As of 1965, women’s liberation has not yet pervaded mainstream culture. In season four of Mad Men, we get a taste of what’s to come as women become more independent and empowered. Despite the increase in seemingly independent women, including budding feminist, copywriter Peggy Olsen, most of the ladies inhabiting fictional 1960s NYC are marriage-minded and family-oriented. When SCDP (Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce) lands the...
In the mid-20th century, lounges and nightclubs served up large doses of fantasy to American adults weary of the recent realities of World War II. Primarily, this was done in two ways: One way appealed to exoticism and escape from modern society while the other reveled in modernity and urban sophistication. If one wanted exoticism, few did it better than the tiki lounges of Trader...
I love seeing modern music videos that carry a retro twist. The artists always seem to have so much fun and introducing new audiences to retro fashion and culture is never a bad thing. Those of us interested in dressing up in retro fashions might find it too expensive or too difficult to locate the items to do so, but we can always live vicariously...
If you have been craving a well-written period murder mystery, then look no further than Radley Metzger’s The Cat and the Canary. However, if your tastes tend toward lush murder mystery musicals, then take a look at 8 Women. 8 Women has plot twists galore, and since I’m not one to spoil, this review will be short. Set in 1950s France, Suzon (Virgine Ledoyen –...
Twiggy, born Lesley Hornby, is without a doubt one of the biggest fashion icons to emerge from the 1960’s. Her thin frame and big blue eyes became the envy of fashionistas everywhere. The look of drawn on lashes (anything to make the eyes look bigger) and pale lips became a Twiggy staple as girls copied her look to fit in with Swinging London and everything...
Dishwashing liquid commercials vary in their subject matter. Either they take an eco-friendly approach, tug at your heartstrings by demonstrating how they save animals affected by an oil spill, or they show the product’s grease-cutting power. The Palmolive brand has come a long way from its origins as a beauty product. The above ad from the 1950’s pushes Palmolive as a beauty product promising better...
For some people, the term Burlesque is something that is associated with a exciting, stylish and perhaps also a little more innocent time. But as many things from the past it is being revived and has for the past years made a grand return with lush sets, glamorous costumes, swinging music, cool lighting and of course luscious women moving in rhythm to the crooners’ finger...
