Lessons from the Past: November 1954, Household Magazine

A few weeks ago I walked over to the Fremont Vintage Mall to see if I could find some cool old magazines to use in collages. I found a few and thought I’d share one of them with you before I start cutting it up. It was so much fun to look through and read the various tips from ads or articles. It made me really appreciate 2012.

I wish the quality was better, but with cover stories like Paintings That Men Really Like, you can see why I couldn’t stop myself from showing you this stuff. Let’s just jump straight to that piece.

I guess that in 1954 all men liked boring pictures, and it apparently was kind of a big deal for a man to actually be responsible for buying his own picture at all. The article quotes women with a “Mrs.” in front of their husband’s name. What if this blog were written by Mrs. Drew Biehle? Can you even imagine?! There’s a quote from a Professor (obviously a he, since he’s not Mrs. Professor Husband’s Name) with this helpful advice. “If a picture is to be selected for a man, it is best, of course, that he select it himself. If this is not possible, it would be well to take clues from some of his interests,” and “No one wants to live with either a picture or a person who becomes dull or uninteresting after the first year.” I’m so glad I wasn’t around for all of this poppycock.

Check out these ads.

Apparently, in 1954 some women were douching with Lysol so they wouldn’t be “offensive,” and instead remain “dainty, confident, and sure of your charm.” Oh…my…God. And hey, guess what? Awesome news. You can eat fried foods every day because Crisco is digestible!

Last one.

Final Lessons:

1. When you teach your child daughter to cook, be sure to teach her how to do it right.

2. If you hurt yourself, be sure to keep smiling maniacally. That, and Urgentine, will help you fight the pain.

3. Christmas was a lot more fabulous in 1954.

See that red outfit the little girl is wearing when she waters the plants? It reminds me of an awesome skirt and vest I had in kindergarten. I wish I still had a photo of it. It was light blue. The skirt had white velvety-feeling fringe and the vest had glittery white cowboy boots on the front of it. It was awesome and I loved it.

P.S. If you’re ever lucky enough to visit the Fremont Vintage Mall, be sure to stop by Danae’s shop, Gather and Hunt. She has some cool stuff and she’s super nice.

See you tomorrow! xo