Judge — May 21, 1921 — page 4: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is a fashion satire page drawn by E.W. Kemble. The caption states "Tucks in various styles and shades will be the vogue in Hicksville this summer." The drawings appear to mock rural or small-town fashion trends through exaggerated caricatures of men wearing various hats (bowlers, cowboy hats, caps) with prominent facial hair. Several figures say "Howdy Cy!" and "Howdy Hy!" — suggesting rural male nicknames. The satire targets the adoption of "tucks" (pleated fabric details) as fashionable in a provincial setting called "Hicksville." By depicting rough, whisker-faced men in crude clothing discussing these supposedly fashionable details, Kemble mocks the incongruity between high-fashion trends and their adoption in unsophisticated rural communities. The humor lies in imagining frontier types taking city fashion seriously.