Vintage thoughts from Finnfemme, a practical fashionista
As an angora lover, I was thrilled to come across this sweet vintage early 40s knitting pattern for a fuzzy wuzzy “for sunny warmth” angora sweater! Short-sleeved, jewel neckline and rows of delicate cabling lend a stylish touch to showcase the fluffy angora yarn. Perfect for those upcoming fall and winter days –so get knitting!
Download pattern here.
~Marilyn Huttunen
It was a long time coming, but summertime in Seattle is finally in full swing! I finally put away my jeans, wool socks, and cashmere sweaters that I’d been wearing all spring, and dug through my closet for some summer togs. It feels good to be warm, show some skin, and not get rained on for awhile.
I like to switch up my beauty supplies in summer, opting for simpler, fresher soaps and lotions. I got almost a yearning for Ivory Soap, because I love the ultra clean smell and fluffy fresh whiteness of it. I used it during childhood and it seems to evoke poignant memories. Anyway, it’s still cheap, I bought 3 bars for $1.69, and have been happily showering with it each morning. It really refreshes, and the smell just sends me. 🙂
I love vintage Ivory Soap advertising, and here’s a great one from the Ladies Home Journal, August 1946. It features “Cover Girl, Actress, Bride’, Margaret Young, who used Ivory Soap as a baby. She joined a USO show during WWII, entertained war-weary soldiers in Europe, and “practically haunted the PX’s for Ivory Soap.” Back home, she still used Ivory, owing her lovely, alluring, radiant complexion to the soap. The grand advertising promises for a simple bar of soap seem pretty far-fetched these days. But Ivory’s 99 44/100% purity and the fact that it floats (and smells fabulous) will always ring true for me.
~Marilyn Huttunen
I have always been a huge fan of Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973), the outrageous Italian fashion designer who designed fabulously whimsical surrealist fashions from the 1920s until the 1950s. She was also famous for her vivid signature shade of shocking pink, and her perfumes, most notably, Shocking de Schiaparelli.
So I was absolutely delighted when I came across this wonderful ad while thumbing through the April 1945 issue of McCall’s magazine! It is for Cutex Nail Polish and features a shade created by Miss Schiaparelli called “Honor Bright”. It is a blue-red fire shade, almost plum or fuchsia. “Schiaparelli captures the pulsing excitement of this lovely Cutex shade with a fabulous-skirted, proudly beautiful evening coat.” There are five other shades of nail polish: Alert, Young Red, Off Duty, Black Red, and Saddle Brown, that she sponsored to “electrify the fashions in her latest Paris collection!”
Since I have always been partial to this shade for nail polish and lipstick, I can testify that it is a hard one to find! Cutex admonishes us in the ad to “Try and find a lovelier polish at any price“. Sigh…if only I could find this polish; it would be glorious to wear this shade. For now though, I will have to gaze at this magnificent piece of advertising, and dream dreams of wearing the wonderful shade of polish, and the magical Schiaparelli gown.
“In difficult times fashion is always outrageous.” ~ Elsa Schiaparelli
~Marilyn Huttunen
Summer-like weather seems to have finally hit the Seattle area, and I for one am cheering wildly! This means, among other things, that I can use my outdoor clothesline once again. The clutter of indoor drying racks gets too much to bear at times.
With solar dryer usage getting into full gear, I decided it was a fine time for me to try the liquid version of the homemade laundry detergent recipe. I had made the powdered version, with great success, but had been itching to have a go at the liquid stuff for quite a while. It looked a bit like a chemistry lab in my kitchen while I was making it, but it was actually pretty fun. The hardest part of the task was grating the Fels-Naptha soap, but I love the smell of it and once I got in a rhythm, it grated pretty quickly.
After letting the detergent mixture set overnight, it ended up in quite a gooey, gloppy mess, which is as it should be. It won’t look anything like commercial liquid laundry detergent. This is actually how the finished product is supposed to look, with the consistency of egg-drop soup:
Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent
You will also need a cheese grater, a medium sized pot, a five gallon bucket (with lid), and water.
Grate the soap into a pot. Add 2 cups water, turn to low and mix until combined and soap is melted. Remove pot from heat and set aside. Pour the Borax and Washing Soda into the five gallon bucket and mix. Add the soapy water from the pot and mix quickly and thoroughly. Add enough water to fill 3/4 of bucket (I used 3 gallons water), and continue stirring. Put lid on and allow mixture to set overnight. Use 1/2 cup for small loads – 1 cup for large loads.
I found that it coagulates at the top, so you do need to break it up by stirring it well before you use it!
I washed a load of towels today, using the new homemade detergent. They turned out really clean and fresh! I have them out drying on the clothesline in the sun. Going to a more natural way of doing laundry has been my goal over the last 6 years or so. I have found that using simple ingredients to clean, and the sun and air to dry is really the best (and most rewarding) way to do this domestic task. So happy washing and happy drying – the natural way!
~Marilyn Huttunen
I’ve always loved the fact that Marilyn Monroe and I both share a name, Marilyn, and a birthday, June 1st. She is exactly 29 years older than me. My mom denies the fact that she named me after Marilyn Monroe. I’m pretty sure that she didn’t know that her birthday was also June 1st, but I think you’d have to have your head stuck in the sand if you didn’t know who Marilyn Monroe was!
You see, I was born in 1955, at the height of Marilyn’s stardom. In fact, I ran across this super cool pic of Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio at the premiere of The Seven Year Itch in New York City on her birthday. Well, it was my birthday too. My actual birth day: June 1, 1955. Which I think is just a bit of awesome serendipity. Here I was, making my premiere into the world (albeit decidedly less glamorously), while Marilyn was attending a fabulous premiere in NYC.
There really is nothing about me that is like Marilyn Monroe, but I have always felt some sort of connection to her. Kindred spirits, as it were. Shared birthdays, and names maybe tend to do that. Happy Birthday, Miss Monroe. ♥
“We are all of us stars, and we deserve to twinkle.” ~ Marilyn Monroe
~Marilyn Huttunen
I love the advertisements in vintage 40s and 50s women’s magazines; when domestic goddesses reigned supreme. I especially love laundry-related advertising, because they always make what was a very labor-intensive task back then, very enticing indeed. Almost thrilling! Case in point, the 1949 Duz ad, where the happy homemaker seems positively buzzed with excitement. 😀
I was also struck by this 40s/50s ad for Duz Soap (Safe Suds! Whiter Washes!) Struck because it just seems incredibly realistic. It shows a harried woman running circles around a mountain of laundry, and the helpful answer that you better get this NEW KIND of soap – DUZ does Everything! The cheerful homemaker is in a full apron and kerchief on her head. Rather on the “stout” side (as overweight women were called back then), and looking decidedly real, albeit a bit too ecstatic. No makeup, but she does sport a rather fetching red polish manicure!
I love the drying rack and the clothesline in the ad, because that is exactly how I dry my laundry now. Some household designs never change, and you really can’t improve much on a simple line or wooden rack to dry your laundry efficiently. I like this particular vintage laundress depiction too. Because no matter the decade, no matter the woman, we are all pretty psyched when our laundry turns out great.
“After enlightenment, the laundry.” ~Zen Proverb
~Marilyn Huttunen
I'm Marilyn, and I'm obsessed with vintage clothing, thrift stores, clotheslines, and Chanel. Welcome to my down-to-earth world!