Friday, June 24, 2011

Guest Curator by Traci

Dinner for Two: Meet the 1950s Housewife

This is Traci from BucktoothedBunny. Toni, the Bunny herself, is my sister. I’ve been helping her with her shop, so she talked me into being a guest curator.

The 1950s are typically remembered with a great deal of nostalgia. America became very prosperous in the post-WWII years and the nation took the center stage in world politics. Americans were very proud of their country, and were determined to live happily in peace. Conformity was the rule of the day and everyone had to play their part. Young people were moving en masse to the suburbs, with everyone having their own homes, cars, and all the latest gadgets available. This was a time when the men worked and the women stayed home to tend the homes and families. These women were expected to keep their homes immaculate and look great at all times.

In the summer, this would be the perfect dress for the typical 1950s housewife to wear in order to look great AND get all of the housework done. It would be unheard of for anyone to show up at her house and find her looking anything but her best. She must not forget to wear her pearls!!




If anyone should drop in, it was important to play the perfect hostess. Fresh flowers should be on hand to give the house a fresh, happy look. Refreshments for the housewife's guests are a must, even if it is just water with ice from your new Frigidaire!




While vacuuming, dusting, making beds, and cleaning all of her new kitchen gadgets, our housewife needed to look her best in one of her many pairs of pumps. Only the best for the lucky suburbanite! And really, who doesn’t clean in a pair of stiletto pumps?



 If our housewife completed her chores in a timely manner, perhaps she could slip into a lovely swimsuit in order to soak up the rays. This way she could have a healthy glow when her husband arrived home from work.





With the house in perfect order, our housewife can begin work on dinner. Betty Crocker is a necessity for every housewife!!


 Our housewife would have the table set and ready for her husband’s arrival. She just couldn’t keep him waiting after a long day!



 With the table set, dinner ready, and a cocktail prepared for her man, our housewife waited at the door as he pulled into the driveway. 




Ah, yes those were the days!

7 comments:

  1. I love this theme, its fantastic!

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  2. Beautiful and well put together! Great job. :)

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  3. oh this is so wonderfully done! Makes me want to go back into the Donna Reed days! You perfectly captured the feel of innocence of the 1950s and how it was to be a housewife! Boy how it's changed! thank you!

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  5. This is fantastic! Love each and every detail!!!

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  6. What great choices you made and I love the story to go with it. Great job!

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  7. This is "The Beaver's" mom to a tee! But I'm afraid I'll disagree with Lauren and say I'm glad I don't live in the 50's. I can't imagine pulling up those panty hose all day! It was a great decade to be born in (and I do know), though!
    Traci, you've done a wonderful job with this post, I didn't know women were expected to look that way. Guess I just thought Mrs. Cleaver was more of a Hollywood thing!

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