Woman's Weekly / 11th July 1969
Spray starch is still sold, of course, but starched clothes have been out of fashion for quite some time. It seems that the ‘easy care’ revolution of the 1960s changed attitudes forever, and I’m not surprised. Who, after all, really wants to make their life more difficult?
Tags: blatant sexism, household, retail
Woman's Weekly / 30th April 1965
What woman can resist the quiet pleasure of flower arranging? I don’t have any trouble doing so.
Tags: blatant sexism, household
Woman's Weekly / 7th May 1965
Hell, yeah. Hence why I’m still in my dressing gown in the late afternoon.
Woman's Weekly / 27th June 1969
What was behind the obsession with giving away tablecloths in the late ’60s? Were British women going through some sort of tablecloth crisis?
Woman's Weekly / 11th July 1969
Ah, potted beef. I can still taste the memory of it on buttered toast, and it’s probably no mistake that it’s being marketed here as a kids’ food. The tablecloth is a little something for Mum, even if she’s an army wife!
Woman's Weekly / 25th June 1965
Wowee! Get a load of this competition! Although I have no idea how they managed to judge it, given that it appears to involve random ticking of boxes. I’m also amused at the new ‘end-of-roll’ reminder, so I guess we can assume that in-product nagging of consumers started around this time.
Tags: competition, household
Woman's Weekly / 16th April 1965
A fascinating juxtaposition here; from free batter whisks to oil companies reaching out to new female customers. As long as they only venture into London for a day’s shopping, of course.
Tags: blatant sexism, driving, household
Woman's Weekly / 2nd May 1969
I know he’s just a boy, but look at the SIZE of that toaster…
Woman's Realm / 18th March 1967
The humble carpet sweeper! I think my nan had one of these, but I’m not sure if it was a precursor to her vacuum cleaner, or in addition to it. Carpet sweepers pre-date vacuum cleaners, but there’s always been a small market for them, especially in the catering and hospitality industries, due to their ease of use and the fact that they’re a lot quieter than vacuum cleaners. You’ll be no doubt pleased to know that Ewbank are still going, and have been revitalised in recent years, diversifying into steam cleaners and cleaners to deal with allergies to such things as dust mites. There’s also an environmental argument in favour of them, given that the simpler models don’t use electricity. If I had carpets downstairs, I’d be tempted…
Woman's Weekly / 20th March 1965
Ah-ha: the traditional appliances fight back! As regular readers will be aware, we’ve looked at the advent of the washing machine in Britain, and in 1965, there was undoubtedly still a strong market for nappy boilers.
However, the evolution of the washing machine through this period meant that the nappy boiler’s days were numbered even at this point. The development of the disposable nappy throughout the 20th century also played a large part, reaching maturity in the 1980s. Terry nappies are making a comeback nowadays, mainly due to environmental concerns, and, as you may expect with a modern consumer society, are available in far more colours and designs than they were traditionally.
Tags: Burco, household, motherhood, retail, social history