Consult your mirror. Decide what you want to be, then set out to be that very person.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (March 18, 1940)
While I continue fine-tuning the kitchen routine, I'm going to take advantage of the momentum of the last few weeks and make this another vintage beauty mission. I hope you'll all excuse the interlude from housework! I haven't stopped the housework by any means, I'm just trying to balance all of the many things that would have been important to my '40s counterpart in caring for her home and for herself. I've got all kinds of ideas for future missions - everything from cleaning the bathroom to vintage culture - but I also want to take the time to make sure I've got this kitchen thing down pat before I add another roomful of chores to my weekly list. In the meantime, there's plenty in the world of vintage beauty to keep me busy...
Fitness
Walk 30 minutes a day, three times during the week.
Walk 40 minutes a day, both days during the weekend.
Reducing
I'm cinching the noose a little tighter... No snacking after 7:30 p.m.
Grooming
Here's the next step in the 1946 grooming routine. First thing in the morning - as soon as you get out of bed, go into the bathroom, drink a glass of water, brush your teeth, and wash your face - you're to powder your nose. Or rather your face.
Pat on a bit of powder to take away that soap-and-water shine.
Walk 30 minutes a day, three times during the week.
Walk 40 minutes a day, both days during the weekend.
Reducing
I'm cinching the noose a little tighter... No snacking after 7:30 p.m.
Grooming
Here's the next step in the 1946 grooming routine. First thing in the morning - as soon as you get out of bed, go into the bathroom, drink a glass of water, brush your teeth, and wash your face - you're to powder your nose. Or rather your face.
Pat on a bit of powder to take away that soap-and-water shine.
I've been thinking a lot lately about what it is in the vintage manuals and magazine articles that I enjoy so much. It's not just the content or the illustrations or even the window into the past. That's the icing on the cake. What draws me to these things is pure attitude. There's a spirited optimism in all these how-to type books and articles. Optimism that with the right instruction, the playing field is leveled. You can do anything and create anything you set your mind to! It seems ironic at first considering how dark the era was in terms of world events, but it's right in keeping with the faith Americans were coming to have in scientific progress. Machinery, chemicals, synthetic fabrics, plastic --- there's a science to housework and beauty that makes anything feel possible. And such faith in the team of professionals standing ready to assist women in looking their best. Oculists, dentists, beauticians, hairdressers, a good corsetier.
That optimism and faith in possibilities is like a drug to me now. What a change in tone from all the self-defeating angst of our own times!
