A British newsreel from the Thirties shows how fantastically far-off they were in determining what women (and in one example, men) would be wearing in seventy years or so. I definately don't like the look of the headgear for the guys.
"Oh, swish!"
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too funny!!!
ReplyDeleteYou couldn't make this stuff up, Christy.
ReplyDeleteall righty then. lol
ReplyDeleteWere'nt far wrong then were they?
ReplyDeleteAs I sit here in my aluminium pantaloons and digital head basket (having been fitted with a phone some years ago) I am amazed at these chaps and their incredible foresight, but then again I was always rather swish in a Flash Gordon sorta way doncha know.
ReplyDeleteHahahaha, I wouldn't dream of going down the cellar without my electric light headgear. I find that these days I need just one dress and a piece of glitter cord and it covers all occasions................................ah me, life is so easy in 2009.
ReplyDeleteI love the clipped way they speak in those newsreels.
Thanks Doug.
Except for that headlight accessory, Jim, you may be right. But then I don't travel so much in fashionable circles these days.
ReplyDeleteThat pretty much sums it up for me, too, Cille. ;-)
ReplyDeleteLOL. I thought "if anybody could bring that Flash Gordon look off it would be AA". Alas, being a fickle slave to fashion, I recycled my aluminium pantaloons (along with some beer cans) a few years back. The headgear I find really sets off my receding hairline.
ReplyDeleteWho knew I was THAT close to being cutting edge.
Drat I say, and again, drat!
I knew you'd be on the cutting edge of fashion, Cassandra! I assume this newsreel didn't escape your notice from your past membership in the university film club.
ReplyDeleteI understand a flashlight (or "torch") about the latest coiffure can also come in handy for those London evenings when Westminster stages an unexpected air raid drill. (One can never rest truly well as long as the Germans have access to propellers.)
I always enjoy hearing that clipped "telegraph" style of news reading. It makes the scripted "ad libs" like "oh, swish" seem less obvious. ;-)
"skirts will disappear entirely" - well thats not a bad prediction, they pretty much have disappeared from my life. There are a couple in the wardrobe - handy for funerals - otherwise the wardrobe is where they stay!
ReplyDeleteAs a feminist I wanted to thump the narrator lol - it was all about finding and pleasing a man, did you notice?
I've only worn a skirt once---to try and avoid registering for the draft during the Reagan Era. It was "no dice", however. ;-)
ReplyDeleteYes, Iri Ani, feminism has brought some progress in that old advertising ploy of making women feel that a "man-crazy" rush to the altar was all there was to their early adulthood. As I saw on a woman's t-shirt years ago , "Those women who are always looking for husbands obviously have never had one."
I am not sure the disappeared they just got shorter/ skimpier
ReplyDeleteGood point, Fred. Funny that the designers probably didn't see the mini-skirt from the 60's or even the bikini coming. I think those innovations in feminine wear would've been truly too "fantastic" (i.e., censored) for the newsreels of the time.
ReplyDeleteI dont know they had burlesque back then
ReplyDeleteDid somebody say burlesque? Here's Sally Rand from the 1934 World's Fair. (PS--She's wearing a body suit.)
ReplyDeleteLMAO! I had no idea Americans would go to such lengths (Was it a mini btw?) to avoid being dragged into futile wars.
ReplyDeletehey, I want that T-shirt!
ReplyDeleteOnly on young things Crabby (at least I hope so)
ReplyDeleteWell, goodness me! This is rather risqué for the 1930's. She is making the most of those fans though, lol
ReplyDeleteNot this clip, Doug, but a good few others in similar style. They were rather tongue in cheek I thought. One can almost sense the newsreader smiling!
ReplyDeleteHahahaha, if the flashlight headgear been around in the war, I'd imagine a little blackout cover would have been supplied.
Harry Enfield, portrays this clipped style of speech, a treat, especially as far as the early the early days of television goes.
I say, pretty racey that, don't you think? ;-)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, she did that beautifully, very graceful indeed.
Thank you, Doug.
Actually a lot of middle-class kids avoided the Vietnam War by simply getting a college deferment (as long as you stayed in an accredited college, even in grad school, you were safe, unless you were a medical doctor) Many of the biggest modern military hawks, like former Vice-President Dick Cheney, took advantage of this.
ReplyDeleteI wore a plaid midi-skirt by the way. Both sensible and demure, the saleslady said, as I tried it on. :-)
Very funny stuff, Cassandra. I particularly liked the "class deference" approach to dealing with muggers and ruffians. "Nice weather we're having, guv'nor."
ReplyDeleteProbably no longer works as well now that the younger hooligans are into those young "Clash" musicians, with all their tiresome belly-aching about their social betters. :-)
Thanks for the clip.
I agree, Cassandra. I don't know much about Sally Rand (who was notorious at that time) but she is indeed graceful. I'm sure she had ballet training.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised I couldn't find it on the Internet. It was funny--even for the guys ;-)
ReplyDeleteHahaha, I'm not sure I'd like to put any of those defence ideas into practice. They seem to rely too much on the mugger waiting for your move, rather than him coming in with the attack.
ReplyDeleteWell, if you're into "Clash"you have to look like a hard nut to keep up your street cred. :-)
I'll admit, when she first started dancing, I thought there was going to be a show of bare skin. Fortunately, she was too classy for that. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou mean a wearing a faded Clash t-shirt and whistling "Rock the Casbah", "I'm So Bored With the USA" or "London Calling" whilst a mugger approaches might insure him that I'm "a bit past it"? I suspect you're right there ;-)
ReplyDeleteAh, all you have to do is look real mean as you walk past any likely mugger and then run! :-))
ReplyDeleteI am impressed. Oh for a picture lol
ReplyDeleteI hope no swans were injured in the making of this film Doug
ReplyDeleteHahahahaha!
ReplyDeleteI think I can almost manage both parts of that safely
ReplyDelete*snarls away at near-by mirror*
We shan't go there, Iri Ani. This is a family-friendly social network site, remember ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Animal Aid would have called into action if there had been any plucking of fowl before Miss Rand's stage act, AA.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, always best to practice the look first.
ReplyDelete"Cor blimey gov'ner, nice of ya to snarl at me". :~)
LOL. My luck, Cassandra, the next time I'm in London my mugger will turn out to be so well--mannered and class-bound that I will just hand over my money to him out of compassion.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, after that statement you may find a queue waiting at the airport!
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I still have too many memories of Dick Van Dyke's Cockney accent in
"Mary Poppins". I bet you can hear it right now, Doug? :~)
Oh so true, what a shame lol
ReplyDeleteAnd yet plucking clearly has taken place Doug. Why can't she just wear a Zircon encrusted jump suit like the rest of us?
ReplyDeleteOh woe! Oh, villainy! Dick Van Dyke doing that faux cockney as "Bert, the Chimney Sweep"--a shame America has yet to live down :-(
ReplyDeleteMary Poppins was my favorite movie as a wee one, by the way, Cassandra. I literally wore the grooves off the LP record my mom bought me. Still my favorite Disney flick; loved the dancing penguins as mixed -up waiters, dancing about with Julie Andrews and the kids, et al.
Alas, it was only as an adult that I heard from British-born souls in the media how Van Dyke had "let the side down" with that Hollywood Cockney.
Don Cheadle did a similar "bad Cockney" in the more recent "Ocean's 11" crime caper films as I understand. Too bad Walt Disney didn't just hire a English actor/singer.
In the name of All That's Decent and Free And American, a "standard" must be set, Iri Ani.
ReplyDeleteBesides, my wife might see it online.
I agree something should have been done, AA. There is no more pitiable sight in a public pond than a naked male swan trying to attract a female with its non- existent plumage.
ReplyDeleteOh so now we have gotten down to nude swans on this post!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing that my posts so often get so sordid so fast. It must be my choice of questionable material ;-)
ReplyDeleteor your choices of questionable contacts...
ReplyDeleteLOL. Oh no, Iri Ani,as for the real "questionable contacts" you mention, ... not anyone who commented in this blog is on that category :-)
ReplyDelete