Life, 1909-09-09 · page 12 of 32
Life — September 9, 1909 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a satirical story about women's fashionable hats, illustrated with a humorous drawing of exaggerated women's heads wearing elaborate, stacked millinery creations. **The Satire:** The piece mocks the extravagance and absurdity of early 1900s women's fashion, particularly oversized decorated hats laden with feathers, fruit, vegetables, and ornamental materials. The title references "Bedlam" (a famous asylum), suggesting such fashion choices reflect madness. **The Joke:** The story follows women at a tea where Maisie's hat creation—containing lobster salad, caviar, and other delicacies—causes scandal. The accompanying illustration shows heads progressively burdened with ridiculous hat constructions, emphasizing the physical strain and social competition driving these fashion choices. **Context:** This reflects genuine turn-of-century concern about impractical, dangerous women's fashions and the conspicuous consumption they represented.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
344 The Daughters of Bedlam S Maisie passed slowly through the tea room to the table where Monica awaited her she was the cynosure of all eyes. Women in superb costumes and with jewels glittering at their throats lifted their lorgnons to their hard, worldly eyes and gazed envious!: after the fair, young girl, who in her sweet unconsciousness seemed a veri table vision of Sprit and Summer, 1909. There was a rustle, a whisper, murmur of exclamations throughout the whole room, for it was not alone Maisie’s beauty which challenged com: ment but her faultless costum Phe dernier cri,’ murmured one an, “ Bewitchingly crazy,’ sighed another, and “What si unstudied eccentricity!” exclaimed a third. “Maisie,” cried Monica as, wit! hands which trembled with excitement, she poured a cup of tea for her new! arrived frie Maisie, you have cre ted a sensation!" Have 1?" said Maisie, flushir hily: as she helped herself to a but- tered crumpet and some lobster and orange Je and a caviar sandwich and all those little thin; which ethereal young girls love for ernoon tea and which but serve to whet their appetites for dinner. “Have 1? she repeated. “1 wonder why?" “How do you do it?" sighed Monica “Your allowance is smaller than mine and yet you wear these wonderful French clothes.”” Maisie laughed gently. “My hat and ny gown look French,”” she said, “but nevertheless they are of acture, Listen, Monica, I ke an trust you, so I will give you my confidence. I had nothing new to rand my allowance was all spent at was the situation which faced me. “Ip WOMAN'S MAD FiTTED WER WAT”? was ! to do? It is such moments, Monica, that bring out the best that is in us, our strength of character and powers of fon sash tied about my knees.”* resource. So, dear, I rose “And what could be smart- to the occasion. From attic er?’ sighed Monica ecstatically to cellar I searched until I Maisie nibbled a bit of fruit found this peach basket. I first tart, swallowed a spoonful of covered it with net and then — ice er and tasted a chocc fastened this cluster of car- late ir hefore werin rots, to and moss rose- Then she said: buds on this side, and the bunch “Dear Monica, if you do not of gooseberries, gardenias and wish to be regarded celery on the other side. There you've got to be willing to look was my hat. But I had no like a freak. That is the wn ws. Almost, Monica, my written law at present which al weak woman's heart failed me; women understand. . In this and then I suddenly remembered year of grace 1909 the last my mother’s high necked, long limits of insanity are the first sleeved nightdresses. I am wear- demands of Fashion.” A CAT-BOAT ing one, you see, with a chif- Mrs. Wilson Woodrow. comicbooks.com