Theory on the 50s
The weirdest thing about the 1950s (and I know that, nominally, Blondie is set in the present day, but COME ON) ...
Anyway, the weirdest thing about the '50s (decade of Brylcreamed hair, coonskin caps, and pop hits like "Yakity Yak" and "Purple People Eater") is that the women were always really dressed up to do their chores. Blondie's wearing a skirt with a belt and nice blouse. She's not in stilletos, but still, nice, dressy pumps. And, of course, her hair is "done" as well. Why did they do this? It is so impractical!
Having not lived in the 1950s, it is hard for me to tell if this is an accurate depiction, or just what was shown in sitcoms and advertisements (although that one shows "Life in 2000" HA HA). Maybe it isn't real, it was just Hollywood and Madison Avenue making the rest of American women feel shitty for not leaving up to some ideal, unreachable standard.
Then again, mabye it was how they did it back then. But, I don't think they did it in, say, the 1930s. I don't picture a woman from the 30s dressed to the nines sweeping up her kitchen. And it certainly wasn't like that when Caroline Ingalls was busy keeping the little house on the prarie. So, I have a theory about the 50s. I think in the 1950s social mores had not caught up to technological innovations. What I mean is, these ladies had saved a lot more time with their vaccuum cleaners, electric ranges, refrigerators, etc. What could they do with all this extra time? Well, working outside the home was not the thing to do, so they got dressed up. That's all I can figure. Prior to this time, housework was so time-intensive and filled with drudgery, that women didn't (or couldn't) get dolled up to do it. Shortly after this time, we had the sexual revolution, women working outside the home became more accepted, then became the norm. So now, when people (men and women) are doing their chores, they are doing it in their free (off-work) time. No time for dressing up!
posted by big al at 9:29 PM
4 Comments:
I asked my mom, who is 48, and she said that most women of the 1950's wore housedresses when they were cleaning. She also says that some younger women might have worn shorts and a t-shirt.
Here's a link to some sewing patterns:
http://www.oldpatterns.com/robes.html
They don't really resemble what Blondie or Alice Mitchell wear, they're more like muumuus or overcoats. My mom says she can remember her mom wearing some like these.
So it really was a Hollywood/Madison Avenue plot to make the rest of American women think they were not "up to standards."
Or, it was a plot to confuse those of us in the future who wonder what was the deal with the '50s.
Really, I couldn't imagine anyone would actually dress that way to do chores, but how could the tv and funny pages be so mis-leading??
Come to think of it, I can remember an episode of "I Love Lucy" where Lucy wears a housecoat and kerchief to clean house.
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