Ad Campaign – Universal Motor Luncheon Set, 1951

“Eating Out” becomes real fun with this handy set!

I’ve been wanting a picnic set like this one for a very long time.  I see them from time to time, but they are always incomplete or in terrible condition, or costs more than I want to pay.  But I’ll keep looking.

I could use it this week, as I’m unexpectedly hitting the road tomorrow.  Along with a family visit, I’ll be taking in a few exhibitions in Washington, DC which I’ll be sharing next week.  I’m really excited because the Ballets Russes show has just opened at the National Gallery of Art.   I’ll be spending a few hours in the National Museum of American History and then I’ll be seeing the exhibition I mentioned Sunday that is at the DAR Museum, Fashioning the New Woman: 1890 – 1925.  And then on the way home, I’ll be doing a bit of vintage shopping.  Wish me luck!

Ad Campaign – Vera Scarf, 1955

Vera makes a big commotion in jazz… in colors from sweet and low-down to red hot!

Suddenly, it seems, Vera is everywhere.  You may have read about the latest Target collaboration, which is a grouping of Vera scarves.  The scarves hit the shelves last week, but I did not have a chance to see them until yesterday.  At this point in time, I have no illusions about designer collaborations with discount retailers.  For that reason I was not disappointed by what I found.  I expected cheap poly, and that’s what I got.  The scarves are $19.99, and the designs are lovely.  But a quick look on etsy revealed over 300 vintage Vera scarves for $10 or less, and they are mostly silk or cotton.   This is a case where the vintage version is the clear winner.

image copyright Target.com

The scarves are printed with the signature and ladybug, and there is also an attached label that clearly identifies the scarf as a Target product.

In other Vera news, if you are a Mad Men watcher, I’m sure you noticed that stunning beach cover-up Megan wore in the first episode of this season.  I was sure it was a Vera, and I was right.  Note the Vera signature at the hem, on one of the orange spots.

photo copyright AMC Network Entertainment

And if that does not make you yearn for a sunny day at the coast and a Vera dress, then you are beyond hope.

I spotted a very early Vera scarf at the Liberty Antique Festival, but did not buy it because it was so damaged; it had literally cracked along the lines where it was folded.  It’s been widely written that her first scarves were made of surplus parachute silk after WWII, and this one sure had the look and feel of that type silk.  It was screen-printed with a geometric print in gold paint.   Why it did not occur to me to take a photo, I haven’t a clue.

The very earliest Vera scarves were quite simple in design, and were often screenprinted in just gold or gold and black.  The ad above is from 1953, which was very early in Vera’s long, fruitful career.

 

Ad Campaign: Kleinert’s Sava-Wave, 1952

Only Kleinert’s SAVA-WAVE Swim Cap has the Magic Inner Rim!  Guaranteed to keep your hair dry

I get something on my mind, and it becomes the latest vintage obsession.  Lately it has been swim caps.  I have a few of them, but lately I’ve been looking to fill in a few gaps in my collection.  So expect to see more on this theme in the next few days.

 This week’s ad is from Kleinert’s, which specialized in rubber goods of all sorts.  Or I should say specialize, as they are still in business.   A couple of years ago I wrote a little history of the company.  You can read it, and view a 1930s Kleinert’s brochure, if you so wish.

Ad Campaign – Yardley, 1968

Jean Shrimpton might have been the face of 1967, but 1968 belonged to Olivia Hussey.   It was the year she co-starred in Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet.  His timing was perfect, as the world was still enamoured with all things British.  Olivia was the perfect Juliet with her long dark hair and expressive eyes.

The Yardley people knew a cosmetics star when they saw one, and in 1968 their ads were all about Olivia/Juliet.  They even had a line of lipfrosts they called the Poetry Collection:

Yardley’s new Poetry Collection: Nine tender lipfrosts designed to make a Juliet of you.  And a Romeo of him.

Interesting, but this ad for lipstick showed a young woman whose makeup was all about the eyes.  That was the late 1960s for you!

For all of 1968, it seemed that Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, who played Romeo, were everywhere.  They were featured in magazines like Seventeen, and of course in the fan magazines like 16 and Tiger Beat.  And they must have sold a million of the poster that showed the pair touching palms.

It was right in step with the direction that fashion was heading.  After the straight silhouette and graphic feel of the Mod look, girls were ready for a softer, more romantic style.   What better than Romeo and Juliet to put us in the proper mood?

Ad Campaign – Yardley, 1967

Click to see enlarged view

In today’s ad, we see the influence of the “British Invasion”.  I think people generally apply that term to music, but fashion, movies, and even cosmetics looked to Britain after the smashing success of the Beatles’ 1964 US appearances.

Yardley of London is considered to be the oldest cosmetics company in the world, having been established in 1770.  In the 1950s Yardley ran ads in American magazines that featured a slightly creepy (my opinion; creepy is in the eye of the beholder) Madame Alexander doll, holding a bottle of lavender fragrance.  It was a very old fashioned image.

Sometime in the mid 1960s some very smart persons at Yardley decided to cash in on the British craze.  The result was a line of products marketed to teens that were centered around a London Look theme.  The packaging was colorful, the colors the latest in fashion, and the advertising fun.  There were even TV ads that were placed on shows like The Monkees that had a teen audience.

They managed to get one of the most recognisable faces of the London Look, Jean Shrimpton, to model the print ads.  Yardley went from being the brand of grannies to the brand that gave a bit of London cool to girls everywhere.

After all the talk about Ringo in yesterday’s post, I could not help but notice that this lipstick was named the SlickeRINGO.

Ad Campaign – Lady Alice – 1943

Wear Your Own Secret Heart Code!

Lady Alice International Signal Flag Shirt

Your heart condition will be a secret to your sisters, but every service man will know how he stands, when you wear your Lady Alice code flag shirt.  One glance and the International Flag Code will subtly send your message.

It’s not unusual to see military themed garments and fabrics in ads  from the WWII period, and here is a prime example.   Lady Alice took the plain open neck blouse and added a touch of whimsey.  There was an “authentic colored signal flag” embroidered on the breast pocket.  Each flag had a actual meaning, but it is easy to interpret them in terms of Girl meets Boy: “Man overboard”, “I require a pilot”, and “I require assistance”.

And I find the Lady Alice interpretation of “I require assistance” – “You’re just a helpless little girl who’s looking for a big strong man to protect her”  to be not only grammatically confusing, but really ironic seeing as how  the very helpless little girl this was being marketed to was most likely working in a factory producing weapons for that big strong man to use in fighting the war.

Lady Alice was part of the California garment industry that emerged in the early 20th century.  It was founded in 1925 by an immigrant from Iceland, Krist Gunderson.  He also started the Lil’ Alice label.  Both labels were used until sometime in the 1960s when the company became known as Alice of California.

Ad Campaign – Love Set by Shepherd, 1946

For a perfect score on the tennis court or any other playtime places, beloved stripes in Shepherd’s figure-flattering version of the cotton T-shirt… with broad and buttoned shoulders.

I don’t know a thing about Shepherd Knitwear but I’m in love with the ad and the product.  Note how the buttons on the T-shirt are also on the cardigan.  And what about that label?

I’ve been looking for a 1940s or 50s striped T-shirt, but I can tell you they are few and far between, and when they do come up, you can expect to pay a lot more than you would expect.   The last one on ebay went for $202.50!

Maybe it is because stripes are so popular right now, or maybe it is collectors like me looking for an item that was usually worn until it fell apart, and was then discarded.  At any rate, keep your eyes open!