Pink Glitter Birthday Kisses

I've been holding on to this vintage card, waiting for the perfect birthday...

I suppose it would help if I had a husband to give it to! ;-)

If this pink glitter hairdo doesn't help get me a man, nothing will.

Looks a bit like cotton candy, doesn't it?

Another Season, Another Reason... For Makin' Whoopee

I'm excited to share this video that I've been saving up for a Thirties Thursday!
If you've never seen Eddie Cantor perform, I think you are going to be completely charmed.

This is from the 1930 early sound film Whoopee!, which is based on Florenz Ziegield's hit stage musical of the same name.  Not surprisingly, Whoopee! made Eddie Cantor a movie star.

Photo courtesy of Bright Lights Film Journal

His eye-rolling song-and-dance routines eventually led to his nickname, "Banjo Eyes". In 1933, the artist Frederick J. Garner caricatured Cantor with large round eyes resembling the drum-like pot of a banjo. Cantor's eyes became his trademark, often exaggerated in illustrations, and leading to his appearance on Broadway in the musical Banjo Eyes (1941).

Photo courtesy of On This Day In Jazz Age Music

One of 12 Eddie Cantor caricatures by Frederick J. Garner for a 1933 Brown & Bigelow advertising card set.
(Photo: Wikipedia - Majestic Theater of the Air)

Don't miss this video - I promise you, you'll be smiling.  The Makin' Whoopee song, with its clever rhyming lyrics is also great fun.  Enjoy!

courtesy of YouTube's Voglesque89 - "The Eddie Cantor Channel"


MAKIN' WHOOPEE!
(Note: there are several versions of this song. These lyrics are sung by Cantor in the 1930 film)

Every time I hear that dear old wedding march
I feel rather glad I have a broken arch
I have heard a lot of married people talk
And I know that marriage is a long, long walk
To most people weddings mean romance
But I prefer a picnic or a dance

Another bride, another groom
The countryside is all in bloom;
The flow'rs 'n trees is,
The birds and bees is
Makin' Whoopee.

The choir sings, "Here comes the bride"
Another victim is at her side
He's lost his reason
'Cause it's the season
For Makin' Whoopee.

Down through the countless ages,
You'll find it ev'rywhere:
Somebody makes good wages,
Somebody wants her share.

She calls him Toodles
And rolls her eyes,
She makes him streudels
And bakes him pies,
What is it all for?
It's so he'll fall for
Makin' Whoopee.

Another year
Or maybe less
What's this I hear?
Well, can't you guess?
She feels neglected
And he's suspected
Of Makin' Whoopee!

She sits alone
'Most every night
He doesn't 'phone
Or even write,
He says he's "busy"
But she says "is he?"
He's Makin' Whoopee!

He doesn't make much money
Five thousand dollars, per
Some judge, who thinks he's funny
Says, "You pay six to her."

He says: "Now judge, suppose I fail?"
The judge says, "Budge, right into jail!
You'd better keep her,
You'll find it's cheaper
Than Makin' Whoopee!!"

Words by Gus Kahn - Music by Walter Donaldson - Copyright 1928

It Pays to Have Friends in High Places

Earlier this week, Linda of The Paper Collector became Vintage Queen for A Day...

...after solving the puzzle of a mystery cigarette advertisement. 

Well, Linda graciously stepped down, momentarily, from her throne last night to come to the rescue again! 

She told me that she is familiar with the 1920's paper dolls that I shared with you on Monday.  In fact, she has a collection of them herself, which she wrote about in her own blog last year.  Apparently, these dolls are from the Peggy Pryde and Her Playmates series that ran in The Pictorial Review from January through May, 1926. 

(Special thanks to Marlendy of Marges8's Blog who also owns a few dolls from this series and helped Linda piece together this paper doll puzzle.)

So, here are the dolls once again - with their official names. 

Left to right:  Peter Pryde (Peggy's Little Brother); Carrie (Peggy's cousin); Phil Pryde (Peggy's brother) and Patty Pryde (Peggy's sister).

But where's Peggy?  Darn!  Five dolls in this series - and I'm missing the leader of the pack - Peggy Pryde!

Well, guess who's got Peggy?  Our vintage queen Linda, of course.  If you'd like to know what sweet Peggy Pryde looks like, follow this link to the queen's "Paper Collector" palace. 

Yikes! - I've been so caught up in the paper doll world that I forgot about getting ready for work this morning!  8 a.m. and I'm still in my PJ's! 

Gotta run....have a wonderful day!

You Can't Judge a 'Box' By Its Cover...

That was the clever comment that I got back from Stacey of Flotsam & Jetsam a few weeks ago when I shared the story of how I found these 1919 Movy-Dols...

...inside this much newer 1960's Christmas cards box at recent estate sale.

I really didn't mean to keep this whole box of treasures to myself!  So I thought it was about time that I showed you a few more of the paper dolls that were inside.

Isn't this quartet sweet?

They aren't tiny paper dolls - they're ten adorable inches tall.

Flip them over and you can see that the dolls (and their clothes) were cut from what appears to be a movie magazine - perhaps an issue of Photoplay, as was the case with the Movy-Dols that I shared with you in my post a couple of weeks ago.

What I love about these paper dolls, and many of the others in the box, is that the previous owner gave a name to each of the dolls and wrote them out on the backs.  From left to right we have: Erleen Hodger, Marian Dahltop, John Marsh, and Sally Bingham.  But in previous lives, Erleen was both a Lorraine and a Donald...and Marian was a Margaret...John was a Eugene...and Sally was a Betty!

Here they are again - with some clothes on!

It was fairly easy to date these dolls. This little blurb about Gloria Swanson was on the back of the Sally Bingham doll: "La Marquise de la Falaise de la Coudraye, better known as Gloria Swanson, whose latest Paramount picture, Stage Struck, is acclaimed by many as her greatest work."

So...I googled Stage Struck and learned that Gloria's film came out in 1925.  Voila! - these are 1925 paper dolls.

Have you ever seen such soulful eyes? No question, Little Johnny Marsh broke a lot of hearts when he grew up. :-)

Lots more paper dolls to share! But I'm lazy about taking photos these days - so you'll have to be patient. 

Patience.  That reminds me of my fifth grade teacher, Sister Leann (yes, a Catholic nun), and the punishment she doled out to restless and misbehaving students.  It was a trip to the blackboard to write out 100 times...

Patience is a virtue I must practice. Patience is a virtue I must practice. Patience is a virtue I must practice...

Sister Leann would be happy to know that to this day those words pop into my head sometimes when life is crazy and my mind is going a mile a minute, and it causes me to pause... 

But thank God I didn't pause too long when I spotted the Christmas Cards box at that sale, or someone else would be blogging about my paper dolls instead of me!  Patience is definitely not a virtue when it comes to finding bargains at estate sales.  :-)

Frigidaire presents the "Vintage Queen for a Day" Award to...

...Linda of The Paper Collector!

 

Linda correctly guessed that the little girl in the top half of this July 1946 Good Housekeeping advertisement ...

...is part of a cigarette ad!

Here's what's on the bottom half...

And both halves together in the full ad...

So...what's the (shaky) 1940's logic here?

A. Your doctor and thousands like him are toiling ceaselessly to ensure that you have a longer, better, healthier life.

B. More doctors prefer to smoke Camels than any other brand of cigarette.

C. Doctor knows best! (assumed)

D. Therefore, smoking Camels will ensure that you have a longer, better, healthier life - and live to be 100!


If you too would like a chance at becoming Vintage Queen for a Day...keep your eyes open for future vintage quizzes.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

1946 Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval?

It's Saturday morning, and I'm trying to stir up a little fun.  Fun for me, anyway... :-)

A big stack of 1940's Good Housekeeping magazines that I purchased on eBay arrived in the mail earlier this week, and as I was paging through a 1946 issue I stumbled across an ad that made me do a double take:

This is the top half of a full-page ad.  "I'm going to grow a hundred years old......Thank your doctor and thousands like him...that you and yours may enjoy a longer better life."

Can you guess what's on the bottom half - and what they're advertising here?

A logical guess might be...

..

...Life Insurance?

Or maybe something healthy like...

...Campbell's vegetable soup.

...or Welch's Grape Jelly?

Nope!

Hmm...how about something a doctor might recommend to encourage good digestion, at every age...

Phillips' Milk of Magnesia?

Nope, not even close.

Well, this is a stretch.  Kodak pictures last a lifetime - could that be it?

NO...

Well, how about an ad with "Lovely Sally Carleson and How She Grew"...using doctors' advised Ivory Soap?

No again.

Anyone want to take a stab at guessing what advertisement the little girl who is going to live to be 100 - thanks to her doctor - belongs in?

Believe me, no guess will be a stupid one.  Only a 1940's "Mad Men" advertising mind could come up with this connection.

Pajama Games and Pillow Talk: Doris Day Inspired Lingerie

Doris Day was the quintessential "Girl Next Door" movie star - sweet and spunky, sexy but wholesome - and absolutely adorable...

Photo from squallyshowers

I've always loved Doris Day, so I didn't hesitate to nab this album when I spotted it for $1.00 at Half Price Books a few months back.  The record is a bit scratched, but I bought it mainly for the record jacket which features Miss Day in a little heart print night shirt from her 1957 film, The Pajama Game.

What is it about Doris and pajama-themed movies?  Here she is again in the 1959 film Pillow Talk with co-star Rock Hudson.

Photo from Hooked on Houses, a blog that features movie and television homes.

Doris in a sweet little baby blue peignoir set.  Is that a Bloody Mary next to the phone on her pink countertop?  See what I mean - sweet but spunky!

Contributed by YouTube's FloridaFilmFestival

This Pillow Talk trailer captures some of the fun from the movie.

Best line from a favorite scene: "Are you getting out of that bed, or am I coming in after you!"

Like Doris Day, I've also been stuck on a pajama theme lately.   During the past several months, I can't seem to get my hands on any quality vintage dresses, suits or blouses at reasonable prices. But I've hit the jackpot with lingerie! 

 For a single girl who currently only shares her bed with musty stacks of vintage magazines and catalogs - I've certainly got quite the stash of sheer and sexy vintage nighties and robes hanging in my closet.

And if I looked as sexy in them as Doris Day, I'd be happy to model them for you! But I think it's best if I pass off the modeling to my faithful dress form, Donna...

Short pink nylon peignoir set.  This could have come right out of the 1959 Pillow Talk movie!

 

A mid- 1950's nylon slip

It has a gorgeous bodice of lacy embroidered netting.

And a pretty blue bow and nylon tricot pleating at the bottom, with a sheer lacy overlay.  Gorgeous!

Here's one of my favorites, a sheer nylon robe, probably from the mid 1950's.  Label: "Dressmaker Designed by Radcliffe" 

I love the big bow at the neck...

All that lace!  So pretty and feminine...

I love bed jackets!  This sweet little lilac number has a "Van Roalte" label.

Look at this 5-inch wide band of lace on the sleeves.  

There's no such thing as too much lace on vintage lingerie!

The sun washed out the soft pink color in this photo.  But isn't it pretty? This very sheer 1950's nylon gown is by "Colura."

Here's a view from the back, showing off the pretty pink bow.

We move from soft pink to baby blue, and from the 50's to (I think) the 60's with this vintage Olga gown.

This is from their "Sleeping Pretty" line of lingerie.  The label: "Behind every Olga, there really is an Olga."

It has a softly padded built-in bra, and fits like a dream!

And now we're suddenly in the Mod world of the mid-1960's with this colorful pastel sleeveless nightie.

Underneath the sheer diagonal panels of pink, green and blue is another layer of pink nylon. This gown has a "Deena" label.

Here's a view from the back.  Simple design, perfect for the 60's.

And finally, let's move back in time about 20 years, to the mid 1940's.

"Gay printed Rayon Crepe Ensemble in floral print. Gown has soft flattering fullness over bust and pointed midriff. Bias cut skirt follows body contours to hip line, then flows out into graceful folds."

Montgomery Ward catalog - Spring and Summer 1943.

And here's my very own rayon crepe floral gown, purchased from an estate sale a few weeks ago.

 

I've never had a bias cut gown before. Even I look glamorous in it. :-)

Aren't these shoulder straps interesting?

Can you see why this one's my favorite?

So, as you can see, I've got quite the movie star wardrobe for a girl-next-door type like me.  Now my next step is to find something a bit cozier than magazines to curl up next to at night. 

Oh well...at least I'm sleeping pretty.
G'night...