Harper’s Bazaar, October 1942

This year marks the 145th anniversary of Harper’s Bazaar.  It was founded in 1867, and is the oldest existing American fashion magazine.  Today, I’m afraid that many consider Bazaar to be the also-ran fashion magazine, but it is hard to underestimate the influence the magazine has had on fashion history and culture.  In the 1920s  Erté was a frequent contributor, not only as an illustrator but also as a creator of original designs.  And in the 1930s, editor Carmel Snow brought in the creative forces of Diana Vreeland, Irving Penn, Louise Dahl-Wolfe and Alexey Brodovitch and then in the 1940s, Richard Avedon and Diane Arbus.

I’ve read many times that the 1957  movie Funny Face, starring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire was based on Vogue magazine, but the editor character was based on Diana Vreeland, who was by then the fashion editor at Bazaar, and the photographer was based on Richard Avedon, chief photographer at Bazaar.

But both Vreeland and Avedon departed for Vogue in 1962, and under the editorship of Nancy White, Bazaar became to be regarded as the less modern of the two magazines.  Bazaar further lost focus in the early 1970s under the direction of James Brady.  Some readers were questioning whether it was actually still a fashion magazine.

Today Bazaar still trails Vogue in both readership and prestige, but pick up a copy from the 1920s through 1950s and you’ll see why for those years Bazaar was such an industry leader.

Photographer: Louise Dahl-Wolfe
Model:  Not credited
Copyright:  Hearst Corporation

Harper’s Bazaar, March 1945, Part II

I have shown this cover before, last spring when there was that terrible outbreak of tornadoes and violent storms.  At the time I wrote about how helpful the Red Cross was in 2004 when my mother-in-law’s home was flooded.  I’ll repeat my message:  The Red Cross was on the ground providing food and support within hours of our emergency   I’ll never forget how helpful they were.

For most of us, donating money to the Red Cross and other disaster relief agencies is the best way to help.  But for people living near the damaged areas but who were not affected themselves, there are other options.

In 2004 when our town was flooded, only about one half of the town was under water, and the great majority of the homes in my county were not at all affected.  Most of the people living in the damaged area had families or friends who took them in.  Most people outside the flooded area still had electricity.  And while my own house was safe and sound, it quickly became obvious that for the next few weeks, my life and that of my husband and his brother were to be completely altered while we dealt with the cleaning and securing of my 82 year old MIL’s house.

The morning after the flood we drove the mile to her house, and cautiously opened the door.  Water had reached about four feet inside, and it was pretty obvious that most of her possessions were ruined.  As I’ve said, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army were the first to arrive, letting us know they would be there for us in the coming days.  Before long county officials and FEMA appeared with their lists of how to determine what could be saved and what had to be thrown away, and how to remain safe and on and on.  Then our friends and family members started appearing, ready to get dirty along side of us.  These things were a tremendous help, but honestly, were expected.

What we did not expect were the many small acts of kindness by people we did not even know.  We were working away the first day of cleaning up, not knowing how we were going to eat because none of us had time to even think about it.  A car pulled up and two little girls got out and timidly knocked on the door.  Their mother had prepared a huge pot of chicken stew – a favorite from her region of Mexico – and was offering us some for our lunch.  Later in the day two women came through passing out freshly baked cookies and cups of coffee.

These acts continued through the week.  People came by with rubber boots and trash bags, rubber gloves and cleaning supplies.  One of the local churches organized a nightly supper, involving any group in the area who wished to help, taking nights to plan and serve the meal.  A local construction company stopped work on their projects so their trucks and workers could handle the massive amounts of garbage that were generated by the storm.  And in the next few months, a group of men from a church with which we had no affiliation worked with my husband to rebuild the house.

The one photo from the aftermath of Sandy that has most moved me is one where someone in NYC who retained electric power ran extension cords to the front of the building, inviting anyone who did not have power to use them for powering their phones and devices.  Such a simple gesture, but one that says volumes about the people sharing.  And one, I can promise you, that the people who used that power will never forget.

Photographer: Louise Dahl-Wolfe
Model:  Not credited
Copyright:  Hearst Corporation

Harper’s Bazaar, June 1972

A couple of weeks ago I posted a Vogue cover from 1971, so I thought I’d better give the competition a little boost as well.  In the late 60s and the 70s Vogue covers were, for the most part, head shots, but the covers at Bazaar were often action shots.  This cover from June, 1972 is a good example of a typical early 70s Bazaar cover, with the model leaping down a stretch of beach.

Until early 1972, the editor at Bazaar was Nancy White.  White was pretty much the opposite of Vogue‘s Diana Vreeland, and in the late 1950s both women were up for the editorship of Bazaar.  Vreeland had been working there some time as fashion editor, and the new-comer White had been most recently at Good Housekeeping.  But White had an advantage, as she was out-going editor Carmel Snow’s niece.  White got the job, Vreeland left Bazaar for Vogue, and the rest is history.

Interestingly, while Vreeland was replaced at Vogue for being too flamboyant, White was replaced at Bazaar a short time later for being too old-fashioned.  Her replacement was James Brady from Women’s Wear Daily, who quickly made the magazine more political in nature, with less emphasis on fashion.  He lasted fourteen months before he was fired.

Photographer: Hiro
Model:  Pam Suthern
Copyright:  Hearst Corporation

Harpers Bazaar, May 1943

In 1943, home gardens had once again become necessities, due to wartime food shortages.  Today home gardening is in vogue partly because of the “local food” movement.    Where I come from, local food was always pretty much the standard.  My father always “put in” a big garden, which I hated because we always had to help out with the weeds.  And I didn’t even like green beans, which seemed to be the major crop. (Never mind that we also grew things I loved like corn and squash and broccoli…)

So I thought I’d never, ever want a vegetable garden of my own.  Interesting how things change.  We do a nice little garden every year and today we spent the morning working out what we are going to plant and then we prepared the garden plot.  Next step, seeds and baby plants!

Harper’s Bazaar, May, 1972

I love how this Bazaar from 1972 is not just a mishmash of randomness, but instead, is built around a theme.  So much nicer than features on mothers who snatch food from the hand of a dieting seven-year-old, don’t you agree?!

Photographer: Hiro
Model:  Marisa Berenson
Copyright:  Hearst Corporation

Tennis, 1970s

This cute little tennis dress is from the 1970s, and is a good example of the direction tennis clothes were headed at that time.  For many years, white and only white was the color of tennis.  The tradition of tennis whites possibly goes back to Edwardian days, when people played in white cotton and linen because these fabrics were easy to launder.  At any rate, the tennis whites stuck, but in the early 70s color began to creep into the tennis wardrobe.

Of course, the amount of color one could get away with depended on where one played the game.  Many private clubs had strict dress rules, but the popularity of tennis in the early 70s lead to more public courts being built, where pretty much anything went.  In my own little town, the two public courts that went virtually unused for years were all of a sudden inadequate, and the town quickly began a building campaign to help ease the long wait times.

So why did tennis suddenly gain popularity in the early 70s?  A lot of it had to do with Chris Evert, who at 16, made a big splash at the US Open in 1971.  She became a media darling, and the game of tennis was the big winner.

This April, 1972 Harper’s Bazaar cover shows the young Evert with her famous two-handed backhand and her ruffled panties. She didn’t invent the ruffled tennis panties, that was glamourous Gussie Moran in 1949, but she did re-popularize them.

For years I’ve looked for a good pair to add to my collection, but I just couldn’t seem to find any on which the panty people didn’t run the price up.  I was lucky enough to spot two pairs of unworn “Poc-a-ball tennis panties”  recently, a pair in both red and blue.  There’s even a bit of ruffle!

 And as a bit of icing on this tennis cake, I also found a tennis themed bandana.  These were great for tying all that long hair back.  On this players feet you’ll find a pair of Tretorn tennis shoes. All I need are a couple of terry wrist bands and this outfit will be complete.

 

And a few final words…  This Virginia Slims ad from 1972 shows the trend toward color quite nicely.  There is no all-over color, just touches of it here and there.  And look closely, and you’ll see a super influence from the 1920s.  Her tee shirt has a John Held illustration printed on it.

Harper’s Bazaar, March, 1945

March is Red Cross Month, and unfortunately, the violent storms of the past few days show why so much aid is often needed in the early spring.  I’m the type of person who prefers to pick local groups that I know are making the world a better place when I decide where to give my charitable dollars, but the Red Cross is an exception.

That is because I have personal experience with the group, and know just how useful they are in the aftermath of a disaster. In 2004 my mother-in-law’s house was flooded due to Hurricane Francis.  Within hours of us beginning the cleanup a Red Cross truck appeared on her street, offering food, medical and cleaning supplies.  After hours of filling garbage bags with her destroyed belongings, that sandwich and cookie tasted heavenly.  And in the hard days that followed, the truck kept coming by, offering other types of help.  I’m still wishing I’d taken them up on those disaster counseling sessions!

If anyone lives in or near one of the affected areas, please post and let us know of any local groups that could also use our help.