Life, 1911-07-13 · page 12 of 44
Life — July 13, 1911 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a satirical cartoon about fashion and women's appearance standards. The illustration shows a large dog being pulled along a street by multiple people, with a caption asking "CHEF! WHERE D'YE GIT HIM, JIMMY?" and the response "F—FOUND HIM." The accompanying text discusses the "Fashion Reform League" and critiques unrealistic beauty standards imposed on women. It mocks the notion that women should conform to specific measurements and appearance requirements, sarcastically suggesting that even a woman meeting such exacting standards would look like the awkwardly-proportioned dog in the cartoon. The satire targets the absurdity of rigid fashion and beauty ideals of the era, using the grotesque dog as visual metaphor for how ridiculous women appear when forced into these prescribed physical standards.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
you have the worst pos- sible taste and don’t know it. All you have to do is to drop in at our professional adviscr’s department and learn the fatal truth, Ie will tell you, without the least compunction, just how awful you look. He will then turn you over to our rejuvenating depart- ment, where a careful study will be made of your case and the most appropriate setting will be planned. Think of what this means for this country ! Walking up and down Fifth avenue and other principal avenues of the coun- try on every day of the year are hun- dreds of women who are something dis- tressing to look at, entirely unconscious of their own defects. A woman with a forty-eight bust, who is only five fect four, will wear a laven- der silk picture hat, with ribbons cight inches wide and ornamented with os- “cure! WHERE D'y “p—rounp wat. Mint, yearaty? preys, when she ought to be concealed from sight by the Board of Health, A woman of forty, who is six feet tall and has a waist measurement of cight inches, will wear a Scotch plaid mother hubbard, with a London bobbie’s helmet eight feet in diameter, when all she needs is a plush umbrella cover and a willow plume. Our head professional adviser, aided by his corps of faithful assistants, will gradually remedy this. No matter where pu are after, if you belong to the fashion Reform League, our advisers will come up to you quietly and wi per: Madam, you are looking simply awful,” or words to that effect. Our patrons are alrea welcoming this innovation, radical as it may seem. In judging our customers, our pro- fessional adviser will be governed in general by the following considerations, based, of course, upon a lifelong expe- rience in gowning women: Age and weight. Height above the curbstone. Bust measurement and length of waist in proportion to length of body. Volume of natural hair. Complexion, whether natural or other- eral contour (whether natural or Don't worry. You cannot deceive any one of our trained em- ployecs). Frowsiness. (By frowsiness is meant that indefinable air of carelessness which, if not carried too far, makes for style, but if carried too far, undocs everything.) Perspective. (This is of utmost im- portance. Most women have their dresses fitted in a room before a mirror and the lines are circumscribed. A woman looks very different in a ten- comicbookMeem