We have to file this ad from 1968 under “Overly Optimistic.” To think they could market the same outfit to a woman in her twenties and to her grandmother in her sixties was just out of touch. To paraphrase the old fairy tale, for one it was too old, for one it was too young, but for Mom in the middle it was just right.
One of the current magazines (Southern Living, I think) does a feature where they dress a young woman and her mother in the same clothing, but then they accessorize the two very differently. The addition of a headband (dumb choice) and a chain was just not enough to distinguish the looks in this ad.
This ad was in Glamour, which is geared toward younger women. I can’t imagine anyone in that demographic would want to dress in Grandma’s clothes. But if the situation were reversed – if it were in a magazine for older women – would the ad be any more effective? It’s something to think about.
Majestic was a lower mid-priced line of sports separates, so notice the prices. Adjusted for inflation, the pants and vest were $104.16 each, and the blouse was $78.12. It helps explain why people in the recent past had more space in their closets than we do today.
The Vintage Traveler 
Another great post Lizzie! Oh dear. That head band was a very poor choice. Yuk! 😉
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lol – I can’t stop laughing! It actually looks more like something a man would wear, just not in such bright colors. I think the shirt and pants might work for all three women with the right accessories, but that vest! Oh, the vest is just so costumy it’s funny! And that headband is just trying too hard, hehe.
Thanks for the fun! =)
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This is right up my alley! The younger woman gets a headband, the one in the middle gets a watch chain, but grandma gets nothing at all to jazz up her outfit.
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Vest looks terrible in every version lol
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Hahaha! Wow. That headband cracks me up! Is she going to play tennis in her motheer’s outfit? 😉
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I think she trying a haute hippie look!
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Woah, I guess they tried to differentiate between the generations by adding that “attractive” headband. (not a good choice). Lol.
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Wow is right – this totally made my day though :).
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I guess, in a perverse way, the ad did have an age-defying quality: nobody looked under 25 to me, and nobody looked much over 50, either. And nobody looked very good! It’s hard to imagine anyone choosing that outfit. (I admit that I did once buy a yellow pantsuit in the 70s. Big mistake! But at least, it wasn’t polyester. Whatever the ad says about the fiber content, that’s what those pants look like.) A headband and crisply pressed pants? “Does not compute….” Come to think of it, “Majestic” doesn’t sound like a brand aimed at the youth market, either. What a fun find!
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If the truth were known, the models are probably all aged within 10 years or so of one another. Bet the grandmother is wearing a grey wig!
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Hm. I don’t dislike everything 1970s, but this look pretty much epitomizes what I most disliked in 70s fashion. I see from the ad that the fabrics used are quite lovely–“a blend of rayon, nylon and silk that looks like linen”–but I look at this and all I can think is POLYESTER.
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Yes, this is a tiny bit early for the polyester pant suit; they were still trying these crazy “no care” blends that were supposed to look natural.
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Fashion from 1968 to 1972 is some of my favorite. And I even like many of the synthetic fabrics used during that period. But, this ad or these clothes are just bad 🙂
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