Ecstatic 1930s Housewives Hang Their Laundry!

Posted by & filed under Daily Life, Frugal Living, Vintage.

Vintage 1939 Rinso Laundry Soap adIt seems that laundry was a particularly joy-inducing task in 1939, as depicted in this cute ad for Rinso soap.  The neighborhood ladies are frolicking around the clothesline, while an onlooking older woman comments, “Looks like the whole town’s going wild about the NEW 1940 RINSO and the richer suds it give in our hard water”.  The ecstatic clothesline-dancing women laud the fact that Rinso has longer-lasting suds, gets clothes bright and snowy white, and is easy as ever on their hands.

As corny as it seems, it probably wasn’t too far from the truth.  Everyone used to hang their laundry out to dry back then, and it naturally lead to various comparisons and comments.  You would literally “air your dirty laundry”.  It was a source of homemaking pride to hang laundry that was as clean as possible.

I am a neighborhood (and American) anomaly as I air-dry all my laundry.  But my clothesline is in the backyard – apart from prying eyes.  So while I may do the occasional dance while hanging the clothes, there will be no comparisons from competitive neighbors!

~Marilyn

 

1930s College Co-eds and Coca-Cola

Posted by & filed under Daily Life, Fashion, Vintage.

1939 Coca-Cola AdWhen I think of how much soda people drink these days, it’s always refreshing to see how they drank it in days of yore.  This fab 1939 Coca-Cola ad depicts two college co-eds in their dorm room, drinking bottles of Coke.  “Ice-cold Coca-Cola goes to school…to add its refreshing life and sparkle to the sociable side of campus life.”  The girls look the picture of glowing youthful health, sitting there amongst the trappings of a hip ’30s dorm room.  Portable record player playing albums on the floor, field hockey sticks propped in the corner, and books and papers strewn about.  I love their saddle shoes and cute skirt and sweater sets.

What is most surprising is the size of the Coca-Cola bottles!  In thick glass, they look positively miniature in the girls’ hands.  I can’t imagine there being more than 6 to 8 ounces of liquid in those bottles.  And Coca-Cola was treated as an aside;  “a happy pause for the tingling refreshment…”, not something to be guzzled with great abandon throughout the day.  It was 25 cents (plus deposit) for a six-bottle carton – the entire six pack looks about the size of the woman’s hand!

~Marilyn

Those Fabulously Swell Vintage 1939 Shoes!

Posted by & filed under Fashion, Vintage.

1939 Red Cross Shoes adThe shoes from the ’30s were incredibly stylish!  These ads, from May, 1939 feature the outrageously beautiful shoes that the average American ’30s woman had to chose from.  This Red Cross Shoes ad displays their “brilliantly designed” and “superbly tailored” shoes made for dress, sports and walking.  The artistic detailing of each shoe is amazing.  They had great names too; The Barletta, The Cupid Pump, World’s Fair Shoe, The Adelphia, The Fern, and (my favorite) The Harmony.  And the best thing of all was that they were made in the U.S.A. by the United States Shoe Corporation, in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Goodness, Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin have nothing on these good old Midwestern American shoe designers!

1939 Kedettes Shoes adEven the sportier shoes had heels and splendid styling.  These Kedettes shoes, made by the United States Rubber Company, are simply amazing.  With styles such as the Spectator Oxford, the Open-toe Pump, the Colonial Pump, the Moccasin Oxford, the Tyrolean Oxford and the Peasant Oxford,  they were sure to add zest to even casual wear.  Sure puts today’s flip flops and sneakers to shame!

The 1930s era was fabulously chic, despite the overshadowing of The Great Depression.   And it tends to get somewhat forgotten between the Jazz Age, Flapper 1920s, and WWII, Swing Era 1940s styles.  But I love the Art Deco era – so modern, so forthright, so fresh.

~Marilyn

Groovy 70s Crocheted Poncho and Lacy Flare Pants Pattern

Posted by & filed under Fashion, Vintage.

Vintage Poncho-Pants Crochet PatternThis is about the grooviest crochet pattern I’ve run across!  Crocheted in cotton twine or knitting worsted yarn, the deep-pointed poncho is two straight pieces, sewn together.  Hip-snug lacy pants have an opaque pattern at top, drawstring waist, and flare slightly below knee.

Out of sight, man!

Download pattern here: Poncho and Pants Crochet Pattern

~Marilyn

Vintage 1970 Ribbon Dance Dress Crochet Pattern

Posted by & filed under Fashion, Vintage.

Vintage Crochet Dress PatternThis Ribbon Dance Dress from 1970 is really lovely.  It has almost a 1920’s Flapper look to it, which is perfect for the current Great Gatsby vibe in fashion.  The Ribbon dress, shown in vibrant pink, has a lowered waistline and flippy skirt.  A drawstring makes the top slightly blouson.  Shells are worked in rows for bodice, larger shells in panels for skirt, which is lined.

What are you waiting for?  Get crocheting! Download pattern here: Ribbon Dance Dress Crochet Pattern

~Marilyn

 

Purex Crystals: Good But Use SPARINGLY!

Posted by & filed under Daily Life, Frugal Living, Vintage.

Purex Crystals - Zote SoapAs a lot of you know, I make my own homemade laundry detergent, my favorite recipe being that used with Zote soap, Washing Soda, and Borax.  I really love the scent of Zote – very fresh, clean and citrusy – but once it does its job washing the laundry, the scent disappears.  My laundry is left with absolutely no scent once it dries.  Which is okay for my sheets and underwear because I don’t necessarily like them scented.

But I do especially like my towels with a bit of scent.  I hang up, dry, and reuse my bath towels several times between washings.  Really, how dirty do most people get?  And you’re clean after bathing anyway.  But I find that without a laundry scent, the towels seem to take on a neutral cotton fabric smell between washings.  It isn’t unpleasant…just blah.

On the advice of a commenter on my Zote recipe blog post, I bought and tried Purex Crystals.  I didn’t mix in in with my detergent as she suggested because I don’t want all my laundry to be scented, just select loads.  I used the smallest Purex Crystalsamount as suggested on the Purex label – just to the lowest level line on the cap.  I threw it in the washer along with my homemade Zote detergent and washed a load.  It definitely scented the load!!  I air-dried (as I always do)  the load indoors on drying racks because it was raining.  The scent was almost incredibly overpowering, and I had used the suggested smallest amount!   Not only will it scent your laundry, it will scent the entire house.

Yes, I am more sensitive to laundry scents than the average bear, but this stuff is S T R O N G.  Purex even suggests for “longer lasting freshness”, fill to top or add an additional capful.  I can’t even imagine it; it would be completely overwhelming!

Purex Crystals amountI did try another load, and used half of the lowest amount suggested, which is probably about a teaspoonful.   This time it worked out well, with the laundry retaining a slight fresh scent.  So my suggestion is to use it sparingly with the laundry you want scented, and use the regular homemade detergent for just plain old non-scented.  It’s a happy medium.

-Marilyn