Roger Sterling: "It's a mistake to be conspicuously happy. Some people don't like it."

Roger Sterling.  So suave, so naughty, so old school, and yet . . . kind of modern.  Roger is a contradiction.  He can be stuck in the past (ask him about his Navy days), but he embraces the future, at least in the form of very modern office decor and acid tripping (both thanks to his second wife, Jane).  He's a hard drinker who seems to hate to work ("Well, I gotta go learn a bunch of people's names before I fire them") . . . but he's usually the force behind all the major deal-making that occurs in the office.  He is a serious womanizer ("When God closes a door, he opens a dress"), but seems to have real and deep love (respect, even) for all the important women in his life, including his daughter.  I imagine there are people who would likely disagree with me on this point, but I always think of an early scene he has with Peggy, where she asks him for her own office.  He is simultaneously patronizing and admiring of her, telling her both that she's "cute" and "has balls."  I feel like that's Roger in a nutshell.  (She gets the office.)

  Roger not only has the best office decor, he also gets all the best lines on the show ("Why don't you take a nap?  Your face looks like a bag of walnuts").  It makes sense: this is, after all, the author of Sterling's Gold.

* "And you always said I never take you anywhere!" | The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe from BEATBOOKBONANZA

* 1960s mod Viking Glass ashtray | retrosymphony

* When I see a jacket like this with an ascot in the pocket or at the neck, my brain automatically sticks Roger's head on it. | double breasted men's jacket from CompanyMan

* 1968 Madison Avenue Datebook | CollectionSelection

* op art print | DELTANOVA

* "I can't say I know my furs that well.  I know my mother had a chinchilla; I was always on the verge of a romantic relationship with it." | 1960s Barbie fur stole from CalloohCallay

* "Have a drink.  It'll make me look younger." | Guzzini acrylic ice bucket from PopBam

* "Have another.  It's 9:30 for God's sake!" | mid century cocktail glasses from AlegriaCollection

* "It's incredible what passes for heroism these days.  I'd like ticker tape for pulling out of my driveway and going around the block three times." | 1944 U.S. Naval Training Center graduation photo from ElsieSaysSo

* Roger doesn't cry when he finds out his mother has died, or at her funeral.  But he does break down when he finds out that the building's shoeshine guy, Giorgio, has died, and that Giorgio's family had asked that Roger have his shoeshine kit. | 1960s shoeshine kit from WhimzyTime

 * 1960s Galaxy lounge chair attributed to Alf Svensson and Yngvar Sandström | 20cModern

xo

K

 Updated to include photos of Roger!  I can't believe I forgot them.

xo

k

Paris, 1963

I recently ran across these photos of young people in Paris in 1963, taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt for Life magazine.  The photos never ran in the magazine, but I was really taken with them.  These aren't pretty, romantic photographs.  You can almost feel the grit of the Parisian streets under your feet and smell the cigarette smoke of the cafes when you look at them.

And yet--or maybe because of that--I want to be there.

All photos by Alfred Eisenstaedt for Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images.  These and more Eisenstaedt photos taken in Paris in 1963 can be seen here.

xo

K

what i wore - Nosferatu

Last Saturday, Andy took me to see F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent film classic, Nosferatu, which was shown at our local arts theater along with live music by the Andrew Alden Ensemble.  I last saw Nosferatu about 20 years ago, so it felt new to me, seeing it again, and this time along with a four-piece ensemble.  The music was composed by Alden, and was wonderful.  I recommend seeing them if they come to your town; they're on tour right now, and perform live soundtracks for other films, like The Phantom of the Opera and Night of the Living Dead.  (The jerk next to me taking photos with his phone and guffawing throughout the film didn't add to the experience, but anyway.  Dear Humanity:  Please put your phones away sometimes.  Thank you.  Love, Me.)

Anyway.  Above is the outfit I wore.  You'll note it's not on me.  Oh well.  It was dark out, I needed a haircut, I don't love having my photo taken...but this is one of my very favorite dresses, so I had to document it.

  

It's by Butte Knits, and is really warm and cozy.  Plus: rhinestones and Peter Pan collar.  What's not to love?

I wore my favorite (much scuffed) metallic pewter Frye t-straps, and carried this cute little 1950s evening bag by Andè.

I wish the hardware on the bag was silver and not gold, alas.  But I still love the heavy, rhinestone-bedecked clasp.

I did finally (yesterday) get a much overdue haircut...and my hair is now the perfect lilac-purple.  Pictures forthcoming.

xo

K

youthquaker

Last week someone on Tumblr posted a great photo from a 1975 Vogue (the very last image in this blog post, actually), and the Google image search I did to find the source led me to a most amazing blog called Youthquaker.  You may already be aware of Youthquaker, but in case you aren't--and if you're at all a fan of mod and/or 1960s-1970s fashion--I urge you to check it out!  The blog features fashion spreads from UK, Italian, and Paris Vogue magazines from 1965-1975.  You can do searches for particular models or photographers, if that's your thing...or, you can be like me, and just start clicking away and enjoying the wealth of fabulous vintage fashion!  I posted a few highlights below.

above four images UK Vogue /  March 15, 1965

UK Vogue / October 15, 1965

above four images UK Vogue / September 1, 1968

xo

K

unquestionably good knitwear

It's knitwear season!  And I have become the lucky owner of a trio of knitting magazines.  The black and white photos are from a 1960 edition of New Hand Knit Fashions for Town and Country, and the color photos are from a 1975 and a 1976 edition of Knitking magazine.  I've decided to divide the photos from these gems into two blog posts: the unquestionably good, and the somewhat questionable/I'm not sure/kinda funny/just plain bad/scary.  (I know, the second category sounds like a lot more fun, doesn't it?)

For today, enjoy the Unquestionably Good!

I love that cardigan on the left.  I can't tell if the suit on the right looks super-cozy or super-itchy.

Wowza.  Knitting your own coat!?!

Love these dresses--particularly the one on the left!

Cute cardis!  I love the cropped one, and the contrasting collar and cuffs on the other.

The outfit on the left is a little bit questionable, but in the end, the loopy cuffs and hat kinda win more over.  Gal on the right is made of Total Win!

Love the little hoodie cardi, and her pompadour!

xo

K

1964 in ads

Ads are so annoying, aren't they?  Yet, when done well, they can be works of art in their own right--entertaining, even!  And when I page through a vintage women's magazine, I actually usually find the ads more intriguing than the non-ad content.  Maybe it's the influence of Mad Men, but when I was looking through this May 1964 issue of McCall's (the "First Magazine for Women"), it was the ads that caught my eye.  There's a lot of color, a love of all things French (and Hawaiian!), and a focus on convenience--particularly when it comes to food and cooking.  (Click here for my previous post featuring fabric ads from this same issue)

I love everything about this, from her headpiece/hat to the shades of pink (I'd love that lipstick she's wearing) to the awesomely groovy typeface they used!

I'll try the Rose Geranium splash.

"Just wear a smile and a Jantzen" gals, and "you'll never ride alone"--!!!  The ad copy calls the blouse on the lefthand woman a "prissy print."

Tampax makes your ladytime so Untroubled that you can rock your all-white outfits, even in the great outdoors.

Hunt's uses not just any tomatoes for its catsup--it uses the big ones.

So this is insane.  Nothing showcases canned fruit better than a gelatinous shroud of lime Jell-O--even better when you can whip it up right in the can!  I'm really disturbed by the lettuce and what appears to be a dollop of Miracle Whip on the plate.

The National Steel Corporation wants you to believe that canned meat is the best thing ever.  I just want to know wtf that ham-like thing encased in pastry is, and how any part of it came out of a can.

Capture the romantic feeling of the French Riviera with a table full of elegant Lenox china, displayed on a table under a lovely damask tent.  Inside your house.

European women stay younger looking by using Palmolive soap.  But do the women of Vienna really dress like sheepherders for nights on the town?

I'm loving all the colors and color combining ideas in this Cannon ad.  My mom used to keep lidded apothecary jars of sea shells in our bathrooms, too (like the one on top of that stack of towels).

This Aileen ad looks so modern to me.  Maybe it's all the white space, or the strips of photos on the left side.  I love the blouse the model is wearing.  I'm slightly confused by the "smog" aspect of this ad, but I do like how it sort of accepts the smog and talks about it, rather than trying to present some smog-free paradise (in which we romp in all-white outfits during our ladytime.  Yes, I'm talking to you, Tampax.)

More Francophilia.  This Drexel bedroom set is inspired by Louis XIV and "the age of courtly elegance and romance."  It "whispers of court intrigue."  Or perhaps key parties and divorce.

"Shocking" looks just a little bit drunk.

Has Stouffer's changed its packaging at all?  I think it still looks pretty much just like this, which I kind of love.  (I do enjoy the very occasional Stouffer's French Bread pizza.  It's a nostalgia thing.)  I think I'm a little bit in love with the cheese award-toting Viking potato guy.

Love the artwork on this ad!  Apollo 11 won't happen for five more years, but the Soviet Union and the US had unmanned moon landings in 1959 and 1962.  Though this ad has more of an astrology/tarot card feeling than a space age NASA one.

Ladies use pink toilet paper.  Tell your friends.

No, don't thank me.  I do believe that's a vinyl floor.  Because I crawled around on one through my toddlerhood.

Back to the Hawaiian food in cans.  Canned ham, "magnificently" decorated with pineapples and cherries.

How flipping cute are these Ship 'n Shore girls' blouses--especially that whale print!

xo

K

futuristic fabric

This post was originally going to be about magazine ads of 1964.  (I'm still going to do that post.)  But as I was going through my May 1964 issue of McCall's, I noticed a large number of fashion ads that were not for the garment itself, but its fabric.  I don't think this is something we'd see much of in today's women's magazines.  Why would the women of 1964 care about whether their dress was made from Dacron, Orlon, Fortrel, or treated cotton?  Nylon and polyester fabrics had been in use in fashion for some time, but in the 1960s, we became obsessed with all things modern and convenient.  The fashions shown in this 1964 magazine aren't quite the futuristic vinyl/PVC mod looks of the Youthquake, but the ads do still focus on the modern aspects of the fabrics.  The ads tell us that Dacron and Fortrel are flattering, easy to care for (requiring little to no ironing), that they "stay fresh" and keep their shape.  (Note all the DuPont logos you see in these ads!)

An R&K Originals dress made of a Dacron polyester and cotton blend that "keeps its head on the hottest day," and retails for $20.00.

Several styles made of "Lovely to live in, non-stop neat" Dacron from manufacturers Jantzen, Ship 'n Shore, Sue Brett, McGregor, and Koret of California.

This Gay Gibson gingham set is particularly cute!

A striped $13.00 Orlon beach shift, by Boepple.

This ad is so weird, but I kind of love it.  It's like happy desert noir.  And that guy's hat!  Anyway, this Dan River Fabrics ad points out that even good old 100% cotton can be modern and convenient...when it's treated with "Wrinkl-Shed with Dri-Don."

A lovely $20.00 Leslie Fay dress, made of printed voile that's a blend of Fortrel polyester and cotton.

And don't worry--the cotton people were on top of things, too!  100% cotton is the best fabric in the heat, and it "never clings.  It's never clammy."  Also, you can iron it and it won't melt!  (Hm, not sure that's the best selling point...)

xo

K