Listen up: You might think our Victorian forebears did everything with grace and elegance, but have you considered that may be fake news? In reality, the dames of high society were basically just influencers.
society
Want to host a throwback celebration, with ideas straight out of the early 1900s? Here’s a menu describing each of the fourteen courses served at a formal dinner party, plus other hosting tips for an event with true Edwardian style.
Back in the ’50s, a group brainstormed ideas to help a woman catch a man… and the suggestions are as cringeworthy, soul-crushing and outdated as you can imagine. Take a look at these 129 ways to get a husband and see for yourself!
Take a look back at these beautiful classic 1940s Studebaker cars, which were loved by socialites and regular family folk alike. Here’s a look inside and out at these old autos!
What were calling cards, and how were these visiting cards used by polite society back at the turn of the century? Find out!
There have been many lonely, unhappy wives in every era. Here, an advice columnist addresses letters from women who are helpless because they are without hope — a very common type of message in her mailbox.
The old Sears Wish Book catalog was perfectly named – it was where kids and adults alike would dream about all the things that Santa (or a special elf) might bring for Christmas. Find out its history here!
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier became the bride of Senator John F. Kennedy – the future president – at this elegant society wedding in 1953. See what it was like!
A Victorian garden party may extend from afternoon into evening, or it may be entirely an evening affair — and here were the best ways to set everything up.
Studio 54 was arguably the most famous – or at the very least, infamous – nightclub of the 1970s & 1980s. It was filled with stars, even when the owners were sent to prison.
Not only would these sexist vintage ads not sell well today, but they’d also cause a huge social media backlash. See 50 of the most obnoxious examples here.
What was Victorian etiquette was like for men? There were rules for everything – so take a trip back to the 1880s and see what was what way back when.
We asked some very blunt questions – and got 350,000 equally candid replies – and a good deal of hope for the American family. Here’s what people had to say.
Avoid contradicting your husband, do not give your advice till he asks it, and other marriage tips from the 1830s. Because a wife may have more sense than her husband, but she should never seem to know it.
When it comes to weddings, there is an irresistible charm, a fascination about it, in which the flowers play a leading role.
An expert said American dating and courtship is characterized by romance… After a brief, ecstatic acquaintanceship, they believe that they can go on living happily ever after.
What do newly-engaged couples really need to know? Quite a bit! Here are ideas from 1921 for telling your close friends, suggestions for formally announcing your engagement, tips for selecting a ring and more advice.
“We sometimes despair over specifics in our educational, political, and military systems or of actions, or opinions of individuals representing them.” – Fleet Admiral Chester W Nimitz, USN
“If ever the United States should reach a point where the clash of ideas comes to an end, where debate disappears, where everybody agrees with everybody else on everything, then we are finished as a nation.” – President John F Kennedy on the media
“Our magazines are a leading force for moral and cultural growth in our country, and one of our surest guarantees of an informed public.” – President Dwight D Eisenhower
In the ’70s, how many men and women now live together as husband and wife without actually being married – and what did average Americans think about that?
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.
Experience shows that after the newlyweds have become long-marrieds, the couples who quarrel most are the ones who are most affectionate in public.
One question is asked more than any other by the people who have “dropped out” on the Haight-Ashbury. It is “What is ‘a hippie?’” And the answer could also be the answer to why they have dropped out.
