Fashion
Bikini Revisited
In 1946, Micheline Bernardini modeled a two-piece swimsuit designed by Louis Reard, which he called a 'bikini' — naming it after the site of the recent atomic bomb test in the Bikini Atoll.As wikipedia notes: "Photographs of Bernardini and articles about the event were widely carried by the press. The International Herald Tribune alone ran nine stories on the event. The bikini was a hit, especially among men, and Bernardini received over 50,000 fan letters."
The little box she's holding is what the bikini was sold in, to emphasize how tiny it was.
Forty years later Bernardini posed again in a bikini, "for old time's sake."
I can't figure out what picture she's holding. It doesn't seem to be the famous one, shown above. Must have been another photo from the shoot.
Source: bludog
Posted By: Alex - Tue Aug 29, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Fashion, 1940s
Follies of the Madmen #322
Original ad here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 04, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Fashion, 1950s
Celery Bikini
Another plant-themed bikini. This time it's Evelyn Hayes who, as "Celery Queen" of National City, CA in 1939, got to wear a celery bikini.Though, again, it wouldn't yet have been called a bikini. More like a celery hula skirt and top.
Pittsburgh Press - Apr 2, 1939
Posted By: Alex - Sun Jul 16, 2017 -
Comments (9)
Category: Fashion, 1930s
Cactus Bikini
It's become a bit of an iconic image — a young woman wearing a cactus bikini. The photo dates back to 1940 when the Tucson Sunshine Climate Club dressed some University of Arizona coeds up in cactus apparel as a publicity stunt. Of course, it wouldn't have been called a 'bikini' back then, since that term wasn't yet coined. It was called a "cactus sun suit." The suits were made out of Saguaro and prickly pear cacti.The photos then spread far and wide, including into Nazi newspapers, where they were offered as examples of American decadence, "a peak of utter lack of taste."
The model in the top photo is Merri Ciochetti.
Arizona Daily Star - Feb 27, 1945
Update: One more photo from the photoshoot.
San Bernardino Sun - Mar 27, 1940
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jul 15, 2017 -
Comments (4)
Category: Fashion, 1940s, Arizona
Myrtle Reinhart, trade show model
As a model at Chicago's Merchandise Mart in the late 1930s, Myrtle Reinhart got to dress up in things like lampshades, curtains, and streamlined underwear beneath a coverall of cellophane.Could this be her obituary from July 2007? The city (Chicago) and age seems about right.
"You've heard women say they haven't anything to wear. Well, next time they say it, men, look around the house a bit and see what you can find. Miss Myrtle Reinhart at the Chicago Merchandise Mart's home furnishing show produced this lampshade outfit." (continued below)
Pittsburgh Press - July 18, 1937
"Golfing Outfit: At least it would draw attention away from those dubbed shots. It wasn't really designed for the links, however, but to demonstrate the new streamlined underwear. Myrtle Reinhart and Don Fristy do a bit of golfing on the roof of Chicago's great Merchandise Mart with the above-mentioned streamlined undies and a coverall of cellophane for appearance's sake."
Star Tribune - July 17, 1938
Greenfield Daily Reporter - Oct 14, 1937
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jul 13, 2017 -
Comments (10)
Category: Fashion, 1930s
Granny Gowns
In 1965, "granny gowns" became the favorite fashion among teenage girls. These featured long, ankle-length skirts, long sleeves, and high, round necklines. They were seen as a reaction against miniskirts and other skin-revealing fashions.In November, 1965 one girl got sent home from school for wearing a granny gown — told it violated the school policy against "extreme clothing."
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Dec 22, 1965
Orlando Sentinel - Nov 25, 1965
Asbury Park Press - Nov 20, 1965
Posted By: Alex - Mon May 15, 2017 -
Comments (3)
Category: Fashion, 1960s
His and Her Bikinis
Fashion from the 1970s. For couples that like to match.
The Oshkosh Northwestern - Jan 8, 1970
Posted By: Alex - Fri May 12, 2017 -
Comments (8)
Category: Fashion, 1970s
Pre-Dirtied Jeans
Nordstrom is now selling pre-dirtied jeans for $425. And here I've been washing my jeans all these years! It reminds me of that guy back in the 90s who sold shotgun-blasted jeans, though his prices were more reasonable.I wonder if the dirt washes off.
For slightly cheaper ($395) you can get what looks like paint-stained jeans.
More: nbc4i.com
Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 27, 2017 -
Comments (7)
Category: Fashion, Denim, Overpriced Merchandise
Follies of the Madmen #312
Ah, the hillbilly! What a once-potent icon. Used anywhere these days except Cletus & Family on The Simpsons?
Ad scanned from Playboy for March 1962.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 27, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Fashion, Regionalism, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1960s
Mystery Illustration 42
The splendid sartorial sense of this fellow is explicitly deemed by the advertisement to be inducement to trust his taste in another area. What product would you imagine his clothes are justifying. Liquor? Cars? Hairspray?
The answer is here.
And after the jump.
More in extended >>
Posted By: Paul - Thu Apr 13, 2017 -
Comments (5)
Category: Fashion, Advertising, 1970s
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |