A Merry Vintage 1935 Christmas

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Finnfemme: A Merry Vintage 1935 Christmas. Delineator magazine coverI was flipping through the December 1935 issue of Delineator magazine, and found some great material. It’s interesting that, while in the midst of the Great Depression, they managed to project a glorified zeitgeist of the day. The cover photo is of two adorable children beautifully dressed as angels, perhaps for a Christmas play.

Finnfemme: A Merry Vintage 1935 Christmas. PoemA Christmas poem was written.

Finnfemme: A Merry Vintage 1935 Christmas. Canned Pineapple adCanned pineapple was new and exciting. Somehow they managed to put it on everything.

Finnfemme: A Merry Vintage 1935 Christmas. Aunt Jemima adAunt Jemima wasn’t politically correct, but damn those ham ‘n’ waffles look good.

Finnfemme: A Merry Vintage 1935 Christmas. Camel cigarettes adSociety women smoked the hell out of their Camel cigarettes, while managing to maintain their elegance.

Finnfemme: A Merry Vintage 1935 Christmas. Lucky Strike cigarette adFashionable young women  out on the town had throngs of dapper gentlemen offering cigarettes. Apparently only Lucky Strike would do.

~Marilyn

My Vintage Scottish ‘Outlander’ Sweater!

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I am a huge fan of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander book series, having read Outlander, Dragonfly In Amber, and Voyager. I also just finished watching the entire 16-episode Outlander series; which I still trying to recover from! It’s one thing to read about all the grisly truth, it’s another thing to see it portrayed. Phew! But it is all so completely engrossing.Finnfemme: My Vintage Scottish 'Outlander' Sweater

So, yesterday when I was going through my clothes looking for items to donate, I found my vintage Scottish sweater, which had been tucked away. I actually got the sweater in Scotland in 1976; I was camping throughout the UK and Ireland with a group of Australians and New Zealanders. I remember being really entranced with Scotland at the time. I didn’t buy too many things, backpacking and all, but I did buy this sweater as I could wear it.

The sweater itself is kind of an amber/rust color, with a Fair Isle snowflake design. But what completely struck me was the label: Finnfemme: My Vintage Scottish 'Outlander' Sweater“100% PURE NEW WOOL ~ HAND FRAMED IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS ~ FORT WILLIAM (1974) LTD. ~ INVERNESS-SHIRE ~ MADE IN SCOTLAND”

Which means that this sweater was made in the heart of ‘Outlander’ country; Fort William, Inverness, and the Scottish Highlands being key sites! I found this a rather serendipitous discovery, and made me glad I had the foresight to buy such a pretty sweater almost 40 years ago.

~Marilyn

Romantic Chanel No. 22 Perfume of 1968

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Romantic Chanel No. 22 Perfume ad - Finnfemme BlogThe groovy hippie vibe was thriving in 1968, but there was also a romantic vibe that held its own in the zeitgeist of the day. This pretty ad for Chanel No. 22 perfume captures the whole flowery, lacy, Victorian-dress, sitting in fields-of-green element that was going on. It seems a bit dichotomous for Chanel to embrace the whole folksy thing, but they did have a point when it came to this specific fragrance.

Chanel No. 22 perfume was developed by Coco Chanel and Ernest Beaux in, yes, 1922. The classical fragrance of this perfume is composed of jasmine, orange blossom, fresh green note of lilac and sweet rose. It has been called an old-fashioned floral, and difficult to appreciate immediately. An acquired taste, if you will. I think Coco Chanel was trying to make No. 22 relevant again to the Swinging Sixties generation. It’s all about how you present it!

~Marilyn

Those Chic Paris Fashion Frocks of 1932

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Paris Fashion Frocks of 1932 | Musings from Marilyn - Finnfemme BlogParis Fashion Frocks of 1932 | Musings from Marilyn - Finnfemme BlogAs a vintage fashion lover, I often feel that the 1930s era is often overlooked. There tends to be an emphasis on the 1920s Flapper style, then seems to jump to the 1940s WWII era. But oh, what gorgeous and delightful styles the 1930s had; even in the midst of the Depression.

Here are two pages from the July 1932 issue of Delineator magazine. Delineator was an American women’s magazine that focused on the home, and sewing your own fashions with Butterick patterns.  They had their own “Young Lady of Paris”, who dispatched the latest Parisian styles that were made into Butterick sewing patterns. The dresses are just glorious! Such detail and draping. And all for the average American housewife to sew.  Most everyone sewed back then, so it wasn’t that difficult of a feat. No sweats and yoga pants for these women of the ’30s!

~Marilyn

Remember Colored Toilet Paper?

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Finnfemme: Remember Colored Toilet Paper? | Zee Bathroom Tissue ad 1972If you’re a Baby Boomer like me, you’ll remember toilet paper coming in many different colors in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s – like blue, pink, yellow, green, and peach. It was awesome. Not only colored, but highly scented and super thick as well. Which was also awesome. Urinary tract infections and the environment be damned!

This ZEE Bathroom Tissue ad from 1972 brought back a lot of memories. Seeing the thick blue roll of toilet paper is almost startling now, after decades of sterile white, white, and more white. And toilet paper has gotten flimsier and the rolls smaller, much to my consternation.

It’s doubtful that any Millennials have ever seen or used colored toilet paper. A ban was placed on the dyes used in the coloration of toilet paper in 1987 by the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services due to an increased risk of cancer in laboratory animals.  Which makes sense, of course. But bathroom breaks were a lot more fun and colorful back in the day!

~Marilyn

 

‘Natural’ Right Guard Spray Deodorant of the 70s

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Finnfemme: 'Natural' Right Guard Spray Deodorantof the 70sOne of the biggest buzzwords in 1970s health and beauty advertising was ‘natural’. Practically every ad had it; appealing to the more folksy Bohemian vibe that was the zeitgeist of the day. This ad, from a 1972 issue of Seventeen magazine, was for Gillette’s Right Guard Natural Scent Antiperspirant. It features a long-haired, hippie-ish, ‘natural’ model in a rather cool black and white photo.

The ad’s ‘natural’ claim was completely based on its scent; that the scent comes from real, natural ingredients, not a lot of artificial ones. It goes on to claim that Right Guard has the best wetness fighter in any antiperspirant spray. In other words, lots of chemicals being propelled out into the environment and onto your armpits. About as ‘natural’ as spraying bug killer.

Right Guard spray was ubiquitous in my junior high and high school P.E. classes. The icky smell hung in the locker rooms after gym class and our required showers. Thinking back, there weren’t many options when it came to deodorants. Either sprays, or a liquid roll-on version that took forever to dry. Thankfully now we have the stick-type deodorants that just glide on. And you can get them as truly organically natural, or as full of chemicals as you want!

~Marilyn