Fascination Magazine - 1946 - Fashioned For Living

"Fashion is a medium of expression, and the power of self-expression has strange sorcery. Fashion is a general acceptance of a way to live, or dress, or think; style is your individual acceptance of the custom. Fashion is the March of Time of feminine personality in this modern world. And the modern woman knows that the way to look is natural-the way to achieve it is artful. Individually, a woman assumes the role of her costume, fits into and acts the part of her home atmosphere. She is interested in fashions to suit her way of life; often she lives up to and rearranges her way of life to suit a costume. Collectively, fashion links hands with the economic and political temper of the times. Postwar reunions create exotic, feminine, exciting styles for intime moments; new home architecture inspires casual styles for lounging; distance shortened by modern travel encourages styles for practical, varied wear. Thus, time and circumstances demand that fashion, to live, must be funetional. FASCINATION seeks to show you each month the newest fashions in their natural settings, with no little fences herding you into age or wage groups. On the following pages we offer some suggestions for your individual expression."

Fascination Magazine - 1946 - The Amazing Ads!

Movies, minks, furs, perfume, hair dyes, blouses, even raincoats!

Beauty and the Beets - 1946 Garden Variety Beauty Treatments

"...if you dip into the refrigerator a little beyond the ice cubes, you might find more than a few eatables which are proven beauty aids."
You'll need honey, oranges, lemons, tomatoes, milk, eggs and yes, beets!"

Fascination Magazine - 1946

Next we are going to look at Fascination Magazine from 1946 - "The Magazine of Feminine Finesse"

First let look at "Creations for the New Silhouette" by Hattie Carnegie.
(Remember to click twice to read the details)

More Pockets! Lot's of Pockets! from Butterick's "Art of Dressmaking" - 1927

Have any of you made all of these? Some look really hard, but you could sure earn some sewist bragging rights!

Pockets! Lot's of Pockets! from Butterick's "Art of Dressmaking" - 1927

"The making and applying of pockets is a part of garment making that home sewers sometimes fear to undertake, yet there is no real reason for this fear. Any one who is accurate in cutting, stitching and folding, and who uses the pressing-iron to secure clear-cut lines and edges, can make a pocket with all the smartness of finish that marks the best tailored garments."
Well, I bet to differ, but some of these do look fearsome. But if Butterick says you can do it, well, get busy and make some pockets!
(More tomorrow!)

"How To Take Measures" - Butterick - 1927

We're going to look at "Art Of Dressmaking" published by Butterick on 1927. One of the first things you need to know is "How to take Measures", so here we go;

"Increasing The Bust Measurement" - 1913

Get some figs, prunes, cocoa butter and milk!

"If we ever needed a good figure, certainly now is the time, for the current styles rely for a great part of their effect upon the soft curves and graceful lines of a normal, well-developed figure.

Are you one of those whose mirror discloses shortcomings should be remedied? Then let's let's talk it over; for, whatever your problem, I am sure, together, we will chance upon a satisfactory solution. First, let us consider the case of the girl whose bust refuses to pass the thirty-two-inch measurement. If she is eighteen or under, let her remember that there is nothing more delicate than the slender lines of a girlish figure and make no effort to alter her appearance. If, however, she is a fully-fledged young woman, a bride, or a matron of years, it is the part of wisdom for her to determine to develop her figure to proper proportions."

"If the whole body fails to measure up to standard, diet is the first agent of reform to enlist. You need more or better nourishment. The milk diet will provide this in the simplest, most easily digested form, and increase your weight from one and a half to three or four pounds a week, the bust, of course, sharing in the general development. A use of the tape - measure, after a few weeks of the milk diet, will provide cause for rejoicing. Next, let us try some simple local treatments. Hie yourself off to the nearest drug store and purchase a cake or two of cocoa butter. Then, when you are ready for bed at night, seat yourself cosily at your dressing-table and, with lighted candle before you, heat a cake of the cocoa butter over the flame until it begins to melt. Quickly, transfer it to the bust and apply gently with a circular motion. Warm again, and again massage, until the breasts and shoulder have been well anointed. Do not be afraid of using too much because your object is to secure its absorption by the the skin. Be careful not to handle the breasts roughly, but let every movement be light and delicate. A fifteen - minute treatment is ample, and should be followed by a thorough spray with cold water.
In the morning, on rising, fill a basin with hot water, to which has been added ten drops of tincture of benzoin, and bathe the bust till the skin is pink and glowing. Then spray with cold water. This will help to firm the flesh."

"Be careful not to bind the bust with any of your clothing-brassieres and other trig and tight wearing apparel are for your full-busted sisters; your own garments, at all times, should leave the bust plenty of room, without compression.

Let the flat busted woman eat a half dozen figs each night, or soak six prunes over night in a tumbler of water, and in the morning drink the water and eat the prunes, masticating them throughly before swallowing. A couple of glasses of hot water an hour before each meal, and just before retiring, will also help in the good work.

I wish you would try the cocoa massage, plus a reform in your diet, for the next month. If you want any additional aid, there is a very simple treatment secures excellent results for most people. It consists of a fattening liquid, of which two dessert spoonfuls are taken before each meal.

The woman with too full a bust should use the following pomade made nightly and follow with an astringent compress:

THE VAUCAIRE ASTRINGENT POMADE

White vaseline..................30 grams
Aristol....................................2 grams
Essence of peppermint....10 drops

Editor's Note. - Every woman possesses the possibilities of attraction. Beauty often lies merely in clear eyes, well-cared-for skin, nicely manicured nails, soft and luxuriant hair and an attractive figure. It is Miss Beacon's object in this department to lend every aid to the woman who wishes to improve her appearance and her health. All inquiries will be cheerfully answered by mail, if a stamped, addressed envelope accompanies the request. "

"Gowns That Appeal To The Woman Of Fashion"

"Costumes For Women Who Like To Dress Well"

"Who Wants to Cook in Hot Weather, Anyway?"

You will rarely hear me talking about cooking in any fashion, I'm an acknowledged bad cook...but even I can make Jello. "Isn't it lovely?"

Things You Can Make At Home - 1913

Caps, Wrapper, Princess Slip, Corset Covers, House Dresses, Aprons, Sun Hats, Drawers and Nightgowns...better get busy!

Stout Women May Wear Draped Skirts

"The graceful model, illustrated on a woman of full figure, will convince the most skeptical that women of avoirdupois need not shun drapery."

(As always, click twice to see all the details)

Just Pull the Belt and Nulife Does the Rest - 1913

"Slim people developed, Stout people reduced, Short people increased"
(Kinda worried about that "Short people increased" part)

Hurrah For The Fourth - To be "sung with vim and force" - 1913

"Give a cheer for the nation dear"

What a small town Fourth of July Celebration should be - 1913

"What shall we do with the Fourth of July?"
This is part of a larger article by Zona Gale where she derides the "destructive" ways of celebration and instead offers this positive approach. She was a very interesting woman...and I bet she had some wonderful Fourth of July celebrations!

McCall's Magazine - July, 1913

There is lots of good stuff in this July 1913 issue of McCall's magazine. This Cover was drawn by Gene Pressler, who went on to do some other amazing work, but could anything be more charming than this?
Stick around, there's lots more to share.

You don't know how attractive you can be!

"Truly, you don't know how alluring you can be until you have read this booklet."
"Surely you want more out of life! -attention, admiration, affection. You want to present the real you to those whom you meet. You want to make the most of your features, your skin, your hair, your body, your clothes, to appear at your best always, to be an interesting individual and not just "another person." let me show you how!"

BEFORE-"I was underweight, thin, lacking in energy and vitality," says Mrs. Virginia Lee Higgins of Louisville, Kentucky. "Then, after reading your ad, I decided to take the Powers Home Course to see what it could do for me . . ."

This is a sample of the famous Powers "Photo-Revise" One of 60 individualized features of the Powers Home Course, it showed Mrs. Higgins a new hair style, how to apply her make-up correctly, how to achieve new charm, loveliness.

AFTER-"'Now, my husband calls me his "personal Powers girl"!" says Mrs. Higgins, after completing her easy, 7-week Power Home Course in which she learned, in the privacy of her own home, the beauty secrets that have made "Powers Girls" famous.