I came across this lovely blog post by Louise Sleigh from Catwalk Threads Vintage the other day
You can find her original post here
I spent some time reading through this copy of Woman’s Pictorial. Dated 26th April 1930, the cover shows a beautiful painting by Albert Guillaume (Paris Salon, 1929). The pages within provide a wonderful insight into life as it was 82 years ago.
This issue includes a special nursery supplement which provides readers with advice on everything from what to feed baby to the correct way to deal with a year old ‘tot’ that has eaten a square inch of the forehead of her doll! Mind you, I can’t imagine that any advice would be much use to the mother. By the time her letter had been written and posted, received at magazine headquarters and published, anything could have happened to that poor child! And just in case you’re interested to know, following said incident, the mother immediately gave her child a small teaspoon of castor oil. Can you imagine?! Yuk! She writes to Nurse McKay (an advocate of Truby King methods), asking “Was that right, and was there anything else I could do?” Nurse McKay replies:
“With such catastrophes it is always as well to have immediate medical advice, and, in any case, castor oil should not be given, as this would hurry the contents on in a fluid form, whereas it is safer to let the foreign object get covered, and pass on slowly. The best plan is to give thick starchy food, such as bread and potatoes, to eat.”
The magazine also includes a section entitled ‘FASHION THIS WEEK‘. Enjoy!
From left to right: The new berthé collar, the bolero suit of crêpe-de-Chine with a satin or linen sleeveless blouse, and a tennis dress of piqué which is very neat and serviceable.
Simple beige blouse trimmed very smartly on collar and cuffs with blue stitching to match the blue skirt. Both blouse and skirt have similar yoke effect.
Two simple silk frocks, which is a sign that the bluebells are coming out, because you want to wear silk frocks about that time! The one on the left is of black satin marocain with a white collar – very smart. The one on the right is a little dress with a very feminine collar and cuffs of pleated georgette frilling.
And here’s a rather ingenious idea from resident fashion expert, Ann. Here she shows how to make a bed jacket made from four handkerchiefs. I’d imagine you’d have to use quite large handkerchiefs, but unfortunately, Ann doesn’t offer any advice on size dimensions!
When Ann thought out this idea for a dainty dressing-jacket she was at her very brightest, I’d have you know! It’s made from four handkerchiefs, or squares of chiffon, the same or varied colours, as you wish. Place one handkerchief at the back, join one at either side to form shoulder seams (see diagram), and cut the third handkerchief in half diagonally, and use to make fronts to the jacket (see diagram). The top point of the back handkerchief turns over to make a little collar. isn’t it ingenious, and pretty!
Finally, I just wanted to include this very nondescript advertisement for Tobralco fabric. I’d never come across the name before, but the fabric appears to have been used widely during the 1930s. Also, being a resident of Manchester, I was interested to see that it was produced by the famous TOOTAL company, who were based at 56 Oxford Street, Manchester. More information below.
Tobralco was a trademark name (registered 1910), given to a fabric produced by Manchester textile manufacturer, Tootal Broadhurst Lee Company Ltd. This company produced largely cotton and silk fabrics of very high quality with yarns imported from countries such as India. I’ve been unable to determine exactly what fibres were used in the manufacture of Tobralco. However, I would imagine they used something synthetic since it’s advertised as being a very practical fabric with ‘wash and wear’ qualities. In my online search, I found several magazine articles which mentioned Tobralco. One article in particular caught my attention (http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4081914). The advertisement is for men’s business shirts, sports shirts and pyjamas made of Tobralco, and was also published April 1930. The wording goes as follows:
“All Tootal Products are as reliable as Tobralco. Every fabric and every dye produced by the company, has to pass the most rigorous tests in the Tootal Mills and Laboratories.
Every piece of cloth – every handkerchief – must measure up to the Tootal standard – a standard that enables Tootals to guarantee complete satisfaction in wash and wear. Any man who has used a Pyramid Handkerchief – any woman who has worn a Tobralco frock – will know what Tootals mean by “satisfaction.”
Tootal sheetings, casements, bedspreads, shirtings and table cloths, are all of the same guaranteed quality as ‘Pyramids’ and Tobralco, and all are plainly marked ‘Tootal’ or ‘A Tootal Product’ on selvedge or label. Look for this mark when buying.”
ADDITIONAL NOTE: the above images have been scanned from my own copy of Woman’s Pictorial. If you wish to use any images contained within my blog, please contact me and include links back to my website and blog. Thank you.
Visit my website today! FREE UK delivery!
Like this:
Like Loading...
Posted in
Bathing Belle,
Burlesque,
Fashion,
Kitsch,
Make-up,
Morecambe,
Morecambe Variety Festival,
Pinup,
Postcard,
Retro,
Vintage and tagged
1930s fashion,
1930s fashion magazine,
Art Deco,
Art Project,
Bathing Beauty,
Burlesque,
Catwalk Creative Vintagge,
Clothing,
Film Noir,
Kitsch,
Memories,
Morecambe,
Morecambe Variety Festival,
Morecambe Winter Gardens,
Nursery Advice,
Period,
Period Hairstyles,
Pinup,
Postcards,
Retro,
retro makeup,
Seaside,
Vintage,
Vintage Accessories,
Vintage Boudoir,
Winter Gardens,
Womens Pictorial |
