your 1955 wish list

Christmas is just a week away!  Here are some items that might have been on your wishlist if you were an adult in 1955, based on ads in the December 5, 1955 issue of Life magazine. 

Sexy Seamprule lingerie for her (?) for Christmas.  I'd just like to point out that these two sassy gals are clearly not kissing Santa Claus.

That black anniversary bottle of Jim Beam goes awesomely with your modern furniture!  I only included one here, but there were tons of booze ads in this issue of Life.

A candy case collection of Swank cuff links for him.  I like the "Wild Horn" style in the upper right corner, though your current day hipster might also dig the "Unicorn" style in the second row!

*Sigh.*  Yes, we ladies just love useful homemaker gifts.  I have to say, though--I actually really dig the packaging on these Cannon towels.  

Soft blues, pinks, yellows, and greens were obviously hot colors in 1955.  I'll have a Royal in each color, one for every room of the house.

I don't know that I would be so thrilled in 1955 to receive a set of Pyrex refrigerator dishes for Christmas...but I wouldn't mind an extra set under the tree this year!  (They really do kick Tupperware butt, in my opinion.)

Pretty little Houbigant perfume sets...too bad every last one is so pink.

Just like 2012--electronics are the big bucks gift!  I'll take that hifi, thanks.

xo

K

august 1957 in ads

So last month I covered 1964 in ads, and it was so much fun (for me, anyway) that I had to do it again.  I chose August 1957.  The ads are from Life magazines, which are available online, and there were so many good ones that I had to split it up into two parts.  The first part focused on back to school ads, and you can see that post here.  This one...well, let's just say there are an awful lot of beer ads.

Enjoy.  (I did!)

(You might notice I've re-done the blog banner again.  I think the other was too vertically challenging.  I'll probably change it up six more times.)

Bedroom eyes and haystacks.  I get what you're trying to do here, Du Pont.  (And I like that scarf collar cardigan!)

I always love seeing ads for things I've sold in the shop.  I've sold a few pairs of Williams brand flats.  They're always really cute...and isn't her skirt great?

Yeah, sister.  If he's happy, you're happy, so if you know what's good for you, you'll let him smoke that nasty thing.

Like Oktoberfest.  Only really schlitzy.

I have to say, this does look really appealing.  I can't find anything to snark about here.

What's with the songs and these beer ads?  I bet Red Cap wasn't all that unusual, either, no matter what the song says.  I bet it tasted just like Hamm's and Schlitz.  What I do find unusual is the guy with the accordion.  Was that a thing at cookouts in the 1950s?  If so...awesome.  I do love the Red Cap label.

Hey, neat!  A beer ad directed at women.  Unless it's directed at dudes who like ladies in swim caps.  Whatever.  The ad copy is about quenching your thirst, and she's obviously had a workout.  Or is already a little bit drunk, maybe.

Cute shoes!  But the ad is confusing me.  (What's new.)  Why wouldn't a mother and daughter wear the same style shoe?  I mean, I've seen those Real Housewives shows.  Stripper heels know no age.  Why would the cute flats of the 1950s be different?

Yum.  I love burgers.  And A1 Sauce.  Also love the hookup of PBR and A1 in this ad.  Beer and food go together, might as well advertise together.  Oh wait--what's that copy say?  "When it's a meal mainly for men"--oh--"here's a top notcher combination."  Crap.  Guess I'll take my lame low notcher lady ass over to Eva Longoria's steakhouse for women, which appeals to my femaleness with such obviously lady-centric things as "smaller plates and portions," "a runway for fashion shows," "Cirque du Soleil-type performers," and most of all "cryogenic fog and rain curtains."  Gosh, I hope the rain is pink.  Actually, since I'm a lady and it's 1957 I'll just have a leaf of iceberg lettuce with some cottage cheese and a pineapple slice.  Thank you.

"WONDERFULLY...your gin drinks COME TO LIFE", grow to the size of water towers and take over the universe!  Why aren't these guys running and screaming?  Dudes.  There's a GIANT bottle of Seagram's and two mega cocktails right behind you.  And they're ALIVE!

Salem menthols.  Like a fresh mountain breeze.  During a forest fire.  Near a tar pit.  That they're attempting to put out with Listerine.

Can't say nothing bad about HoJo's.  And I'll just say here that I really enjoyed the Mad Men episode set there.

Oh, cute!  It's nice they're letting her drink some beer.  Although, really, she's just holding it aloft.  And it seems like he's kind of more into his beer than her.  Maybe things aren't so perfect under the surface.  Maybe she's handing that beer off to someone else.  Maybe she's about to pour it over his big dumb head.

I really like that lamp hanging over the dresser.  (Sorry to be all Brick Tamland "I love lamp"; I don't have anything else to say about this.  I only left it in because it was the only furniture ad that grabbed my eye, which is sad, because it is, like, 1957, right?)

Not as odd as the noir-ish Dan River Fabrics ad from this post...the ladies clothing shown here is great.  I especially love that wacky striped pants/hoodie number.

It's bean-time.  End.  Of.  Story.

Hey look!  It's the original nerd-spectacled, vinyl-loving hipsters!  (Oh, and also another disinterested boy.)

More.  Giant.  Booze.  I think all the sad ladies of the 1950s are swimming around in these huge dranky-dranks.

Geez.  Black Label is so low rent they can't even come up with a song.  Just a lousy four-word rhyme.

xo

K

billy rose's aquacade at the 1939 new york world's fair

Here is a fun flea market find--the souvenir program for Billy Rose's Aquacade at the 1939 New York World's Fair.  The Aquacade was a swimming and dance show that actually premiered in 1937 at the Great Lakes Exposition in Cleveland.

It starred "aquadonis" Johnny Weissmuller...

...and "aquabelle" Eleanor Holm.  And featured several other egregious usages of "aqua" as a prefix, to wit: aquafemmes, aquagals, aquadudes, aquabeaux, aquabuilders.  (Esther Williams replaced Holm in the Aquacade after it moved from NYC to San Francisco.)

I would totally make this my own personal coat of arms.  Maybe stick a martini glass on there and a vintage dress.

I can have these shoes, please?

In this building, a visitor could see "absorbingly interesting scale models" of "famous places" like...Jones Beach.  Or, you could hop a train or drive a car out to Jones Beach.  Just sayin'.

Holy crap.  These green gloves by Merry Hull with snap compartments almost make me want to take up smoking!  You could probably stick a lipstick and a little cash in there instead.

The back of the program is pretty destroyed, but I had to post it because I have a soft spot for PBR, and the ad promises that PBR is "brisk bodied and never syrupy or logy."

xo

K