You couldn’t tell a ’50s housewife that pastel pink washers & dryers weren’t practical. They didn’t have to be practical – they were pretty.
1954
Just look at the richly-textured patterns in this mid-century modern carpet! And the vintage 3-level pile apparently offered the highlights and shadows in expensive sculptured rugs.
Here, check out 22 vintage kitchen design ideas – from funky fridges to creative cabinetry – plus other retro appliances and home decor we don’t see very often nowadays!
In the fifties, people wanted to know: What was rock ‘n’ roll music? Where did this wild dance noise come from – and was it safe for the kids? Should it be banned, or was it just a fad?
This carefree tie-on poncho is cut in just four identical pieces and put together with simple straight sewing. Best of all, it has a dozen uses, can be made in any number of different fabrics, and cut to any length you like.
If you wanted to see stereotypical retro family cars, check out some huge classic ’50s station wagons that had fins & had rear-facing seats – including cars from Ford, Pontiac, Studebaker and Plymouth.
Back in the ’50s, some Old Fitz whiskey bottles came with self-serving glass jiggers and removable golden candelabras – what they called the Old Fitzgerald Candlelight decanters.
Delicious Christmas and holiday recipes with walnuts, including Chess pie, Walnut nuggets, Plum pudding, Walnut stuffing, Scotch trilbies, Panettone, and other delights.
Look back at these 1950s vintage portable electric hand mixers, with the kind of removable beaters that kids loved to lick to sample delicious cake batter and cookie dough.
Find out all of the then-hot new features on the 1954 Ford Ranch Wagons, an all-steel car that had fold-down seats so you could carry cargo or passengers.
The people now best known as the juice and jelly people used to make popular vintage Welch’s candies like Junior Mints, Nut Fudge, Cordialed Cherries and Sugar Daddies. See them here!
Old-fashioned orange pomander balls made with cloves first became popular around the 17th century, and have been in use ever since. Here’s how to make your own fragrant decoration!
It’s a joy for the whole family to get in on the planning and making of holiday cookies days and even weeks before Christmas day arrives. Here’s a classic cookie collection from the ’50s.
Love ’50s comic strips? Here you’ll find more than 50 old names like Hopalong Cassidy, Flash Gordon, Curly Kayo, Brick Bradford, Etta Kett, Grandma, The Lone Ranger, Moon Mullins, Myrtle and more.
Before vintage Disneyland opened in 1955, Walt Disney said the huge amusement park would be ‘the most fabulous playground on earth.’ See what it looked like!
Here’s a look back at some authentically vintage ’50s master bedroom decor, featuring things like colorful retro carpets, modernist furniture, and old-fashioned bedspreads.
If you’re looking to recreate that special vintage Christmas cookie recipe that your grandmother used to make, or want to discover old-fashioned cookies to make new again, here’s a big tasty collection of treats for you!
Take a look back at these vintage jewelry boxes that were so popular, including some with fold-out storage and – of course – spinning ballerinas.
Look at some old-fashioned gas ranges millions of people had in their homes in the ’50s – right around when electric appliances were about to become popular.
If you think your quest for the best pumpkin pie recipe has only just begun, we have news for you: you’ve just found the vintage recipe motherlode.
Take a trip back to the past – go sightseeing and learn more about what Washington DC was like in the 1950s! The classic tour is here, from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial to the White House.
The classic Nash cars that were so popular in the ’50s came in a few different models, and offered features like ‘nap couches’ for kids and huge luggage compartments.
Vintage Wrangler jeans made their mark on America by partnering with rodeo professionals, and playing up their western cowboy image. Here’s a look back at the clothing styles they offered in the ’50s!
Take a vintage look back at how Americans have loved coffee for generations – plus get some great old-fashioned ways to brew a delicious cup of koe.
Ayds was a diet candy that debuted in the ’40s – basically a piece of caramel or fudge that contained an appetite suppressant. For years, Ayds candy was a big seller… and then came AIDS.
Take a look back at some ambulances & fire trucks from the ’50s – the vintage emergency rescue vehicles that people back then would see on the roads after an accident or medical emergency.
American Airlines was one of the first companies to offer passenger flights in the US. The industry’s biggest success came after WWII. Here’s a look at the history of the airline’s first decades!
What vintage Halloween candy did people get when trick-or-treating? See classic Butterfinger bars, Brach’s candy, Milky Way, Dubble Bubble, Baby Ruth, candy corn and more!
Anita Shops was a small but popular shop for women’s clothes, starting in the ’50s through the ’70s. Here’s a look at some of their vintage fashions!
Tiddlywinks (originally Tiddle-dy Winks) seems like a simple kids’ game… but there’s a lot more to it! Find out about it – including how to play – here.
Get ready to remember some of the biggest thrills and chills from yesteryear, through these top vintage horror movies – great for Halloween or any time you want a little scare!
Once people accepted that pregnant women could be stylish and need not remain hidden, the designs of vintage ’50s maternity fashion were surprisingly varied. Here’s a look!
Take a fun look back at the stereotypical ’50s housewife, as she vacuums in heels, washes dishes wearing pearls, and makes everything practically perfect.
These fun vintage coin-operated rides – including horses and rockets – lived in front of drugstores and grocery stores across the country, and made millions of kids smile.
These retro cash registers were big news because they showed the prices, item types, total purchased, tax (if any), money or check given checker, and exact change due.
Vintage View-Master reels offered a trip into another dimension – ‘with stereo color pictures so real, you’ll feel you are actually part of the scene!’ Take a look!
Classic Rambler cars from the ’50s were popular family cars, and were touted as offering big car room at small car prices. Here’s a look back!
Here is a collection of tips from the past, for researching your past – namely, how to start a genealogical record for your family. Get ideas for tracking down your ancestry here!
From stylish room dividers to savvy storage to simple tips for making the most of a small home interior, get some ideas from the fifties for space-saving small home decor.
What can you make with Spam? According to these retro Spam recipes – what *can’t* you make with it?! Check out these easy vintage how-tos here.
Here, take a look back at old Lake Tahoe – the big, beautiful lake that has been a popular vacation spot for generations.
Take a 1950s home tour of a ‘junior five’ near San Francisco – a small house that had an entry stairway that starts at garage level and leads up to five rooms – bedrooms, kitchen, garage and more.
Remember having fun in vintage playhouses & forts like these? Take a look back at some of these retro play structures through the decades, from the ’50s through the ’80s!
When color TV was first invented, people wondered if you could convert a black & white TV to color, and which shows would appear in color – and when. Here are some of the answers they were given.
Decades ago, vintage table lighters like these ‘played an important part in the art of entertaining. The gracious, easy way to get a light if you smoke.’
In the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s, old-fashioned maternity wear existed – but its main job was to help the mom-to-be hide her pregnancy. Here’s a look back at fashions to help women camouflage that bump!
See some of the vintage baby gear from the 1950s that parents used when raising our parents and grandparents – including a lot that wouldn’t be considered safe today.
If you think there couldn’t be much that’s changed about vintage baby bottles in the past 100 years or so, you may be surprised. Here’s a look!
See vintage car wreck photos of 35 of old auto accidents and crashes from the 1910s to the 1950s – before standardized seatbelts and airbags.
If you’re remodeling a 1950s home exterior, advice from that decade says to follow a simple, straightforward style. Your house will look better and cost less.
What’s the history of Necco Wafers? Here’s a look back at how a company made the candy such a big hit that it would be on shelves for the next 100 years.
Take a look back at dozens of vintage gift sets for women from the ’50s, ’60s & ’70s, filled with fancy fragrances, makeup, skincare products & more!
