Category Archives: 1980s

Claire Shaeffer: Collector, Teacher, Writer

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Lynn

Claire Shaeffer and her husband Charlie are collectors. When you enter their spacious Palm Springs home, their many passions are everywhere on display. The walls are filled bits and pieces they have collected through the years. When you look more … Continue reading →

Posted in 1970s, 1980s, 1990, 2000s, 2010s, General | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

A Woman in a Kerchief, 1982

Posted on September 29, 2015 by Lynn

This photo will certainly win no prizes for artistry, since one woman’s head is cut off. It’s not even clear what the intended subject is—the cakes? the kitchen set? the jello? Nonetheless, I snatched it up from a favorite ebay … Continue reading →

Posted in 1900s, 1940s, 1980s | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Caftan and the Older Woman

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Lynn

These days, older women who have a little flesh on their bones are advised to steer clear of roomy dresses like caftans. Wear clothes that skim the body, the critics say, not ones that take up a lot of space. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1980s, 2010s | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Old Woman of the Freeway

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Lynn

Mural artist Kent Twitchell undertook an unusual project in Los Angeles in 1974. He painted a huge image of an older woman who was visible to north bound drivers on the Hollywood Freeway. With her billowing white hair, sky blue … Continue reading →

Posted in 1970s, 1980s, 2010s | Tagged | 4 Comments

The Stretch & Sew Empire

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Lynn

Ann Person of Stretch & Sew was a brilliant business woman. Her franchises were a self-contained sewing empire, offering patterns, fabric, notions, and classes. On the women’s pages of local newspapers, she gained notoriety as a hugely successful entrepreneur. One … Continue reading →

Posted in 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990, 2000s, General | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Ann Person of Stretch & Sew

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Lynn

Every avocation has its celebrities, and Ann Person, the founder of Stretch & Sew, was a star in the world of home sewing in the seventies and eighties. As knit clothing hit the market in a big way, she devised … Continue reading →

Posted in 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990 | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Vogue Pattern Book and the Older Woman

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Lynn

In 1980, the Vogue Pattern Book introduced former movie star Arlene Dahl as a fashion adviser to older women. Then in her mid fifties, she had left acting behind and reinvented herself as a beauty consultant. For the next few … Continue reading →

Posted in 1980s | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Rosa Parks–A Lady and a Rebel

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Lynn

The common school book story of Rosa Parks (1913-2005) is incorrect. She was not an unassuming, weary seamstress who one day got mad and refused to move to the back of the bus. Instead, she was a longtime activist in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1960s, 1970s, 1980s | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Irene Salce de Urbina, 1986

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Lynn

Born in Mexico in 1908, Irene Salce de Urbina moved to Texas in the 1940s with her husband and seven children. She became a US citizen in 1963. Her husband, a minister in the Mexican Baptist Church, died in 1967. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1980s | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Searching for Koko Beall

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Lynn

Some of my very favorite sewing patterns are by Koko Beall from the Very Easy Vogue series. Recently I came across a short feature about her in an 1981 issue of Vogue Pattern Book that peaked my curiosity. Here’s what … Continue reading →

Posted in 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990 | Tagged , | 5 Comments