Ten Things I Love About Postmenopause

Posted by & filed under Beauty, Daily Life, Health.

  1. No blood/bleeding: You can wear white pants again.
  2. No PMS: Your hormones level out.
  3. No cramps: You don’t have to take a boatload of ibuprofen anymore.
  4. No bloating/fluctuating weight: You’ll probably gain weight but it will stay stable.
  5. No mood swings: Emotional drama is greatly reduced.
  6. No hormonally-induced migraine headaches: You can now blame your headaches on stress.
  7. No need for birth control: Duh.
  8. No weird food cravings: The sweet/salty thing diminishes.
  9. No calendar planning around your period: Your days are open and free.
  10. No spending money on sanitary pads and tampons: Damn, that stuff is expensive!

~Marilyn

Pepsi-Cola: The Modern Refreshment of 1955

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

Vintage 1955 Pepsi-Cola | FINNFEMMEThis is a great Pepsi-Cola ad from the August 1955 issue of Woman’s Home Companion magazine. The artist’s depiction of a fashionable young couple on the beach is just delightful! I love her striped bathing suit, and his bold print swim trunks. The ad even states: No need to explain what land and what age these people live in. They have the unmistakable look of America, 1955.

This is back when soda pop was an occasional drink, reserved for occasions like a picnic on the beach, not guzzled down by the liter as some today do. It even states that Pepsi was now reduced in calories – never heavy, never too sweet. A “light” refreshment. The bottles even look tiny; probably 8 ounces at the most. No wonder people in the 1950s could keep their wasp waistlines!

~Marilyn

Vintage 50s Fashions: Better Living Through Chemistry

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FINNFEMME: Vintage 50s Fashions: Better Living Through ChemistryFINNFEMME: Vintage 50s Fashions: Better Living Through ChemistryAfter WWII, DuPont delved into making ‘Modern-Living Fibers’ such as Nylon, Orlon, Dacron, Rayon and Acetate. Their theme was BETTER THINGS FOR BETTER LIVING…THROUGH CHEMISTRY.

Now dresses could not only be rich and beautiful, but practical too. The fabric blends lent themselves to be drapable and packable. It’s interesting to note that only natural fibers were used up to this point, so it really must have been quite revolutionary.

This two-page full-spread ad is from the August 15, 1953 issue of Vogue magazine. The dress on the left is designed by Philip Hulitar and is a lacy tweed blended or nylon, rayon and acetate. The dress on the right is designed by Ceil Chapman. It is in a rich, clinging crepe of Orlon in wonderful after-dark colors.

We take all these fabrics for granted now – but I am glad that we still have options, along with the natural classics of cotton, wool and silk.

~Marilyn

Those Exquisite 1953~Vogue Paris Original~ Designer Sewing Patterns

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In the early 1950s, Vogue obtained the pattern-rights to original designs of the great Paris couture houses. Wrapped up in tissue paper for the home seamstress, these eight beautiful designs – from the August 15, 1953 issue of Vogue magazine –  came to America to be made into Vogue Patterns. The French designers are: Desses, Jacques Fath, Heim, Schiaparelli, Griffe, Paquin, Patou, and Lanvin-Castillo.FINNFEMME: Those Exquisite 1953 Vogue Paris Original Designer Sewing Patterns - 1FINNFEMME: Those Exquisite 1953 Vogue Paris Original Designer Sewing Patterns - 2FINNFEMME: Those Exquisite 1953 Vogue Paris Original Designer Sewing Patterns - 3If you ever have the good fortune to run across one of these vintage patterns, GRAB IT (and send it to me – hee hee). They are highly collectible and fetch top-dollar on auction sites. It pays to save ephemera!

~Marilyn

 

Olivia Hussey and Next to Nothing Makeup by Yardley, 1969

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FINNFEMME: Olivia Hussey and Next to Nothing Makeup by Yardley, 1969 adOlivia Hussey, star of the Franco Zeffirelli production of Romeo and Juliet, was also a Yardley of London model in 1969. Her flawless English Rose beauty was a perfect fit for Yardley to advertise all the fab mod makeup products that they were producing at the time. It was an excellent opportunity to parlay her beautiful Juliet performance into the advertising world. Now that I think about it, she went from actress to model. Now it’s the other way around; that models want to be actresses.

This ad is for Next to Nothing Makeup, which was touted as an ‘invisible’ makeup by Yardley. So fine and sheer, all he ever sees is your own pretty face, looking flawless. I don’t know about you, but my teenage skin was far from flawless. More like covered in acne, which is why I never used an ‘invisible’ makeup. In fact Olivia Hussey, with her perfect skin, was probably the only person who could wear this makeup and look good. I doubt she spent any time using Phisohex and Clearasil like I did. The Next to Nothing makeup set is cool though – fantastic Biba-esque graphics and a fluffy powder puff – but a bit too unrealistic for a normal teenager like me.

~Marilyn

Seventeen Magazine November 1972 Cover Girl – Joyce Walker

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FINNFEMME: Seventeen Magazine's Model Joyce Walker Vintage November 1972Seventeen magazine was the fashion bible for my teenage years, and I’m glad I saved a big stack of them for my vintage research now. Perhaps I had the foresight as a teen that I would one day need them! The November 1972 issue of Seventeen featured the gorgeous model Joyce Walker as cover girl. What I appreciated about Seventeen is that, while they had their share of blonde, blue-eyed models, they also went for a more diverse look at times. Black models did show up on their covers and editorial pages with regularity. This seemed pretty normal to me at the time, and no one made any waves about it. 44 years later, what surprises me is that it seems to be a bigger deal in 2016 when a black model is on the cover of a fashion magazine. Probably the social media effect.

FINNFEMME: Model Joyce Walker, Seventeen Magazine, November 1972Joyce was also featured in the fashion editorial pages of the same issue. Wearing fantastic floral print wide-leg pants and a back-sashed smock by Jane Irwill, she is simply glorious!

FINNFEMME: Model Joyce Walker, Seventeen Magazine Vintage November 1972Tall and slim, Joyce is modeling Jane Irwill floral pants, silver-sparkle halter top and a black-sparked cardigan. The stack-heeled patent leather shoes are by Capezio. Makeup by Mary Quant. Bracelet by Michael Moraux for Dubaux.  I would totally wear this look today!

~Marilyn