Vintage thoughts from Finnfemme, a practical fashionista
Here’s a great vintage 1950 knitting pattern from Fleisher’s Yarns: “Tulip Time” sweater. The tulips look a little abstract to me, but they’re pretty cool. I like how they are set off individual harlequin medallions. All in all, a unique vintage design.
Download pattern here: Tulip Time
~Marilyn Huttunen
Wow, who knew that having long hair after 40 was still an issue? I mean, seriously, does anybody really care about what others do to their hair at any age? I guess it’s just not on my radar to worry about how others are wearing their hair, because frankly, I’m just not interested.
I am over 40. Heck, I am well over 50! And my hair length is halfway down my back. I have always considered my hair to be one of my best assets; it’s thick and I’m a natural redhead. I have had longish hair for most of my life — excepting a few years in the ’70s when I sported the Dorothy Hamill Wedge, that is! It just feels very natural for me to have long hair, and it suits my tall, statuesque frame. Plus, I’ve always had an inner hippie, folksy, Boho ’70s vibe that won’t quit.
So I was slightly bemused when I read another article today: Too Old for That Joni Mitchell Look? Here we go again; women over 40 are dictated to shed their locks. Of course, this is a law blog, so perhaps I should give them some leeway? Then again, why? I’m sure there are plenty of long-haired lawyers over 40 that look fabulous. Why should we have to get the cookie-cutter requisite bob or pixie hairdo once we reach our 40th birthday?
I make it a point to go up to long-haired women ‘of a certain age’, and complement them on their tresses. I especially love seeing a long sheath of gray hair, or a braid down the back. I get some amusing stories of how their kids want them to cut their hair, but they don’t. Or how they just got tired of going to the hairdresser for cuts. Or how they are like me, and just like living their inner Joni Mitchell. To that I say, Rock On!
P.S. Joni Mitchell still has her long hair. 😉
~Marilyn Huttunen
I was always impressed with how Esther Williams parlayed competitive swimming into a movie career. Of course, she was gorgeous and talented, and had the great opportunity to star in many “aquamusicals” in the 40s and early 50s. The films featured fabulously choreographed synchronized swimming and diving, and the star of the show was always the magnificent Esther Williams.
Being a great Hollywood beauty, Esther was featured in many ads. This is a cool vintage Ladies’ Home Journal 1946 ad for ‘Gypsy Glow’ Woodbury New film-finish Powder. Esther looks stunningly gorgeous, and we learn that “Radiant Esther is the Woodbury Brunette type!”. I love the promises they make about wearing their powder: “dazzling warmth; your skin will bloom and be more alive and dramatic; radiance on your skin; covers tiny flaws; stays color-fresh!”. Gosh, it almost makes me want to start wearing powder. Does anyone actually wear powder anymore? It certainly was big on the vintage cosmetics scene.
It’s interesting how, even back in the 40s, the Hollywood studios were able to use placement on advertising. A banner on top to the ad reads “Esther Williams, Starring in Metro-Goldwyn Mayer’s Technicolor musical “Easy to Wed”. Some things never change!
~Marilyn Huttunen
I love it when I come across variations of vintage knitting patterns; this beauty is another sweet version of Kate’s royal reception angora bolero sweater. Named the Dolman Bolero, it is from the 1940s. Just adorable and oh-so stylish! I think it would look fabulous knitted in fluffy angora, and I love the big button at the top. Knit on!
Download the pattern here: Vintage 40s Bolero Knitting Pattern.
~Marilyn Huttunen
My backyard clothesline has been finally put to good use this summer. After an interminable cold rainy season, I once again am able to enjoy hanging the laundry out in the fresh air and sunshine. Nothing, I mean nothing, compares to the exquisitely poignant scent of air-dried laundry. Especially sheets! Slipping into a bed with freshly air-dried linens is a heady experience.
Because I didn’t grow up with air-dried laundry (my mother embraced the dryer wholeheartedly), this poignant olfactory memory must be part of the collective unconsciousness. It runs deep. And it is such a basic, simple thing to do: just hang your sheets out on the line; bring in when dry; put sheets on bed; enjoy!
I am especially grateful this summer for the wise purchase I made of an electric lawnmower. My backyard had been growing wild for over a year, and my push-reel lawnmower just didn’t cut it (literally). My nice neighbor cut the wild 3 foot carnage with his powerful riding lawn mower. Well, scalped, really. It was nice to see the dirt. Since the purchase of said electric lawnmower, it’s been great to keep up with the mowing. Electric lawnmowers are a most fabulous invention.
I love this vintage 1946 ad for Pepperell Sheets. The painting by Ric Howard shows a slice of vintage Americana that is just wonderful. Hanging laundry, gardening, lawn mowing, mailman, kids playing, dogs, auto repair, and shopping are the everyday activities depicted in this great painting. Some things, hopefully, never change.
~Marilyn Huttunen
I’ve been on a personal basis with Fels-Naptha soap lately, using it to concoct the homemade powdered laundry detergent and liquid laundry detergent recipes. Shredding that golden bar with a cheese grater is not for the faint of heart! But it is rather fun to do, and the resultant homemade detergents are so worth it.
I must admit that I’ve always had a real workaday image of Fels-Naptha; like something my grandmother used on the farm while scrubbing dirty overalls in the washtub. Decidedly nothing glamorous about it to me, in this day and age.
But homemakers in the 1940s must have had a different view of it. They make that homely bar of Fels-Naptha soap seem almost glamorous. Take this vintage 1946 ad which shows a lovely lady primping at her nightstand, not ‘worn to a frazzle’ because Fels-Naptha soap made washday almost a pleasure. And it Banishes “Tattle-Tale Gray”….which must have been a big problem back then? 🙂
In the ad they also show a box of Fels-Naptha Soap Chips! What? You mean to tell me that they offered it already shredded back then? No wonder the lady looks so refreshed, she didn’t have to shred it herself with a cheese grater! So I say, BRING BACK THE FELS-NAPTHA SOAP CHIPS! This is one vintage product that needs to make a comeback. Until then, I shall continue shredding…
~Marilyn Huttunen
I'm Marilyn, and I'm obsessed with vintage clothing, thrift stores, clotheslines, and Chanel. Welcome to my down-to-earth world!