15th May 2010 / 1 Comment
Woman's Realm /
11th March 1967
Chances are that if you’re around my age, this ad will bring back memories of similar ‘cut out and dress’ games in, say, Bunty. Do little girls do this any more, or are they too busy putting their Lelli Kelly slap on?
Tags: beauty, fashion, kids, retail
3rd May 2010 / 1 Comment
Woman's Realm /
11th March 1967
Erm…I’m stunned. For foreign or younger readers, the Minipops was a short-lived UK show with children dancing and signing, often dressed to be a bit older than they really were, so they’d look like the acts they were taking off. It was unsurprisingly taken off the air once questions were raised in the media about the ethics of the show. This ad seems to come from the same sort of mindset, and surely wouldn’t make it into print nowadays, even though it’s clearly meant in an innocent way. However, it’s only fair to point out the hysteria over paedophilia sits uncomfortably with some of the clothes and toys marketed at young girls in the UK, so we’re probably more confused over children’s sexuality now than we were back then.
Tags: adverts totally made of wrong, fashion, kids, misplaced morality, retail, social history
25th April 2010 / 3 Comments
Woman and Home /
1st January 1962
Obviously, it was the South Africa ad which caught my eye here, but I thought you’d all enjoy the full page of adverts. I love the evocative nature of the Templeton’s and Flexcello ads, documenting a world long gone, and I found the Venner Autopoint ad interesting, as there’s been many attempts over the years to devise timers for electric devices, none of which have caught on.
Tags: beauty, blatant sexism, dodgy advice, fashion, household, social history
14th March 2010 / No Comments Yet
Woman's Own /
14th July 1967
No, no, NO. It’s “not ‘alf”, you blithering idiots. I bet Fluff would have pissed himself laughing if he’d ever clapped eyes on this ad…
Tags: beauty, fashion, retail
12th March 2010 / 1 Comment
Woman's Own /
14th July 1967
Whilst we’re on the subject of being skinny, this comes from a longer interview with Twiggy’s mum, which is alarmingly unguarded by modern standards. I can’t imagine a publicist nowadays allowing a model’s mother to talk about her daughter’s financial affairs, or so much about her personal life! I thought this page was particularly striking, and handy for anyone wanting a bit of make-up inspiration.
Tags: beauty, fashion, motherhood, social history
5th March 2010 / 2 Comments
Woman's Own /
14th July 1967
I’m not used to make-up ads looking this interesting. Most companies nowadays just go for dead-eyed celebs looking into the camera, but I rather like this model!
Tags: beauty, fashion, retail, Rimmel
11th January 2010 / 4 Comments
Woman's Weekly /
26th July 1957
Heh heh! I love the naivety in assuming that women who live in London have some unique insight into dress sense. Evidence to the contrary is plentiful, and I’ve no doubt that the Fifties weren’t any different in that regard. However, it’s often the case that ambiguous sexuality is more tolerated in a large city: after all, what IS going on in that illustration?
Tags: fashion, social history
5th December 2009 / 6 Comments
Woman's Own /
21st March 1969
Is it me, or does the copywriter sound like they’re trying to convince themselves rather than anyone else?
Tags: beauty, fashion, retail
3rd December 2009 / 3 Comments
Woman's Own /
21st March 1969
I thought this was a nice image, and makes a change from modern tights advertising, which is a bit boring, frankly.
Tags: blatant sexism, eye-catching, fashion, retail
11th November 2009 / 3 Comments
Woman /
23rd December 1967
Goodness me, and I thought Cosmo was bad. ‘How to be liked by everybody’ is very pre-feminist, isn’t it?
Tags: blatant sexism, fashion, retail, social history