The Vintage Reader

What's up with Google?

I've noticed from my referrer logs that people's searches are not necessarily taking them to the pages on this site where the information they're looking for can be found. Looks to me like Google indexed this page a couple of weeks ago, and things that were on the main page then, but are now in the archives, are still showing up as main-page items. So if you come here from a search and you don't find what you're looking for, try looking back a week or two in the archives.

Mall Purgis Night

Okay, okay, I borrowed that from a book. But... Ash Wednesday at the mall. First of all, an awful lot of people are walking around with ashes on their heads. That's right, at that temple of consumerism, the mall. I'll just go on without comment, though.

So out at the mall, nothing is new, everything looks poorly made and waaaaay overpriced (especially J. Jill, as much as I like the catalog). Although I did have a bizarre bit of nostalgia perusing Ralph Lauren pink stripey shirts and Izod knits while listening to "Kiss On My List" over the PA... if only the scent of Tea Rose or Lauren (do they even still make Tea Rose or Lauren?) had been in the air it would have just been toooooo 1981. All I'd need is a green Polo knit shirt, a pair of 501 shrink-to-fits, and some Sperry Topsiders, dark brown with white soles, to make the experience complete.

But anyway.

After the excesses of the mall I had to come home immediately, having bought nothing but an overpriced bit of extra-wicking polyester exercise gear, and thumb through the well-worn pages of Elegance. If you've never seen this classic by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux, keep your eyes open; nearly every book sale I go to has at least one copy, and often several in various stages of decay. It's sort of encyclopedic, in that it's got alphabetically arranged entries on, apparently, Genevieve's favorite topics. Here are some samples.

"QUANTITY. One of the most striking differences between a well-dressed American woman and a well-dressed Parisienne is in the size of their respective wardrobes. The American would probably be astonished by the very limited number of garments hanging in the Frenchwoman's closet, but she would also be bound to observe that each one is of excellent quality, expensive perhaps by American standards, and perfectly adapted to the life the Frenchwoman leads. She wears them over and over again, discarding them only when they are worn or outmoded, and she considers it a compliment (as it is meant to be) when her best friend says, 'I'm so glad you decided to wear your red dress--I've always loved it!'"

(Under the heading "BALLS") "There are a few practical points to consider when shopping for a ball dress:
- While couture evening dresses invariably include a built-in brassiere, this is not always the case with ready-to-wear gowns, and it is wise to take a low-cut, strapless evening bra with you when you shop. In any case, it is always safer to buy your evening bra before you buy your dress.
- When trying on a ball dress, make sure that you can move about in it with ease, raise your arms comfortably, and step backward as well as forward, for you will want to make all of these movements gracefully when you are dancing.
- Trains, slinky sheaths, and stoles or scarves that need to be held in place are all lovely for wallflowers, but awkward to handle in the middle of a dance floor.
- Finally, you should realize that you may still be dancing when the sun comes up, if the ball is really a great success, and so you should take the precaution of selecting a material that will not begin to wilt long before you do." (BTW, I read this advice very carefully before prom shopping in 1984. It didn't help much.)

Here's my favorite entry: BUDGET. Genevieve leads off by saying:

"Unless, like Barbara Hutton, you can afford to buy the entire collection of Lanvin-Castillo, it is essential to establish a definite budget and a long-range plan for your wardrobe. With careful co-ordination, good taste, and self-restraint, even a tiny budget can permit you to be surprisingly well-dressed. For example here is an outline of a complete but

(Here it goes to a list)

BASIC MINIMUM WARDROBE

For the Winter:

• 1 coat in a bright color--for example, red


• 1 matching skirt


• 1 sweater in a complementary color--for example, beige or brown


• 1 black skirt


• 1 black sweater


• 1 silk sweater, black or white, with a pretty neckline


• 1 pair of black high-heeled pumps


• 1 pair of flat brown shoes for the country


• 1 black leather handbag


• 1 pair of black gloves


• 1 pair of brown gloves


• 1 pearl necklace

"With these few items," says Genevieve, "you will be equipped for work and dates." And even today, you could make one shopping trip to Ann Taylor and get the whole list. But wait, there's more.

Spring and Summer

• 1 lightweight wool suit, gray or navy


• 2 blouses: one dark Paisley printed silk; one solid color, but a clear, bright one, like lemon yellow, turquoise, or pink


• 2 skirts in the same material as the blouses; worn together, they become two-piece dresses; perfect for the summer holidays

Also for the summer vacation (if you have a good figure) you might add:

• 1 pair of bright-colored slacks, and


• 1 pair of navy blue shorts, and


• 2 cotton knit tops, one of them low-cut, and both in becoming, fashionable shades


• 1 natural-colored straw handbag


• 1 pair of white gloves


• 1 pair of linen sandals, the same color as the slacks


• 1 pair of strap sandals, beige, white, or gold (although I am not so entusiastic about the latter, since it has been so overdone lately)

Gold sandals? Overdone? How is that possible, Genevieve?

But what's really interesting is that in 1964, when the book was published, that entire thing, for three seasons, cost $252.00. And that was for high-quality merchandise. Could you even get the coat for that these days, I wonder? My good winter coat was $500 full-price, although I got it at the end of the season, needing replacement buttons, on the last-chance clearance rack for $150. I suppose back then they would have sewn the buttons back on and put it back on the full-price rack, which makes me wonder: is it really cost-effective for stores to sell a coat that they might have sold for $500 for $150 rather than pay a tailor for 10 minutes' work?

As usual, I mourn for yesteryear. But then, that's the purpose of this blog, isn't it?

Road trip

Can you tell I'm in the mood to get out of town? And here's what I want to go in:
an Airstream trailer.

Man bilks bank, gets bilked by "professional editor"

Yes, it's a fun story. But $250 should have gotten an editor who knows enough to precede a person's name with a comma when that person is being addressed by name. There's a big difference between "Don't you see, Patrick?" and "Don't you see Patrick?"

2 pools, phone, TV

A classic from Lileks: American Postcards: Motels

Aha!

I just saw the last episode of "MacGyver." Guess what we find out? If you really don't want to know, quit reading now, because the show's been over since at least 1989 (I got that from the references to Tianenmen Square) so I'm not going to provide a spoiler.

Ready?

Here it is.

Mac's first name is ANGUS.

Drain frozen? Ask the Vintage Reader.

To all of you who are looking for the frozen drain pipe item, here it is: http://www.vintagereader.com/2004_01_18_archive.html.

Baby, if you ever wondered...

Yeah, I know it's a lame title. But I'm tired. Go look up some people you were wondering whatever happened to.

NOT a vintage definition

Kittyblogger: Someone who writes mundane, journal-like blogs.

Is that what I am? I have a feeling that if I have to ask, then yes, it is.

(From an article in Carleton College: Voice)

More on the Mother Road

Roadside Peek : Route 66

Get your kicks

The pictures aren't great. As a matter of fact, they're broken. But among all the other Route 66 sites out there, this one from the Illinois Historical Society stands out for its comprehensive list of links to content-heavy Route 66 sites.

Just because I like it
Commerce, by Michael Waters, from The Gettysburg Review

A day late...

If it's any consolation, I'm also a dollar short.

Here's a wonderful, guilt-inducing vintage e-card from long-time About.com Collectibles Guide Barbara Crews: Vintage Postcard 1919

Oh, please.

Waiter! More champagne! Candace Bushnell, author of 'Sex and the City,' is living in the spotlight -- and soaking it up like a sponge.

"I know more about literature than most reviewers. I know what I'm doing. And my books will be around a lot longer than they will. Sometimes I think they're only saying these things out of jealousy."

Those are the words of a writer of classics? They sound more like those of a slighted high schooler who just lost the class election.

Here's one of those "jealous" reviews: New York magazine

...and one from The Guardian...

I find all the references to Edith Wharton, both by Bushnell and the various reviewers, irritating and insulting (to Wharton). Candace Bushnell is NOT the modern Edith Wharton.

That's a lot of potato salad.

Well, congratulations to Tori Spelling and it's nice to see the younger generation (actually, I think she's only a couple years younger than me, but her image is much younger) a) planning a wedding this far in advance instead of, say, getting married in a Las Vegas wedding chapel on the spur of the moment; and b) actually registering for gifts, just like people used to do. But here are my questions: a) What on earth is she planning to do with all those bowls; and b) isn't it just a little weird that Tiffany's makes people's wedding registries available online for the world to see? At least they should make the registries require reauthentication after a certain amount of time to keep folks from linking to them.

Thanks to Gawker for posting the link. They also report that since they posted it, people have actually been buying her stuff. Now THAT's a little creepy. Imagine getting gifts from your registry from total strangers.

Between the Lines

A review of the most interesting-sounding book I've seen this year: Stars, a book of short stories inspired by Janis Ian songs, from Science Fiction Book Reviews.

I do love Janis Ian. I was only in 4th grade when "At Seventeen" was on the radio, but I truly discovered her in this movie. Every day in the summer of 1981 I listened to Between the Lines over, and over, and over. I've got most of her albums, even J. Eddy Fink (although I can't find it right now).

Then a couple of years ago I got to see her perform. I was amazed at how tiny she was, and how happy. She actually joked about that: how audiences expect her to be somber and depressed, and she's not. Another surprise is that she's a science fiction fan, and actually has a story of her own in this volume. I must have it.

Land of the Lost

Reviews of (in many cases) long-forgotten speculative fiction: Lost Books

Vintage... hamsters?

I remembered cataloging these and went looking for them:
Janis Mitchell's hamster books. They're not all that vintage but they are out of print.

A Vintage Reader's Wonderland

Why have I never followed the link from Project Gutenberg to ibiblio before? Wow. That's all I can say. Wow.

Not reading

...but still vintage: -DeeT's 70s Page

It's back! It's back!!!

No content yet, but there are signs of life at RETRO!!!

Oh happy day. I love Retro. Welcome back to Malvina and Rusty and the gang!!

Vintage movie quote

"Books are more important than pajamas."
"Only in some states."

--From Without Love, which I'm watching right now.

Vintage Definition

Came across this one in Cheaper by the Dozen:

Cootie garage
One of a pair of hair puffs worn over a woman's ears. c. 1920 use (definition from Wentworth and Flexnel's Dictionary of American Slang)

It's also entered the Buffyverse, out of context as usual (see five by five). I went looking through my books and ephemera for illustrations and found that the 1922 Redskin, the yearbook of Oklahoma A&M College (now Oklahoma State University), was a veritable smorgasbord of cootie garages (hence the picture at left; I've disguised the OAMC co-ed in case she's somebody's grandmother. Or great-grandmother. That would be an alarming thing to find on somebody else's web site).

And all of this reminded me of one of my favorite stories, Bernice Bobs Her Hair. I read it in Great Books in 7th grade and it got me reading Fitzgerald--which I suppose is the whole point of Great Books, isn't it?

Look for the Union Label

I was just reading Ebert riffing on films and junk food and movie distribution, and saw the ad for this: Union Jean and Apparel American Made Union Made Clothing. And That Song is now in my head. If you were around in the 70s and watched television AT ALL, you know the one I'm talking about. Look for/the Union label/when you are... dah dah, da dah dah, da daaaaah!. So now there's a montage in my head of Sally Field as Norma Rae, lines at the gas pumps, Jimmy Carter on TV, and the Williams Center when it housed an upscale shopping venue, an ice rink, and a movie theater. The juxtaposition of good hard-workin' American values and rampant materialist consumerism is kind of jarring, but maybe it says something about growing up in a place and time where people made big money doing really dirty jobs.

Moomintroll

The oldest, and best, site for the Finnish children's series: The Moomintroll Home Page

The New Abbreviations

There's a new way to abbreviate. Actually, it's not all that new; I first remember reading the abbreviation pomo on the PMC MOO in about 1993. But here, on top of NaNoWriMo and NaNoEdMo, is No Mo Po Mo.