Life — April 6, 1911 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Easter-themed cover satirizes the holiday's commercialization through fashion and consumption. The central illustration shows a fashionable woman with an elaborate Easter bonnet (the large decorated hat was a major fashion statement for Easter), holding a basket—likely representing the commercial excess associated with Easter celebrations. The silhouetted rabbits at the bottom, labeled "A Friend of the Family," humorously reference Easter's bunny tradition while suggesting irony about the holiday's association with consumption and material goods rather than religious meaning. The magazine's title "MS" and price of "10 cents" appears at top. This satirizes how Easter had become primarily a commercial holiday focused on fashion, gifts, and consumerism rather than its religious significance.