Have You Ever Had a Bad Time in Levi’s?

Posted September 9, 2015 by finnfemme & filed under Fashion, Vintage.

This is a great Levi’s ad from the September 1972 issue of Seventeen magazine. The “Have you ever had a bad time in Levi’s?” ad campaign was for the newly minted Levi’s for Gals, which was a division of Levi Strauss & Co. I love how it shows the playful exuberance of young teenage girls in their hip and trendy hip-hugger bell-bottoms: Brushed denim Thirty about $11.00, all wool flannel Cuff Stuff about $13.00, TumbleWeed Long Loops about $13, knit tops $12 to $13, jacket about $10.

This was a real change for Levi Strauss, as I remember wearing only the straight-legged Levi 501 men’s jeans throughout the late 1960s. I had to stitch in the waistline to make them fit my girlish curves. I also hand-embroidered them (peace symbols and flower power daisies) and cut the outer seam at the knee to sew in a bright cotton print inset. I really wish I had saved them; they were groovy works of art!

By the 1970s, Levi’s had ventured into making jeans for women (Levi’s for Gals), and it was cool to have jeans that actually fit. They also ventured into making pants other than Levi jeans, like this ad shows. Hip-huggers and bell-bottoms were HUGE in the early 70s (of course I wore them), and Levi’s jumped on the bandwagon to capitalize on the trend.

~Marilyn

The Boho Hipsters of 1972: Dr Scholl’s Exercise Sandals

Posted September 7, 2015 by finnfemme & filed under Fashion, Vintage.

Dr. Scholl himself invented the original exercise sandal in the late 1960s. The sculpted wooden slide was designed to encourage natural gripping and flexing when walking. These really seemed to resonate in the 1970s, with the rise of a more ‘natural’ Bohemian vibe.

This ‘Better than Barefoot’ Scholl exercise sandals 1972 ad encapsulates the trend away from funky hippie, to folksy boho (rather hipster-ish, if you will). It was all in keeping with the green, back-to-nature environmental movement at the time. It shows fun-loving couples frolicking in the water, with the girls gripping onto their sandals for dear life.

Scholl extolled the virtues of their exercise sandals by claiming that you will: 1) Experience comfort. 2) Experience the Scholl Shape-up. 3) Experience that they’re like wearing nothing at all. All good in theory, but if you’ve ever worn a pair you will beg to differ. I had a pair in the 70s, and they were the most uncomfortable, hard-to-wear shoes ever! I’ve always been a clog-wearer, but these always felt like wearing death (or at least injury) traps to me.

The ‘Dr. Scholl’s Original Exercise Sandal’ is still sold, and seems to appeal to the Millennial market. Maybe they can figure out how to wear these things better than I did back in the day. 🙂

~Marilyn

How To Do Your Laundry For (Practically) Free

Posted August 10, 2015 by finnfemme & filed under Daily Life, Frugal Living, Vintage.

I’ve been doing my laundry frugally for over 10 years now, after my clothes dryer gave up the ghost. I often forget that most people don’t do laundry this way (at least in America), so I’d like to share my money-saving and environmentally-friendly routine. It may take a little getting used to, but summertime is the best time to try out the clothesline!

Step One: Use Cold Water – 75% of the total energy required to do a single laundry load is used by water heating, which in turn is responsible for 75% of greenhouse-gas emissions produced. Today’s detergents no longer require heat to activate their cleaning power, so we need to get hot water washing out of our collective mindset. Cold water washing is also gentler on your clothes, so they’ll last longer with less shrinkage.

Step Two: Use a Homemade Laundry Detergent – I make my own detergent, and it’s simple and fun to do. It comes to about 5 cents per load, and does a bang-up job cleaning. It is also friendlier to the environment, with no chemicals, fragrances or additives. Here is my homemade Zote laundry detergent recipe that I use all the time.

Step Three: Use a Clothesline/Air-Dry – I have a clothesline strung up in my backyard that I use all summer long. It’s nothing fancy, just a long length of waterproof boating rope that does the job magnificently. Just hang up your laundry with clothespins and let Mother Nature take over the drying. One tip for hanging clothing – hang tops (shirts, blouses) by their bottoms, and bottoms (pants, shorts, skirts) by their tops. It takes a little bit of maneuvering, but you’ll get the ‘hang’ of it quickly. When I first started air-drying about 10 years ago, I noticed about a 15% drop in my electric bill. Dryers are one of the top household energy-users, and by air-drying you can dry your laundry absolutely free!

~Marilyn

Diane Von Furstenberg Fashion Eyewear~Vintage 1976

Posted July 30, 2015 by finnfemme & filed under Fashion, Vintage.

Diane von Furstenberg created a worldwide sensation with the debut of her iconic wrap dress in 1974. By 1976 she was on the cover of Newsweek magazine, who declared her the most marketable woman since Coco Chanel. Diane went on to design cosmetics, fragrances, and accessories like this groovy eyewear line from 1976; “Diane, I never go out without you”. The glasses are big and oddly-shaped, but are so indicative of 1970s style. Worn with her wild-print knit wrap dress, you would have looked the perfect epitome of 1976 on-trend fashion.

“Attitude is everything.” ~Diane von Furstenberg

~Marilyn

Walmart Summer Beauty Box is a Hit!

Posted July 14, 2015 by finnfemme & filed under Beauty, Daily Life, Fashion.

I received my Walmart Summer Beauty Box in the mail today, which is always fun. After my slight disappointment with the Spring Beauty Box (no makeup – boo), I was pleasantly surprised that, yes, I did indeed get makeup in this one – lipstick and mascara – woo hoo!

It’s really a pretty groovy box for $5.00.

Here’s what I got: A full-size tube of Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick in Gladiola; Neutrogena Healthy Volume Mascara; Aveeno Protect + Hydrate Sunscreen; Dove Nutrium Moisture Body Wash; Clear Scalp and Hair Therapy Shampoo; Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel; Foil packet of Garnier Ultra Lift Miracle Sleeping Cream; Foil packets of L’Oreal Total 5 Shampoo, Conditioner and Damage-Erasing Balm; Foil packet of Olay Regenerist Luminous Moisturizer.

I am particularly stoked about the Revlon Ultra HD Lipstick. It is light and glossy, which is perfect for summer. I was a little apprehensive about the Gladiola color at first, because it seemed very red (I tend to veer towards plum/mauve/orchid shades). But I tried it on, and it’s a very pretty rosy red that’s flattering to my complexion. The cool thing is that this lipstick sells for $9.50, so the lipstick alone was well worth the price of the beauty box. Well done, Walmart!

~Marilyn

I Flunked Going Gray 101

Posted July 3, 2015 by finnfemme & filed under Beauty, Daily Life, Fashion, Health, Vintage.

I am here to admit defeat. Again. I tried not coloring my hair for six months, but I just couldn’t take it anymore! I had the best of intentions and gave it the old college try – some things you learn just by doing them – and found that the ‘natural’ look is not for me at this time.

The thing that surprised me the most was how greasy my natural hair was. It was a complete Exxon Valdez oil slick. At one point it got so bad that I had to wash with Dawn liquid detergent to clarify all the oil from my hair (it actually worked very well; just like washing the birds after an oil spill). A day later, the oil would start pumping out. Blech. It was like being in high school once again where I had to wash my oily hair every day just to keep it clean.

To add insult to injury, my natural color roots were growing-in in varying shades from a really dark taupe gray in back, pewter gray on top, and a silvery blonde in front. The colored part of my hair, that I was trying to grow out, was a blonde shade that was seemingly getting lighter by the day. It was all a bit depressing, and I was beginning to hate looking in the mirror. I would pull up a hunk of hair and obsess over the difference in shades, and measure growth. Plus, I just looked (and felt) drab. Mama don’t do drab!

I am a big believer in following your intuition, and for weeks I’d been feeling like a failure in the ‘going gray’ department. So one morning I had just had it, and seized on the box of Clairol Expert Age Defy hair color in Medium Golden Blonde 8G that I had tucked away ‘just in case’. It was a hair dye that I’ve never used before but promised to ‘Fight 7 Signs of Aging Hair’, and to ‘Look 10 Years Younger’ – ha ha. Since I’ve just celebrated my 60th birthday; to look 50 isn’t really all that big of a deal to me anymore though.

The Clairol Age Defy coloring experience was pretty cool. They have a smoothing pre-treatment serum you put on before you color. This serum had a viscous, almost mucous-y quality, but it sunk into my hair quite rapidly. The activating color creme had a weird texture and I was quite alarmed by the color at this point – it looked and felt like applying golden mustard to my hair. But I got it all on, piled my hair on top of my head, and let the color develop. One nice thing is that there is no awful smell at all! It was actually quite a pleasant experience sitting there letting the color do its thing. Then, after rinsing all the dye out, I applied the Patene Pro-V ColorSeal conditioner all over and left it on for 2 minutes before rinsing out. Voila -done!

I have to admit that I love my hair once again. The allover color (medium golden blonde) is just beautiful and so me. My hair is shiny, swingy, and seems so much healthier. The most important thing is that it seems to have conquered the dreaded oil slick. I can go back to my specialty shampoos and put the Dawn liquid detergent back where it belongs – in the kitchen!

Stay colorful 😀

~Marilyn