Crooner Culture

(Originally posted August 2007, I want to try to get this idea rolling again!)
Okay everyone – it’s time for the first ever Crooner Culture blog project!
Here’s the skinny…
Everyone has old family photos from the 40’s and 50’s laying around somewhere. Maybe your cousin’s got them all, or your sister, or your 80 year old Uncle Joe. But they’re somewhere.
Your job is to find the photo that reminds you of the classic “crooner era” and post it on your blog, writing whatever you know about when and where it was taken, and put a link in the post to this blog …read more

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“I have often said that I wish I had invented blue jeans: the most spectacular, the most practical, the most relaxed and nonchalant. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity – all I hope for in my clothes.” – Yves Saint Laurent
French fashion giant Yves Saint Laurent, one of the great designers of the 20th century who revolutionized women’s dress, has died at the age of 71 after a lengthy illness.

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Wow, I always just thought it was a fashion trend, or a mafia thing. Boy, was I wrong!
Initially an African American youth fashion, closely connected to jazz culture, the zoot suit was co-opted by a generation of Mexican American kids, who made it their own.
The oversized suit was both an outrageous style and a statement of defiance. Zoot suiters asserted themselves, at a time when fabric was being rationed for the war effort, and in the face of widespread discrimination.
Zoot suits were reserved for special occasions — a dance or a birthday party. The amount of material and tailoring required …read more

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Ever long to have that glamorous look of 1940s pin-up hair, like you’ve seen on the red carpet lately by the likes of Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani? (Of course, let us not forget the “Victory Rolls” or Bettie Page style, which started the whole thing back in the day!)
Well, here’s the perfect video tutorial for you! I might try these out myself someday soon, and make a vid or post some pics!

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“Chanel’s own lifestyle fueled her ideas of how modern women everywhere should look, act, and dress. Her own slim boyish figure and cropped hair became an ideal, as did her tanned skin, active lifestyle, and financial independence. Throughout her career, Chanel succeeded in packaging and marketing her own personal attitudes and style, making her a key arbiter of women’s taste throughout the twentieth century.” – The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Truly the ultimate paragraph to describe Chanel fashion in the 50’s. It was a look that women longed for – with a comfort they adored.
Here are a few images from her …read more

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I just love how back in the day, during live television, the stars of the show did the commercials. It made for kind of “uninterrupted television” and always was sort of unpredictable for the viewer. This clip’s a commercial that Joey Bishop and Regis Philbin did for Hai Karate Cologne. (Yes, many jokes have been made about that stuff over the years, but this is a great clip!)

I love how the woman at the end, with her big ol’ teeth, says, “Delicious.” She looks like she’s about to attack Joey, and he gives her the “Hai!” karate chop!
This post is …read more

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In the early 1950’s, the world was breathing freely the fresh air of post-war modernism. Women’s kitchens had made cooking faster, which made entertaining much more common, and gave women more time to relax and enjoy life. The free flowing lifestyle demanded a change in clothing that was less restrictive and “stuffy”. In swirls the circle skirt.
Think of Audrey Hepburn in “Roman Holiday”…

The circle skirt emphasized the feminine shape with a narrow waist that flared outward. It pretty much was a huge circle with a hole in the middle, which gave it lots of texture and flair.
Even patterns used the …read more

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