More From the Ladies Home Journal, February 1943

I would like to share a few more images from my February 1943 copy of Ladies Home Journal. (For fashion-related images from the magazine see this post.) Vintage magazines are so much fun to read through. The images I picked for today are all health and beauty related. Three of my favorite 1940s movie stars have ads in this magazine. Hedy Lamarr, Rita Hayworth and Rosalind Russell. I've always wondered if they star who advertised products actually used them on a regular basis. What do you think?

It seems ladies in the 1940s worried about their weight too, just like many of us today.

How about this ad for nail polish? I find little things like this helpful when choosing make-up and nail colors for an authentic look.  I also appreciate that, given it's 1943 and WWII is in full swing, the ad features a female shop worker. Just because you're working in a factory doesn't mean you can't have pretty nails! Or so the ad would lead us to believe. ;)

Even this lovely lady, recently engaged, has her nails painted!

Great Hair Fridays - Betty Grable

It's been awhile since my last Great Hair Fridays post. So here is a quick one today. It's Betty Grable! Enjoy!

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Vintage Look A Likes - Fringe!

Thanks to everyone for your kind and caring comments here on my blog as well as my Facebook page. It's never an easy thing to loose a pet, even when you know the end is coming. Yellow was a very sweet kitty and I think he lived happy life, almost 18 years! We have just one kitty now, Simba, who seems to be a little lonely. He's getting extra cuddles so he knows he's loved. I might even let him sit on a sewing project or two because that seems to make him happy! He thinks he's an excellent helper but those of us with cats know better. ;)

So, on to today's post...

Some time ago I came across this image of Loretta Young wearing a truly stunning dress with long fringe sleeves. And the skirt is dripping with fringe too! Just incredible! This image alone is enough to make you drool. But wait there's more!

Loretta Young

While not an exact match it reminded me of this stunning dress listed on Ebay. Some may laugh but, at least for a few minutes anyway, I considered this as a wedding dress because it was so interesting and different! Sadly I felt there were too many imperfections for the price and well ... it was just a little too different.

Source - Ebay

Source - Ebay

Source - Ebay

And just for fun, here's another dress with fringe from the same time period as Loretta Young. This one is of Rosalind Russell in 1936 wearing a dress by Dolly Tree.

Rosalind Russell in a dress by Dolly Tree, 1936

The Day I Danced with Frankie Manning

Happy Birthday to Frankie Manning, the Ambassador of Lindy Hop! (May 26, 1914 – April 27, 2009)

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Frankie and his partner Frieda Washington are credited with performing the first first aerial step in a swing dance competition. (Listen to the story here, it's long but you wont be disappointed!)

"Based at the Savoy Ballroom, to which he was drawn as a teenager by the superb swing bands and fabulous lindy hopping, Frankie soon took his talents on the road as a lead dancer and chief choreographer for Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers. He appeared in several films including Radio City Revels with Ann Miller (1937) and Hellzapoppin’ with Olsen & Johnson and Martha Raye (1941), and toured the world with jazz greats Ethel Waters, Ella Fitzgerald, Bill " Bojangles " Robinson, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, and Cab Calloway among others. While dancing in London in 1937, Frankie gave a command performance for King George VI. In 1941, " Musclehead " Manning was featured in a Life magazine article that highlighted his acrobatic brand of lindy."

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Believe it or not, I danced with Frankie once. Granted, he was in his late 80s and I was a senior in high school, but he could still move! I attended a weekend swing dance workshop with a friend of mine. In the evening they had a huge jam session and Frankie was there as a guest of one of the instructors. I have to admit I didn't really know who he was at the time. I just knew he was an old guy with some really fancy footwork!! During the jam session - were one or two couple at a time show off their best moves - Frankie went around and pulled random people from the crowd to dance with. When he pick me he spun me around a few times and when the song ended he dipped me. Ha, my dance partner was so jealous.

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Happy Birthday Ella Fitzgerald!

Happy Birthday to the "Queen of Jazz," Ella Fitzgerald! An amazing, beautiful, and incredibly talented woman. She worked with many jazz greats, including Chick Webb, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie, and Benny Goodman.

Photo by Carl Van Vechten, 1940

 During her 59-year recording career, Ella sold 40 million copies of her 70-plus albums, won 13 Grammy Awards. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Halloween Countdown Continues - Cats

Paulette Goddard - Source

Only a few more days to go until Halloween! I went to a friend's costume party over the weekend and had a great time. I will try to share some photos later this week. Until then please enjoy a few more Halloween inspired pin ups.

Today's theme - cats, black cats of course!

Lillian Wells - Source

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Joyce Holden - Source

Ava Gardner as a glamorous sparkly witch. Source: Dr. Macro

Halloween Countdown Continues - Witches

Hi everyone. Still continuing the Halloween countdown with some fun vintage images. I hope you are all enjoying theses. Today's Halloween pin up post features several lovely ladies.

There's nothing wicked about these witches! 

Jane Adams and Patricia Alphin - Source

The lovely Nancy Carroll - Source

Martha Vickers - Source

Halloween Countdown Continues - "I Married A Witch"

Continuing the Halloween countdown.
Today's Halloween pin up post features Veronica Lake in a publicity photo for I Married A Witch. The 1942 film, directed by René Clair, stars Veronica Lake and Fredric March.
Enjoy!

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Did you know that Constance Ockelman, - a.k.a. Veronica Lake - was only 4 feet 11 inches tall? I had not idea! You can read more about Veronica Lake's career here - Veronica Lake: A Biography in Pictures

Veronica Lake -  Source

Here's great close up of Miss Lake.

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Halloween Pin Ups - Eeek, Bats!

Continuing the Halloween countdown. Today's Halloween pin up post features Lillian Bond and Clara Bow.
Enjoy!

Lillian Bond c. 1935 - Source

Clara Bow - Source

Halloween Pin Ups - June Knight

Continuing the Halloween countdown.
Today's Halloween pin up post features June Knight. Enjoy!

June Knight - Halloween 1938 - Source

Halloween Pin Ups - Dusty Anderson

Continuing the Halloween countdown.
Today's Halloween pin up post features Dusty Anderson. Enjoy!

Dusty Anderson - Halloween 1944 - Source

Dusty Anderson - Source

No Trash, Just Class - Halloween Pin Ups

I love Halloween, don't you? I'm still working out all the detail of my costume for this year. It took me a little while to figure out what I wanted to be and now I just have to figure out how to put it all together! No, I can't tell you what it is. ;)

One of the things that really frustrates me about Halloween are the many, shall we say 'trashy', costumes on the market. What happened to class and creativity? When did Halloween costumes suddenly become "sexy this" or "sassy that?" (Has anyone seen the movie Mean Girls? There is a great scene early on in the movie about Halloween costumes.) Anyway, I was looking through a costume catalog with a friend and was horrified - no really! - by some of the costumes available. Sassy Care Bears and Sexy Gizmo (from the movie Gremlins). Seriously! You can't make this stuff up! And what is worse, many of these costumes are marketed towards kids. Ugh ...

My personal feeling, if you're going to put on a short skirt and high heels for a costume, at least to it with some class. So with that in mind, in the days leading up to one of my favorite holidays, I'll be sharing some images of when short costumes still left something to the imagination.

Over the next week I'll be sharing some classic Halloween inspired pin ups. Sound good? :)

Today's featured Halloween beauty is non other than Betty Grable! 

Betty Grable - Halloween 1935 - Source

Betty Grable - Halloween 1935 Source

Great Hair Fridays - Jean Harlow

Just a quick post today. I've been feeling a bit under the weather the last couple of days and I'm not up to spending much time in front of the computer today. On the plus side, before I got sick that is, I made some really great vintage finds at a New York antique shop. I hope to share those with you all soon.

So here is today's Great Hair Fridays post. Jean Harlow - short, simple, elegant. Enough said.

Jean Harlow, c. 1933

Jean Harlow, c. 1936

Great Hair Fridays - Linda Darnell

I'm trying out a new series of posts - Great Hair Fridays. I'll pick a different starlet or hairstyle to feature in each post. Let me know what you think!

Linda Darnell in "A Letter to Three Wives"

I think Linda Darnell is one of those talented actresses that is often overshadowed by other starlets of her time. Although her personal life was troubled and later in life she suffered from alcoholism, (what starlet's life was perfect?) she had a successful career as an actress and model. (You can thank her mother pushed her into a modeling career at the age of 11.)

Darnell made her film debut in the role of Marcia Bromley in the film Hotel for Women (1939). She was 16 when the film was produced which made her one of the youngest leading ladies in Hollywood at that time. Some of her best known films are Forever Amber (1947), Unfaithfully Yours (1948) and A Letter to Three Wives (1949).

One of the things I admire most about Linda Darnell is her very versatile look. While some starlets kept to a signature hairstyle - Veronica Lake's peek-a-boo hairstyle for example - Darnell didn't seem to be afraid of trying something different. She was a gal who looked great no matter what! Seriously, do a Google image search on her. You will be amazed at the number of photos that turn up.

 Here she is with long flowing locks and a nice curly up-do.

Linda Darnell c. 1943

Linda Darnell with Laird Cregar in Hangover Square, 1945

I love her look with victory rolls, especially this first photo of her in the plane. I'm trying to master a victory roll hairstyle for myself and I'm using these photos as references.

Swing Fashionista

Linda Darnell, age 16 c. 1939

Linda Darnell as a cheer leader

I'm not sure when this last photo was taken, but I'm guess late 1930s. Isn't she a dish! And what a great hat too. :)