten a Book...and a Boy!" Some lighting suggestions by G.E. |
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| Haha! "Don't be a Statistic!" I love these chairs. I used to have a red one. But now I have a cool green one. They do come in very handy around the house. |
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| Putting this car on next year's Christmas list. And apparently it's great on gas! (Doubting the truthfulness of this ad a bit actually...this car? From the 50s? A week? Um...) |
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| The greatest thing since sliced....cheese? I love everything about this ad. The color and composition are great. I'm thinking about getting it framed actually. And it's "Extra-Good Tasting"! Ha! |
Are you a vintage lover? Do you have a favorite era? When I was younger, it was totally the 60s & 70s. But now, I'd say I'm definitely partial to the 50s. I also like the 30s & 40s though. Geesh! Ok - so do you have any favorite era
s?
4 comments:
Actually I love these eras too (30s, 40s, 50s)....its nice to know I am not the only dweeb out there.
I especially love the dresses that women used to wear (that would NEVER fit me in a million years) with their full skirts and nipped waists. I wish I could look half as adorable in an apron...
It just feels like such a sweeter and gentler era where people actually got to know their neighbors...and everything was wholesome and homey and a bit of "gee whiz mom".
I also get a big kick on the ads as well... I think that car actually came with a larger gas tank so it got more, rather than better mileage. Also, I don't think people did as much travelling as we do these days.... still, its a cute ad for a stinking cute rig... and check out that gorgeous coat she's wearing (swoon!) That does it, I need to learn to adapt patterns so I can make one of those bad boys fit me!
Lol - we are dweebs together, Shawna. :)
OMG, I aDORE the dresses! I find I tend to look goofy in them too. I love trying them on at the thrift store though. Every once in a while I can find a cute one.
Aaahh....that makes sense about the gas tank. I didn't think of that. Ugh - I wish my sewing skills were up to that level! That's on my "list" for 2012 - learn to sew some clothes for myself. Plushies are cute - but you can't wear em! Ha!
I can never decide, I go through phases. I think I'm the opposite.. it used to be 40's/50's and now it's 60's. I love everything 20's too and am more than a little obsessed with everything art deco, except the fashion just doesn't work for my body shape. waaa.
I bought a bunch of 50's magazines a while back (all b&w though) and made a big collage of my favourite ads, and then framed it. It has pride of place in our living room and people love reading it :)
Ugh! Don't you hate that! I wish I could look good in all the clothes I loved. I'm just too short for a lot of them though.
Your collage sounds really neat! I'd love to see it. (Blog post idea?) ;)
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