Ultra Swank - Retro Adventures
The Outer Limits
Written by James Vaughan in Television

The Outer Limits

For those who watched the original Outer Limits on flickering black and white screens in the early 1960’s the experience is imprinted on a section of our brain labeled awe and terror. Baby-Boomers have deep and dark memories from The Outer Limits original airing or early re-runs. With tilted camera angles, nerve jarring close-ups and shadowy surreal sets; many episodes of Outer Limits already had the feel...

Audrey Hepburn – Mid-Century Icon
Written by Patricia Greenwood in Inspiration

Audrey Hepburn – Mid-Century Icon

As a child of the 60s, I spent hours next to our little portable record player listening to show tunes my mother and father had provided for our entertainment. The Sound of Music (1965) and My Fair Lady (1964) were some of my all time favorites and it was through those vinyl recordings that I fell in love with Audrey Hepburn. Her talent, class and...

Last Night I Dreamed About Maidenform

As Harry Trenner told the story, he and his wife Florence were just sitting around the kitchen table after dinner when they hit upon the idea. Harry took it to Weintrob Advertising, where he worked in New York. They showed it to Maidenform and the “I dreamed…” advertising campaign was born. It would run from World War II thru to the early 1960s, featuring images...

The Edible Victory – Victory Gardens of the 1940s

During both world wars, though more popularly during WWII, victory gardens were encouraged among the people on the home front in America and Canada. There is quite a bit of propaganda encouraging the people to grow their own vegetables, fruits, and herbs so the troops can eat from commercial farms. Victory gardens allowed the average person to create a garden just for their household’s consumption,...

A Revision of Italian Pop of the 1950s & 1960s

If you are familiar with Faith No More, then you probably know exactly who Mike Patton, the lead singer, is. Since the 1990s, Patton has worked on a multitude of projects and solo albums, including his 2010 release Mondo Cane. Mondo Cane is Patton’s version of Italian pop from the 1950s and 1960s, but with his own twist to the music. Patton was inspired by...

The American Dream of the 1940s & 1950s

After WWII, America stood back and gazed upon itself. There was a new revitalized American Dream after all the bloodshed, home front hard work, and thick-as-molasses patriotism. The American Dream of the 1930s had been focused on working hard, men provided for their families, and hope to rise above the Depression. By the 1940s, post-WWII, consumerism and first wave feminism started to play a role...

Modern Retro Futuristic Illustrations

Matthew Lyons is a talented British born designer with a love for simplistic retro futuristic designs that pays tribute to the mid century illustrations of artists such as Charles Schridde. Along with the illustrations, Matthew have also worked on a handful of faux movie title screens from the past that looks intriguing. His work would no doubt work very well as prints for any retro styled...

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