What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Monday, January 20, 2020

Going Back In Time

I thought it would be fun to do something a little different today.  I was looking through some old magazines that I have saved through the years...not that I was reading these magazines when they were current, you understand, but somehow I obtained these and because I thought they were interesting, I saved them just for this moment...

Have you ever heard of "The Delineator" Magazine?  This particular edition is from October, 1901. I found this particularly interesting because this was the year my maternal grandparents were married. So these lovely fashions were probably the style of what my dear Grandma Tedlie was wearing at that time.
 This particular outfit is "For House Wear"

I wonder how many of you are wearing anything similar to this in your house today?
I'm wearing knit pull on long pants, a long sleeved knit pullover shirt, and a flannel shirt over that. It's kind of chilly here today...

 "Dressy"
Did any of you dress up like this for church yesterday? Just wondering...

 "Shirt Blouses"
I do love these hats too!

 In the picture above, in case you can't read the fine print, it says "A Ladies' costume is here represented."  "The trimmed tailored gown has apparently come to stay, its appropriateness for wear upon nearly all occasions being one of its chief recommendations."

I think it was only "here to stay" for about 10 or 15 more years, when the skirts started getting shorter and shorter...and then came "the roaring 20's"!

These lovely outfits were certainly at a "bargain price"! (By today's standards)

Of course we cannot forget the shoes...and the corsets! This one above "cannot break at the waist!"
"It matters not what the style of a corset is, or what is is made of, if it breaks at the waist line it is rendered uncomfortable and useless"!!  It says it is "good to work in, walk in or rest in."
No thank you...I don't think I'd be "resting" much in that thing!

Now here's a wonderful item: The "Warner's Rust-Proof Corsets"
Every pair guaranteed!  Don't you love this advertisement?
Not sure why rust was such an issue...I guess the stays in it were metal...sounds so comfortable, doesn't it?  

Here is my Grandma as a young woman, around that same era...
My Grandma Tedlie, 1903 or 4
My Grandma Tedlie on back row, next to her Aunt "Dode"
and her parents on the front row, circa 1903-4
I assume these fashionable ancestors of mine were all wearing some brand of corset. I wonder if they had the kind that was rustproof or the kind that cannot break at the waist? I wish I could find out...


 Now let us move up in time a bit closer to our era.  These next two pictures are from a magazine called "EVERYWOMAN'S",  and this particular issue was from November 1956.  I would have been six years old!


The top photo is an advertisement for "Modess", and the bottom one is a 
portion of the ad for "Kotex"...you know what they were...
"Just perfect!"

This ladies' magazine was pretty advanced for its time, in that it also included political cartoons, which reminded me of some of our current comments we hear...
They were talking about the President's golf game even then. LOL.

And then there was a very interesting article written by then Senator John F. Kennedy, responding to the question of "Would You Want Your Daughter to be President?"  Of course this was written before he actually became our President. 
The article is rather lengthy, but very interesting. Here are a few of the more notable quotes from the article by President Kennedy:


Well, here we are 64 years later, and we are still wondering if there will ever be a woman president. Based on the women candidates we have seen thus far in the preceding and upcoming election, I truly hope it won't be any time soon.  The right woman who can fill this role just hasn't come along yet...
Senator (President) Kennedy concludes his article by saying :

"The first woman President,  because of the fact that she is a woman, will have to be an extraordinarily capable chief executive.  She will require the charm and wisdom of an Eleanor Roosevelt, the leadership and military prowess of a Joan of Arc, the stately compassion of a Queen Victoria, the political sagacity of a Clare Boothe Luce, the courageous determination of a Sister Kenny, the pluck--to keep going under almost overwhelming odds--of a Helen Keller, and , in addition, all of the best qualities and skills of the Republican and Democratic lady officials mentioned earlier in this article. No doubt beauty and grace will also be important to her nomination and her election.  Is there such a woman, or is there a chance that there ever will be? Of course there is--and if the Democrats nominate her, she will receive my vote!" 

I wonder about that last sentence...I think if President Kennedy were alive today he would not recognize his Democratic party, and I am not too sure that he would vote that way again...but that is my opinion.

Well, I didn't intend for this to become a political post, so please forgive my wandering into that arena. I was merely sharing the changes in our women's lives and clothing and interests during the first half of the last century. Our grandmothers' and mothers' era as well as the beginning years of some of us "old gals" today...

When I look at these old pictures and fashions, I realize that we have come a long way since 1901. Our grandmothers didn't even have the right to vote until 1919 or thereabouts. I wonder what they would think of our current society and the roles of women today? Would they be envious of our so-called "freedoms", or would they warn us that we wandering too far from our true purpose in life. Of course, I do believe that a woman could become President of the United States. And I do agree with President Kennedy's assessment of the kind of woman that it would take to be a good President. Personally, I do not believe that woman has arrived just yet. Perhaps she will be in our grandchildren's time. Whoever she is, I pray that she will have a heart faithful to Almighty God and to our country, and that she will continue to hold up the ideals and standards that helped to create this great nation that our ancestors dreamed of.

Okay, I guess that's it for today.  I hope you enjoyed this little journey back into time. One thing is for sure, it does make me appreciate my comfy clothes and undergarments of today! 

20 comments:

  1. I enjoyed this so much and looking at all the olden pictures and taking a walk back in time. The dresses, hats and etc. And...I am like you...so thankful for my comfy clothes and undergarments! LOL! Girl, I wouldn't even try to pull of a belt around the waist now! LOL! I love that first picture of your grandma...looks as though she is posing and rightfully so. Look what a figure! Love what Kennedy said about Women being president. And yes mam....quite sure he would change political affiliation today! LOL! Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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    1. Thank you, Cindy. We truly are blessed to be "dressed" in today's styles, even though the ladies of yesteryear looked so beautiful...I just can't imagine that they could ever be comfortable. And this doesn't even begin to address the amount of work they had to do to keep house and cook and take care of their clothing. I may post a few more articles about that later. Thanks for popping in.

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  2. I loved going back in time with you today, Pamela! Yes, how fashions have changed over the years, and how women's rights have expanded immensely. I'm actually kind of surprised by JFK's view about a woman being president, but it's a good kind of surprise. And no, there isn't a woman running now who even comes close to the qualities outlined in his piece. One day, we will have the right one, and we will know it.
    Blessings!
    P.S. Thank goodness corsets went to way of the dodo!

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    1. Yes...the dodo for sure! And yes, I enjoyed the whole article written by JFK, but it was much too lengthy to try and print, and too small a print. I wonder if it is online somewhere in some historic archive. It should be. We are blessed in many ways to be living today, and yet, I wish some of those old fashioned ways were still around...but not the corsets! LOL'

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  3. Oh my goodness, I can't imagine having to wear those clothes, not to mention corsets! How uncomfortable it would be!! I rarely see old photos that have the women smiling in them - and now we know why! Broken or rusted corset stays! LOL I agree with you that Kennedy would not recognize his party today. Unrecognizable. He would be appalled. This is a fun post, Pam!!

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    1. Yes, I think I agree...now we know why the women rarely smiled. They had to be in pain and probably very warm in all those layers of clothes and undergarments...broken and/or rusty! LOL. I am glad you appreciated the JFK article too. I wish I could print the whole thing. I may look online for it. Have a blessed day!

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  4. I was going to say their waists were drawn impossibly tiny, but then I saw the corsets. Work in and rest in?? I wonder what we wear today that future generations will gasp at?

    President Kennedy was a remarkable writer. I think he would not recognize our politics and culture today. He would never be able to use Twitter. "But that is a sentence fragment!" I can just imagine. I wonder what would be different in our world if he had lived?

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    1. Sadly, we will never know. But someone sure didn't want him to stay here and do his work as President. I don't know if we will ever know the truth of that either. This is why I pray for our current President and his family so much. There are evil people out there who will stop at nothing to have their own way.
      Future generations will probably still gasp at our undergarments. LOL.

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  5. I always disliked the drawings from that era with the wasp waists and the odd looking sunken chests on the women.
    Women died and were tortured in US prisons and jails for the right to vote but I wonder what they'd think of the idiots of today.
    I love the beautiful dresses modess used.

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    1. I also loved the Modess advertisement. The ladies looked like real ladies. Loved those dresses. And yes, the outfits our grandmothers wore in the early 1900's really were not healthy for their bodies. I know my paternal grandmother had to wear some type of back brace all of her adult life to support her back because she had no real back and diaphragm muscles left after wearing corsets at such a young age.

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  6. I love this post, a look back into the past. My grandmother told my mother, when supermarkets came in and the corner shops were getting fewer and fewer, that women were turning themselves into pack horses. Of course back then the supermarkets didn't deliver and if you had no car you had to lug all your shopping home yourself,unlike the corner shops who delivered your order.
    Diana

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    1. Oh wow! I love that, "pack horses"! I have often called myself "Pack Horse Pam" when we had 3 little ones in tow, with diaper bags, purse, and all the other paraphernalia of motherhood. Going to the grocery store, even with a car, was always a challenge if hubby wasn't available to go with me to help. I've never had the luxury of a store that delivered. I guess it is possible now at many grocery stores to have it delivered or ready for pick up at the store, but I've never tried that. I like to shop and see what I am getting!
      I loved your grandmother's perspective however.

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  7. I've always enjoyed looking at the female fashion throughout history but to be honest, I enjoy the freedom of not having to wear restrictive clothing and being able to wear a pants or a dress. I do thing our fashions have gone too far at times though. Most of it seems to be fuelled by the never ending need to come up with something new to tempt the consumer to spend, spend, spend and they seem to find people to do it ;-)

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    1. Yes, we are fortunate to be able to wear comfortable clothing and not feel like we are harnessed into our dresses. And yes, some fashions do go way too far in the wrong extremes...but I don't know too many people who actually wear those outfits. Most women my age love to be comfortable!

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  8. I like these photos, the Victorian era fascinates me. Good to know some of the corsets were rust proof. Your grandma was so pretty and graceful. In your comment on my post today you asked the title of the book: Discovering Joy in Philippians. A nice feature is that at the back of the book are about 12 bookmarks to color; a gal in our study group laminated them for us, they turned out very pretty and useful.

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    1. I like the idea of the bookmarks to color! What a nice thing to do...laminate them to preserve them. I hope you are enjoying the Bible Study...(enJOYing - pun intended) It does sound like a good one and I may check that out. I've been thinking about starting a Bible Study for ladies who are not already involved in one at our church. Maybe a home study, but I need to pray about that first. Yes, I am also fascinated with the Victorian era. Love the old books written in that time as well. They were mostly more innocent but also very interesting old fashioned romance and action. I have a collection of many old books written before and around the turn of that century.

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  9. I also enjoyed seeing the pictures of the Victorian era. As a young mother, I had a couple of 'long dresses." Styles do come back. My grandpa spoke of wearing a corset. He had a bit of a weight problem. (I wonder if he was joking.) The thoughts of Senator, then President, Kennedy are thought-provoking. Like you and the others, I wonder what he would think of conditions we have today. Peace and blessings.

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    1. I also had some long dresses back in the day. I loved them, and wish there were more opportunities to wear them today. But we have become a very casual society. I rarely wear dresses at all anymore. Once in a while in the summer I wear dresses to church, but since I am in the choir and we wear robes (all winter), I don't usually dress up too much for church because it gets hot under the choir robe. I kind of doubt the styles of the 1900's will be back in our lifetime. I loved the hats especially. Have a blessed week.

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  10. What a wonderful post, Pamela! Those clothes were something and that corset ad is really pretty sweet!
    I loved Kennedy and all his comments are right on, I think. I don't think any of the current 'contestants' fit the role he laid out.
    Have a wonderful evening. xo Diana

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    1. Thank you, Diana. I agree with your JFK assessment. That woman has not shown up on the horizon yet. Maybe your granddaughter?! And yes, these pictures of those clothes do make us thankful to be living today, don't they? Funny that you and I were thinking along similar lines this week! Great minds run in the same vein, they say. LOL. have a great week.

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