Even in the ’50s, many families only came together at the table. (Now, it seems, many families don’t even do that — but they should!) The atmosphere created at the family table sets the standard for family relationships, conduct, and comradeship. And if the homemaker is going to put all that energy into preparing the …
Is there anything more quintessentially feminine than the 1950s housewife? Think of June Cleaver, wearing pearls, heels, and a full-skirted dress to do her housekeeping. Even Lucille Ball, whose homemaking in I Love Lucy was eccentric (to say the least!), looked and acted feminine on screen and off. So how can a modern-day vintage housewife …
If your goal is to be more feminine, then your first step to femininity is to always ask a man. Why? Because femininity is the inverse of masculinity. Unfortunately, nowadays, most women have emancipated themselves right out of their femininity. And most men are understandably wary of telling any woman — even one who asks …
If you have other things that you’d like to do with your life than housework — especially when you have small children — you probably have looked for ways to cut down on the time it takes to get your everyday, routine work done. Marion Hurst, in addition to her list for avoiding fatigue, provided …
Mid-Century May Baby Step 11: Vintage Housekeeping Shortcuts Read More »
If you are going to follow a ’50s housewife schedule, you need to prepare for a lot of work. Tiring work! And while there were shortcuts (hello, amphetamines!), those shortcuts could burn out your health QUITE fast. Fortunately, some experts had better ideas for conserving both energy and health. Here are some mid-century tips for …
We’ve covered baby’s layette, and the housewife wardrobe, so now we are going to talk about older children’s clothes! Here is a basic vintage school wardrobe for children, which you can use to form a capsule wardrobe to simplify laundry. A capsule wardrobe is also an excellent way to teach your children about style and …
Mid-Century May Baby Step 9: Vintage School Clothes Read More »
Before you can start cleaning your house properly, you need a cleaning basket. Now, obviously, the cleaning basket is just part of the vintage cleaning closet. The closet also contains other essential equipment and materials. But the cleaning basket is a real timesaver, and one of those vintage housekeeping secrets that helps the ’50s housewife …
Mid-Century May Baby Step 8: The Cleaning Basket Read More »
One of the defining features of being a mid-century housewife was babies. You married, expecting to have babies. And when they came along, you raised them right. So what kind of clothes and furniture did the proper ’50s housewife have for her baby? What was in the vintage baby layette? Things to Have Ready For …
Mid-Century May Baby Step 6: Vintage Baby Layette Read More »
I see a lot of people who wonder how to build a vintage capsule wardrobe. Here, I am showing how to design a ’50s housewife capsule wardrobe. This is going to be a slightly different capsule than, say, a 50s college girl would have had. But it does show what was considered an adequate basic …
Mid-Century May Baby Step 5: Vintage Capsule Wardrobe Read More »
A schedule is the best way to manage your housework. Housework is, after all, a real job, and needs good management, or you’ll end up a workaholic housewife. If you want to plan your housework, you need to make a schedule, especially if you are caring for young children or an elderly parent. Some housewives …
Mid-Century May Baby Step 4: Plan Your Housework Read More »
