Life — September 7, 1905 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 275 This page contains a satirical cartoon and accompanying poem about fall fashion trends. The top cartoon depicts a domestic scene where a young man is confronted by an older man (likely a father figure) and woman regarding kissing the daughter—a common "courtship" humor trope of the era. Below is a poem titled "Fall Styles in Faces" by Wallace Irwin, illustrated with a horse wearing a top hat. The poem satirizes how wealthy men will adopt affected mannerisms and fashionable facial expressions—including specific mustache styles, smirks, and expressions—as status symbols on Wall Street and in high society. It mocks the artificiality of upper-class affectation, suggesting that even facial expressions become commodified fashion statements among the wealthy.