There were several great vintage Halloween costume patterns available in the ’70s and ’80s. Butterick, Simplicity and McCalls all offered some basic costume designs and many variations were possible.
Culture & lifestyle
Vintage entertainment, crafts & pop culture from the past – it’s the retro life!
Will baseball live? An article from 1893 Firmly believing in the future of baseball, I have no hesitancy in complying with the request made by
Sha Na Na: Carefree greasers By Mary Campbell – The Evening Sun (Hanover, Pennsylvania) Jan 8, 1970 Sha Na Na is starting the 1970s performing
Shortly before her clothing line debuted – and back when her son, Anderson Cooper, was 8 years old – the multi-talented heiress Gloria Vanderbilt came out with her own print magazine: Gloria Vanderbilt Designs for Your Home.
Author Hereward Carrington, who earned his PhD six years after this article was published in 1912, was a fairly well-known British investigator of psychic phenomena. The piece below
Take a look back at these classic Studebaker delivery trucks from the 1930s were cab-forward, saving space on the old roads.
Handwriting has gone out of style because it gave way to something infinitely better. It was the old story. Hand work could not compete with machine work — the pen could not compete with the typewriter.
The “be-in” was the grandest of all happenings, attracting at least 13,000 of the hip set and perhaps 2,000 spectators. It happened Saturday at the polo field in Golden Gate Park.
Who wins in Chevy vs Ford pickup trucks? In 0 to 60 acceleration. In 40 to 55 MPH passing. In trailer-towing acceleration. In wet-surface handling. The results are clear as black and white
There were very specific rules to follow when dating – or courting, as they called it – back before the Civil War. Here’s a look.
Love letters A gentleman is struck with the appearance of a lady and is desirous of her acquaintance, but there are no means within his
The best figures in Hollywood? Judge for yourself — we quit! Several issues ago, Photoplay-Movie Mirror made the innocent mistake of asking noted experts to
In 1976, they said Goodbye red, white and blue ball. So long three-point field goal. The American Basketball Association is no more as 4 teams were accepted in the NBA merger.
Today, when space-saving is so often a must that a piece of furniture is given houseroom almost grudgingly if it serves only one purpose, hassocks needn’t be merely be footrests. Here’s how to make your own!
Here are vintage Victorian directions for a Marie Antoinette dress sewing pattern for a little girl, trimmed with bias ruffles, and headed with a bais band of satin.
Dodge – Chrysler – Plymouth – De Soto – Imperial: As you can see here, there’s no mistaking the new 1959 Cars of The Forward Look, coming or going.
New Galaxie 500/XL Start this one and you really start something. Available with a 405-hp. Thunderbird V-8, coupled to a 4-speed stick shift, the
in the ’60s, UFOs and flying saucers were being reported at a near-record rate -with the 1966 models more varied and colorful than ever.
Remember the game of ‘dots’ or ‘boxes,’ where you joined the dots to complete squares, and the person who made the most squares was the winner? Print out these two versions to play at home.
I married a Hollywood movie star. Everyone called it an ideal match. Yet, I ended up learning the true and — perhaps shocking — reason why celebrities get divorced.
These vintage Ford Econoline vans from the ’60s had eight doors and a flat floor that put every part of a load within arm’s length.
Original Editor’s note from 1968: This article by the noted author James Baldwin… is an attempt to explain to whites the militant Negro’s reaction to ‘black power,’ as well as the Negro revolution now in progress. It is bitter, but not devoid of hope.
Disney’s ‘Third Man on the Mountain’ represents the first successful effort to capture the mystical quality of James Ramsey Ullman’s stories about man’s struggle to master the heights.
Letter-writing isn’t as much of an art as it once was. Books had to be written about it years ago, and ‘The Ready Letter-writer’ was as infallible and as essential as a cookbook is to many people nowadays.
This story appeared at the beginning of 1918, but by the time the year had closed out, Hobart “Hobie” Baker was dead — killed by
If men “hate the sight of you” read this (1930s) Good news for thousands of girls who have no sex appeal (1940s) Don’t be skinny!
Experience Olds Starfire or Starfire GT. No road will ever be the same. Experience Starfire. Get behind the wheel of Starfire. You’re surrounded by full-foam
In 1908, they said it was wrong for women to smoke in public places – it was offensive, and detrimental to the character and dignity of the ladies.
Here is a heartfelt — though dramatized and beautified (and sometimes somewhat inaccurate) — story of Judy Garland’s early life, originally published in 1942. Judy
What you will see at world’s biggest show New York’s billion dollar dream fair When the first visitors enter a onetime Long Island swamp on
See what buyers could get in the 1956 Plymouth Belvedere V8 4-door sedans!
From 1960: Chevrolet and Plymouth showed its staying ability while Joe Lee Johnson proved a little good luck goes a long way as the long-awaited World 600 was run at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood a television show aimed at preschoolers, debuted in the US on February 19, 1968, and original episodes aired until August 31, 2001.
Even in the heat of summer, Stephen King never sleeps without a cover. “I know there is nothing under the bed,” he says. “But I also know that if I keep my legs covered, a cool hand won’t reach up and grab my ankle.”
Johnny Carson is a slender, good-looking looking man with an uptilted nose and a casual comedy manner. When his Thursday night CBS show first premiered, here’s what happened.
The Big Fair in Virginia more than 100 years ago offered Great Wild West show and other attractions give free exhibitions every day and night – plus a huge display of fireworks every night.
Dreamland and its beautiful tower attract the eye of the pleasure seeker long before Coney Island is reached. There is capital amusement under and about the big tower, and all the novelties are enjoying a large share of favor…
What were the keenest, neatest and most popular names for newborns in the mid-fifties? Check out this table of the top 100 names for baby boys who were born in the year 1955!
Try this easy Valentine’s Day craft for a fun, heartfelt project that’s quick, simple, and perfect for adding a personal touch to the holiday.
Around the turn of the century, cigarette smoking was on the increase among the women — and it only became more prevalent after that. Here’s a look back!
No refund needed on Joe’s ‘guarantee’ Calls brilliant game, picks Colts apart on passes — Super star in Super Bowl by John G Griffin Miami, January
Jazz has remarkable history as a fad (from 1919) Starting twenty years ago in New Orleans, it has swept from coast to coast and is
Presenting America’s finest sports car… the 1953 Nash-Healey Pictured here is the exquisitely beautiful car that started the whole new sports trend in the American
With hearts and checkbooks the stars responded to the call of humanity — but an insidious plot lay hidden behind the campaign! By Morton Thompson
Festive ribbons for your curtains Carry a decorated-for-Christmas look to a window treatment with colorful satin-tone gift-wrapping ribbon. Loop the ribbons over the draperies and
Romper Room: Television classroom for preschoolers (1971) From The Leaf-Chronicle (Clarksville, Tennessee) May 26, 1971 The world’s largest kindergarten is not located in India or
Long before people started wondering why the vampires of Twilight sparkled, there were other questions being asked about these creatures…
Each of these 1920s house styles tells its own story & showcases the creativity of the era. Many even helped shape how suburbs look today. Let’s take a closer look!
This embroidered Owl Whoo’s Pretty Square is covered with squares, in fact – but wisely covered with terry too, and oh, such a soft pillow.
Preserving autumn leaves the old-fashioned way It is very natural that one should wish to preserve permanently the bright-colored beauty of the leaves of fall;
For some frame of reference, and according to statistics released in 2022 for the 2020–2021 school year, at public 4-year institutions, average tuition and fees were
The secret past of drug addicts (1974) By Robert Kirsch — The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) November 8, 1974 “Every generation assumes that
Debbie Reynolds: Photo scrapbook (1978) The unsinkable star shares her very personal memories of her broken marriages, her two children and her career Some might
This highly-misunderstood process of applying make involves a lot more than just putting “a dab o’ powder” on your nose. Here, a top stage star from 1913 gives you her makeup secrets.
I call on Bret Maverick by Pete Martin The star of TV’s Maverick sets the record straight on his real life as Jim Garner, and tells
The Chrysler Highlander… the talk of the smart set everywhere “I’ll be in Scotland afore ye!” June 3, 1940 For 1941… A new more
A paid testimonial from Bert Lahr for Skippy Peanut Butter How did we get Bert Lahr to appear in an ad for Skippy Peanut Butter?
New York-born Dick Clark, the pioneering powerhouse in the music and TV industries, was best known to the world for his show American Bandstand, and for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.
How to choose a husband? Whatever you do, do not marry a man who claims to be a saint. He lives too much in his own imagination of himself. He is nearly always an unconscious or a subconscious hypocrite.
This look into the origins of many common last names offers a peek into the past, and might even be some help in tracking down
Before there was REO Speedwagon, the band, there was REO Speedwagon, the vehicle. These early pickup trucks were especially popular with farmers.
Few people can remember a time before “spring forward, fall back” was known to all — the little ditty that helped us remember how to
George Takei talks about the Star Trek Phenomenon and the power of the classic TV series (1976) By John Stanley – The San Francisco Examiner
Today Barbra Streisand is the drummer boy leading the charge. Cinderella at the ball, every hopeless kid’s hopeless dream come true.
The mysterious — and mischievous — magician Houdini by Harriette Underhill All men are fascinating until you understand them, and that usually is so simple. But
“For some reason, I like Post cereals twice as much as everybody else does.” Doctor Dolittle and his friends agree! “Start your day a little
What’s it like growing up on national TV? Melissa Gilbert knows all about it. She’s starred in the long-running hit show, Little House on the Prairie, since it began. Dynamite recently met Melissa, who told us what growing up in Hollywood is like, on camera and off.
Your votes have been counted! Teen Beat’s 1st Annual Teen Star Awards In the February 1984 edition of Teen Beat, we printed our 1st Annual
Vanning has become an American craze. Today it means to personalize a common van and build a lifestyle around it. Throngs of Americans are doing it. A key feature of the outing is the mutual admiration of vans and the adorning artwork.
1980s video games were a game changer — literally.
Millionaire mothers spend oceans of dollars in bringing up their babies How will the richest babies in the land turn out? The mothers of Baby
“I was as nervous as a poker player down to his last pants’ button, and every one of the hard-boiled old-timers in the art department knew it. “
When these old VCRs first came out, they seemed like something magical — something of which dreams were made. As people who had long been locked
Here’s some insight into the auto industry from the very early days, where cars didn’t come with too many “extras” — like flower vases and
It would seem like Bruce Lee was born for stardom, and unfortunately, like many of the brightest burning stars, he was gone far too soon.
While the “finale” in the original article title refers to the fact that this was Clark Gable’s last movie — he died just 12 days after filming of The Misfits ended — looking back, we can see that the phrasing was oddly (and sadly) prescient: Time would eventually reveal that this was Marilyn Monroe’s final film role, too.
“Thelonious,” a tune from his very first Blue Note session, had verses fashioned from a single ingeniously hammered note, with three horns playing shifting dissonances behind it. He developed the one-note motif in his solo and then abruptly broke into some pure, old-fashioned Harlem oompah stride.
The cool and classic 1960s Impalas came with fancy new features like a side mirror and sun visors. The most famous Impala muscle car of all was from this generation of cars: a black ’67 model that played Dean Winchester’s ‘Baby’ on the Supernatural TV show.
Before Flipper was a hit TV show, Luke Halpin appeared as Sandy Ricks in two movies, Flipper and Flipper’s New Adventure!
Even before she wrote Little Women, she was eminent in her family… Louisa May Alcott was a big, lovable, tender-hearted, generous girl, with black hair, thick and long, and flashing, humorous black eyes.
A man gave birth to a mouse. The mouse built the man an empire. A true-life fable, as recounted by Disney’s official biographer.
Woman-for-President idea gains in favor by George Gallup Princeton, NJ, Oct 28 — A woman for President of the United States? American voters are getting
Timothy Hutton’s performance in Ordinary People won him an Oscar, and he became something of a symbol of vulnerability and tenderness for teens.
Chevelle Malibu station wagon (1965) Big V8 up front, 86 cu. ft. of cargo space in back — and the time of your life in
Dick York is probably best known for his role as Darrin Stephens on Bewitched, the character he played for 156 episodes between 1964 and 1969.
TV show ticket stubs from old quiz shows, game shows, comedy hours & variety shows Joel Tator, a director with KNBC in beautiful downtown Burbank,
The Riviera by Buick: Split personality (1963) Two Rivieras illustrate a point — that the Riviera is a car with two distinct personalities. For some
Business builders… New prestige-styled ’58 Dodge Power Giants… 4-way leaders of the low-priced 3! That’s a lot to expect — one truck that leads all
Don’t waste gas, says Rube Goldberg GRANDMA (A), KNITTING PAIR OF SOCKS, PULLS LATCH (8), CAUSING JACK-IN-THE-BOX (C) TO POP OUT AND HIT TEETER —
Old Crosley TV sets with 17″ screens (1950) Crosley Family gives you full-room vision… with the new wide-angle Family Theatre Screen. 5 TV cabinet models:
This wasn’t just a show about a Great Dane and his friends; it was about solving mysteries, unraveling clues, unmasking villains – and we loved every minute!
Jackie Gleason — born Herbert Walton Gleason Jr. on February 26, 1916 in Bushwick, Brooklyn — was best known for his roles on The Honeymooners
Enchanted evening by Zenith. (1950-1951) The setting: You… your guests, 1951 Black Magic TV with reflection-proof screen. Supreme moment! When Zenith Black Magic Television comes
“Love Happy” was the last movie starring the Marx Brothers — Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, and Groucho Marx… and included a small role for an
Plymouth is out to win you over this year ’67 Plymouth Valiant Looks all new. Feels all new. Is all new. Surrender. You don’t have
Her mother had the byline on all the books in the hugely-popular Little House on the Prairie series, but many thought that Rose Wilder Lane
1955 Cadillac: Styling the whole world admires We doubt seriously that any other automotive design ever inspired such deep or such widespread admiration as that
What happened to Shirley Temple when her movie star career waned? In 1946, Temple made an effort to recapture that Hollywood magic once again.
