Not a bad spread; it should work, but it doesn't. I find myself uneasily mesmerized by that bottle of Joy. I have slacked right off these past weeks. In my other life, I have taken a promotion. Two, actually. And in the mysterious ways of government work, it means I'll be taking home less money for a while. (Fancy that happening at Private Sector Firm de Jour!) Which has a direct bearing on Joy. Alas.
In 1959, it would have been difficult for anyone of my gender to have had my former job and it probably would have been impossible for a woman to head a department of investigators, even our weak-sauce regulatory variety. Most of my colleagues wouldn't have had the jobs they have.
On the other hand, in 1959, a man in my position could easily have supported a family and could have sent his children through the California university system for free. Free. It was called being middle class, one of the quaint customs of the day.
Enough. Let's shop for bras!
Vassarette is still around - Target, Wa\\lMart, etc. Hollywood Vassarette was created in 1958 specifically to shape your body so you could wear the latest fashions. "Bras to give you a bewitching swell of bosom for wide-eyed necklines . . . by gently boosting you above the cup curve itself!" The "Temptress Bra" and "Temptress Torso" both came in black over pink, but no larger than a 36 B, so we're not talking big boosts here. Supposedly the Temptress Torso would cost $115 in today's dollars. Seems a lot for Vassarette, unless, like a lot of other brands, it has dropped down in class. Revlon, for instance, was sold in fine department stores.
Utter fail - haven't the time, energy or spare cash to acquire vintage samples of Joy, Chanel No. 5 and Shalimar for one big perfume smack down. This year. There will be other December issues. Meanwhile, Joy is said to be unchanged from 1929, when Jean Patou stirred up a batch to cheer American wives whose husbands had taken dives in the stock market. (How were they supposed to afford it?)
I've actually got the Chanel and Guerlain, but the vintage Chanel has changed a lot since I uncorked the tiny little vial it came in. It was like the hundred dollar bottle of wine I serendipitously enjoyed one evening several months ago - a revelation. These things exist. But now is is like a good Gallo. So I have to start again. Meanwhile, I finished a little bottle of Jicky that came with the Shalimar. It's like half of Shalimar and I found myself easily wearing it every day, until I spilled the last few drops on the bathroom floor. And even then it wasn't bad.
But, no Joy.
Couldn't get them in a row. Forget it - let's go to the movies!
* Second Hammer Film with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Better than The Mummy. That's about all I can say.
* Not feeling Hammer Films. And there are so many of them.
* Co-incidently, "Hounds of Baskerville," an episode of the new BBC series Sherlock, arrived in the mail this week, illustrating another reason why I like living in 2012: smart and fun television series with what seem like real people - at least psychologically real people. Add this to your Netflixt list today! (Another reason to like 2012 - even if there was Netflix in 1959, think of all the movies you couldn't see!)
Next week: last pair of ads before heading into guts of the issue. (Only took a year!)
No comments:
Post a Comment