Life, 1887-03-24 · page 1 of 16
Life — March 24, 1887 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Impossible" - Life Magazine Cartoon, March 24, 1887 This cartoon satirizes fashion and social class through a dialogue about neckline height. Mrs. N. comments that a dress's neckline is "very high," while Modiste (a dressmaker) responds that it's actually "too high for beauty," but notes that wearing it low in a carriage is "much safer" because pneumonia steals beautiful necks in winter, and dresses vary in height "like zees one!" The humor lies in the contradiction: the fashionable high neckline is simultaneously impractical (dangerous to health) and constantly variable. The title "Impossible" suggests the absurdity of following such inconsistent fashion standards. This reflects Victorian-era anxieties about women's fashion dictates that were simultaneously rigid and changeable, while also joking about genuine health concerns from drafty carriages.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
preRicanys SVM. ing of 5 a igi- of all ruc- els, etc., duc- for ere. TS. siness h Aves. No VY IMPOSSIBLE. ar. SHOW. : § DS. Mrs, N. (alluding to the price): | THINK 1T_VERY HIGH. estra. Modiste: TOO HIGH FOR BEAUTY, PERHAPS, BUT IF MADAME SIT IN A DRAUGHT IT EES MUCH SAFER SO. AU! MADAME (sorrow/ully), ZE PNEUMONIA TAKE AWAY SOME OF OUR MOST REAUTIFUL NECKS ZIS WINTER; a5 Cunt ae ~ AND ZE DRESSES VAIRY HIGH, LIKE ZEES ONE! comichooks.@elu)