Kids are Back in School - Jump For Joy! 1950's Keds Shoes Advertisement

1950's Advertisement for Keds Shoes

The Maidenform Bra - Molding the Mid-Century Figure

 

Altering the female body to fit the ideal beauty of a particular culture has been a human obsession for centuries. Chinese bound feet, Kayan neck rings and, of course, the corset. A less invasive apparatus, but no less significant in defining the female figure is the brassiere. Push-up bras, reducing bras, bullet bras... no bra.

The bra is the foundation for the fashion. The wasp waist would not have seemed quite as exaggerated were it not for the bra. These 1950's Maidenform ads, though humorous, show the variety of ways in which a Mid-Century woman's breasts were shaped.

Find vintage lingerie patterns at my CynicalGirl shop on Etsy.

How To Sell A Sewing Machine - Ads From The 1950's

The 1950s were a tug of war between retail ready-to-wear and the make-it-yourself camps. With the suburban housewife able to afford off the peg fashions, the sewing industry had work to do. And so it did. The advertisements for sewing machines were full page, full color and fun. These advertisement pages for Necchi, Elna, Pfaff and Vigorelli show the virtues of each machine.

Italian Made Necchi Ad from Woman's Day 1954

Elna Ad from 1950's Woman's Home Companion Magazine

1955 Pfaff Sewing Machine Ad from Woman's Day Magazine

1955 Italian Made Vigorelli Sewing Machine Ad from Woman's Day Magazine