Life, 1909-08-19 · page 27 of 28
Life — August 19, 1909 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a promotional page for *Life* magazine's "Glad Rag Number" (issue of September 9), celebrating women's fashion and grooming. "Glad rags" is period slang for stylish clothing. The page uses satirical humor typical of early 20th-century *Life* magazine. It opens with an Oliver Wendell Holmes quote suggesting that feeling well-dressed provides psychological satisfaction equal to religion—mocking both excessive materialism and the earnestness of the quote itself. The illustrations show women in various fashionable dresses arranged around the text. The satire lies in the breathless catalog of fashion details (corsets, switches, explosives powder, "fig leaves," health bands) presented as if they're profound scientific achievements. The joke targets both the fashion industry's marketing hype and women's supposed obsession with appearance, presented in the irreverent, mocking tone *Life* was known for.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Glad Rag Number Issue of Sept. 9 On newsstands Sept. 7 What Is Life Without Glad Rags Oliver Wendell Holmes said that the consciousness of being well dressed was better than the consolation of religion, That’s What Every American Woman Knows—and Practices nw about this Glad Rag Number—we coulk in advance, some idea of its supremely satisfyin; scintillations anc al, hemovin, pelling, tely ct hysterically fea Hut why do this? Did you ever see a table formulated in advance by a hyper-fervid pu that was interesting We never did. No. It is enough to say that the Glad Rag Number is on its joyous way toward you, ripping with revelry, both by day and by night. It reveals, better than our poor w can convey, the great progress in the arts and sciences, metal work, hose companies, rat renewers, switches, butt des, explosive powders, landscape gardening side decorating, spinn ving and compr whalebone, slats, elastic bani ht fronts, ta mings and tucks, chiffon, fig leaves and health bs lamphlack, peache il, red paint, low neck and no ne that ha s over the firs comicbooks.com