Life, 1911-07-06 · page 19 of 44
Life — July 6, 1911 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is satirical social commentary disguised as a fashion announcement. Life's "Fashion Reform League" mock-seriously claims to have pioneered the "harem skirt" and announces absurd innovations: farms breeding ostriches, peacocks, and even platypuses (ornithornynchus) so wealthy women can personally select creatures for hat ornaments. The satire targets multiple things: the pretentiousness of fashion industry claims to "uplift" society; the era's obsession with exotic animal feathers in millinery (a real environmental concern); and the absurdity of wealthy women's consumption. The illustrated figures—"The Shepherdess" and "The Rosary"—model ridiculous outfits embodying these excesses. The joke is that Life presents nonsense with utmost seriousness, as if breeding farms for hat decorations represents genuine social progress. It's early 20th-century environmental and consumer satire wrapped in fashion commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
*LIF E» Listen, Women of America Life’s Fashion Reform League First to Introduce Harem Skirt—Other Innovations in Prog- ress—Soon Every Woman Will Be Able to Pick Out Her Own Ostrich—New Buildings T is now the appropr ment to make the announcement that Lirr’s hion Reform League was the first to into the where else, in fact—the celebrated jupe- culotte skirt, known as the harem skirt. We did not think it best to m: before, but the fact is so many countrics have now made n attempt to rob us of our glory, that ke the truth known, introduce country—or any- vulgarly © this announcement we feel we must m: THE SHEPHERDESS O'CLOCK BREAKPAST SHEEP RANCH Fok THE SIX oN A The afiair is now eral \. our patrons h been mobbed for their pains. gocs to show effects like the harem skirt, cly to give a piquancy to the styles; it should be thoroughly understood in work is fundam concerns vitally the women of America, sid as time gocs on we shall be able to troduce at our m mtal; it about over. Se /, ‘¢ worn the skirts’ in various parts of the world and have This only that we are at st a hundred years ahead of the time. We shall continue occasionally to in- show that the science of fashion is all- comprehensive, embracing, as it does, every art and every industry. Our process is purely uplifting. We use our re members as a medium to produce an effect upon the men of this country—that producers y man cherishes the illusion that somebody—that is to say, he is to say, upon the Ever he is thinks he is performing a useful part of the work of society, What he is really doing is 10 make enough mon vide clothes for the women, a our office to lift this up into a science bined that will make the a; of Louis XIV. look like a wedding on the Heights of Jersey City It is for this purpose that we have established the finest array of buildings in the country for the purpose of fur nishing some of our most exclusive Ja- dies with their clothes. We also have our heron fa y to pro- dit is and art cor » in Flor- ida, where we raise aigrettes for mil- linery purposes, and we expect to sta BE NO MATTER HOW GRACEFUL THE IT AS THE UAT, APTER ALL, THAT GIVES MAT FINAL TOUCH "—rnat “yr Ne SAIS QUEER.” an ostrich and peacock farm combined next week in California. perts now in the field making an inves- birds and a the purpose of using them as on ladies’ hats. This subject has by no means been exhausted. with a We have ex- ation of new mals, for aments We are now ex perimenting new form of or. nithorhynchus and expect soon to have Is for the exclusive use We shall be ab bird going, to offer our customers and pa trons the visiting the these new anim of our patrons. when we have our animal and farms opportunity of farms in person and their animal, picking out the case ment to their own bird or be. This will may a sen’ THE ROSARY AN AFTERNOON MUSICALY PROCK not to be obtained in any other he mere fact that you have been on personal and inti animal you are e terms with the wearing is an ides tirely new in the history of clothes s comicbooks.com