Tag Archives: advertising

Union Made, 1972

There is a small trove of these ads from the International Ladies Garment Workers Union at the Library of Congress.  They come from the 1970s, when union jobs in the garment industry were disappearing and clothing production was starting to … Continue reading

Posted in 1970s | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The Dowager Corset, 1900

If you had a product intended for older women, what would you call it?  These days it might include the words “ageless” or “forever young,” but in 1900 “dowager” was apparently considered a good idea.  What is a dowager anyway? … Continue reading

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The Half Size Brand Leslie Pomer

Regular blog readers know my fascination with half sizes, a category designed specifically for shorter and wider women. Although half size clothing existed before World War Two (and part of my quest is to discover the origins), business boomed after … Continue reading

Posted in 1960s, 1970s | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Cheerful Granny Takes Flight, 1953

The cheerful granny, an enduring image in American advertising, gets to take a trip on an airplane in the Saturday Evening Post in June 1953.  Since she was often used to introduce technological innovations to the middle class, like high … Continue reading

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Harford Frocks and the Older Woman

The 1947 packet for a Harford Frocks saleswoman contained something for almost everyone in the family, from young children upwards. There were school clothes for girls and boys, outfits designed for teenagers, and even a few things for the man … Continue reading

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Harford Frocks, 1947

When I opened up the 1947 sales kit for a Harford Frocks representative, I was astonished. The cards, housed at the Rubenstein Library at Duke University, looked exactly like those for Fashion Frocks, a much better known company.  After some … Continue reading

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Considering the Matron

You don’t see the word matron much anymore, but it was an important term of reference in fashion writing in the early twentieth century.  Since I’m fascinated by synonyms (and euphemisms) for “old,” I used the search engines for women’s … Continue reading

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The Cheerful Granny of 1925

“’Shhh, here’s the bedtime story,’” the ad copy reads. “As easily as she finds the page in her book, Grandmother sets the dial of the Kennedy. Riotous fun stops.  The familiar voice of a friend whom the children love but … Continue reading

Posted in 1920s | Tagged , | 1 Comment

“Ageless”

Do you look ageless?  I do not. In fact, I look every one of my sixty-seven years. That is not for lack of trying, as I am very susceptible to the siren song of skin care companies.  But upon seeing … Continue reading

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The War on Pants for Women, 1972

When women began wearing pants in public, they faced ferocious criticism.  I am used to biting comments well into the 1960s. “There are fortunate girls (usually under the age of fifteen) who look well in tight trousers; but I have … Continue reading

Posted in 1970s | Tagged , , | 4 Comments