Julie Johnston 2 hr. English

Transcription

1 DRESSED FOR SUCCESS IN THE '20s AND '30s Julie Johnston 2 hr. English Mrs.Tithof

2 STATE FARM INSURANCE Believe your grandmother when she tells you she made $3 a week. They also wore flour sacks,but don't panick because the cheap material was only for aprons and dish towels. It seems as though $3 a week would mean your grandmother was very poor and deserves to be treated like a queen, but your grandmother didn't tell you that a new hat and dress usually cost under $7 in So quit rocking the chair for her and feeding her grapes and find out the real truth of what happened in the 1920's when it came to hats, hair and dresses. A woman in 1932 would buy a hat usually every season, a winter hat would be made of felt, a summer hat made of straw. Cloches and peek-a-boos, a low brim close fitting hat were all the rage in the '20s and '30s. Everyone wore hats to church until the Catholics, about 40 years ago, decided it wasn't neccesary to wear hats. jf Bernece Peet, a long time resident of Chesaning tells,"! had a straw hat with a wide brim that turned up. It wasn't the kind of hat I usually buy. When a relative passed away, my son Dave said,'mother please don't wear that hat to Grandma's funeral. You'll be sitting up in the front of the church and Reverand will look at you with that hat on, and lie's going to flip his lid and forget the sermon.1" 5 It was only on Easter Sunday and funerals that people wore hats anymore. There was many alternatives to wearing hats. During the War, many women wore hairnets. Wearing the hair in a short, blunt cut called the boyish bobbe was very popular. Curling the hair was also an option. The irons could curl hair, or it could wave it. Mrs. Peet r explains, "Since there was no electric irons, you would heat the iron on a wood stove or dip it in a kerosene lamp's hot oil, wipe it

3 STATE FARM off, and curl it. Since this may have damaging effects, many people like Rita Tithof would dilute vinegar and put it on the hair to make it soft and snarl-free. After she rinsed it out, the sour smell would be gone in minutes. Vinegar was not the only culinary delight used in the hair. C- Mrs. Tithof explains,"the men would often put oils, and even vaseline to slick back their hair, but they had to be careful not to lean their head against the wallpaper and stain it." Not only was hair brought form the face, but the men in these times were almost always very clean-shaven. Above-the-knee dresses have been in fashion in the c Q an<j now in the '80s, but it all started with flappers in the '20s and '30s. These dresses had straight waists, bought about three times a year, and were made of crepe. Rita Tithof said that this material would shrink when gotten wet, but that it could be slightly stretched back to its semi normal shape. She remembers when she was caught in the rain with a crepe dress on, and it shrank above her slip. Bernece Peet f said,"sometimes the dresses were made of cotton. You can't find cotton like that anymore. That cotton material could be ironed very easily." Rita Tithof adds,"back then you had to iron everything; undergarments sheets, and even pillow cases." Wools, crepe, and some other fine materials had to be cleaned, with Napthegas. This was used outside because its 1 strong fumes could blow up a house. Mrs. Tithof said,"i remember a man that thought he would do his wife a favor by washing the clothes. He put Napthegas in the washer and it finally exploded, blowing out the walls and collapsing the roof." While the women wore pastels, dark blues and burgandies, the men took a very conservative approach and wore black suits and white shirts.

4 3 STATE FARM INSURANCE These suits were made of tweed, for a more casual suit, or made of 2, fine silk or wool for a dressier suit.* Worsted was a tight woven material that made the suit last long because it held its shape well. The shirts werewhite cotton and had to be ironed. Bernece Peet was ironing 15 shirts a week for her sons. Unless you could afford store boughten clothes you had them made. A Rita Tithof said, "I remember picking out a dress I liked in a catalog. My mother would make her own pattern from the picture and I would end up with beatiful clothes that cost only a few cents." You see, besides being a little strict on hats, and ironing, the '20s and '30s were really a blast. The next time grandma tells you 'just how bad it was back then1, remind her that the cost of buying a dress back then cost about the same as a pair of cheap earrings now.

5 STATE FARM > INSURANCE ENDNOTE PAGE, /w <7 V BIBLIOGRAPHY PAGE rm '.

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