Off to see the Wizard

Today is the 75th anniversary of the first screening of the 1939 hit "The Wizard of Oz" in the USA.
The film didn't hit Australian screens until December of that year.

These articles are from the Australian Women's Weekly, 2 December 1939 - three stars was the highest accolade!

 

The Lions Roar was reputed to be a gossip column devoted to "the finest motion pictures" - MGM of course- and "The Wizard of OZ" featured a number of times.  This one is from 23 December 1939 (the same week that the death of Douglas Fairbanks was announced).

The movie is still as fresh today as it was in 1939.  I just heard The Wizard of Oz: Concert Suite (Stothart/Arlen ed. Mauceri/Krasker) on the radio, basically a mash up of all the music from the film, which was wonderful.  the original music and lyrics were by Harold Arlen (seated next to Judy Garland in the photo below) and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg (4th from left), who won an Academy Award for Best Song for "Over the Rainbow."

Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg with Wizard of Oz cast

If you have never seen it, which I doubt, you must!  Here is the trailer, and most of the movie is available on youtube. Odds are it will been screen this week on TV somewhere near you.

Deb xx

January 1964 - A little makeup and job interview advice....

Today some snippets from the January 1964 issues of the Australian Women's Weekly and Australian Home Journal -

And don't forget your gloves!

OK girls, no more smoking on the bus!

by American Illustrator and Cartoonist Austin Briggs

Ah the 60s - one rule for men and another for women. I's be grumpy too.

Deb xx

Another great reason to buy vintage!

If I am going to sew a dress, I always pre-wash the fabric, just to make sure it's pre-shrunk.  When you buy a new (non-thrifted or non-vintage) dress (or shirt or jeans), it's not always the way, and things do often shrink in the wash.  Why?

They haven't been pre-shrunk of course!

Mechanical shrinking (also known as sanforizing ) is a process whereby the fabric is forced to shrink width and/or lengthwise, creating a fabric in which is basically preshrunk. Sanforizing was patented in the USA in 1930 by - wait for it - Sanford Lockwood Cluett.  Chuett eventually joined the family firm of detachable collar manufacturers, but he was also an inventor with around 200 patents in his name.

It appears that anti-shrink fabrics, both cottons and rayons, first arrived in Australia in 1939, judging from the ads I have found in various editions of the Australian Women's Weekly.  The ads also seem to disappear by the late 1950s.

1939

Red, Blue & Yellow in House & Garden 1957

Some images from Australian House & Garden, February 1957, with a touch of red, blue and yellow, and some great lounges.

The cover image of the kids bedroom is so modern (including the lego blocks on the floor) that it could be this years issue instead of 55 years ago!

Don't you love the curves!

Incidentally, I am listing this and other magazines for sale in my Etsy Shop!

What's your favourite decorating era?

Deb xx

Magazine Monday, Aussie Actresses & Phryne Fisher

To get a bit of order into this new blog I thought a bit of weekly structure would be nice.  This is what I am going to aim to do (but if I meander a little off the path don’t hate me!)

Magazine Monday - share pages from my collection of vintage magazines, or modern mags with a vintage feel

Thrift share Tuesday - share my best weekly thrift shop finds, and link to others

Wearable Vintage Wednesday - share a vintage piece from my collection and it's background or history

Thursday Threads - share my latest attempt at sewing, sewing tips I've found or a vintage pattern find

Freaky Retro Friday -  share an odd or whacky retro piece from my collection or others on the web

So you think you can cook Saturday - share a vintage recipe or one of our family favourites

Scenic Sunday - share a photo from my beautiful hometown of Mackay in Queensland, Australia on the day I actually get out of the house with the family (or on holiday if that EVER happens) or failing that a scene from one of my favourite movies

This should hopefully be interesting, entertaining, educational and FUN!

So today, being Monday, it’s Magazine Day.  This week photos have a vintage feel, and are  from Brisbane’s ‘U on Sunday’ Magazine that comes with the Courier Mail. The feature was 'Retro Races' with Aussie actress Anna McGahan in 20s and 30s inspired outfits.

So gorgeous!  They also bring to mind the lovely Phryne  (pronounced Fry-knee) Fisher Stories from Kerry Greenwood, that are now being made into a television series, set to be aired in 2012.  Set in Melbourne in the  late 1920s, the outfits will no doubt be incredible (not to mention the furnishings and cars).

Produced by Every Cloud Productions, it will feature Essie Davis (Cloudstreet, The Slap), Nathan Page (Underbelly, All Saints), Miriam Margoyles (Babe, Harry Potter) and Hugo Johnstone-Burt (Cloudstreet). Essie Davis grew up in Tasmania, so hopefull she will lend a nice Aussie feel to the shows.  She has Phyrne's petite frame too, so the clothes should look amazing on her.

Have a lovely vintage day!

Deb