Judge — May 19, 1923 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Cat's Pajamas!" - Judge Magazine, May 19, 1923 This satirical cover depicts a woman examining clothing, likely pajamas, labeled "The Cat's Pajamas"—a slang phrase from the 1920s meaning something excellent or fashionable. The cartoon appears to mock the era's casual attitude toward women's sleepwear and changing fashion norms. The woman's expression and gesture suggest judgment or disapproval of these garments. The title plays on the period's flapper culture, when younger women adopted more relaxed, unconventional clothing that scandalized conservative society. Judge magazine frequently satirized modern social trends, and this cover likely critiques both the new fashions themselves and the social anxieties they provoked among traditionalists. The "cat's pajamas" reference positions the garment as frivolous contemporary slang—treating serious concerns about changing morality and women's liberation with humorous dismissal.