Life, 1913-05-08 · page 21 of 48
Life — May 8, 1913 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece criticizes wealthy women's fashion consumption by imagining luxury garments confessing their dark origins. The illustration shows an elegantly dressed woman whose accessories each have a "voice": - **Feathered hat**: Made from egrets shot while nesting - **Hair ornament**: Cut from a dead Chinese man's head - **Pearl necklace**: Obtained through pearl divers' wives' deaths - **Lace trim**: Made by young women who damaged their eyesight in poor working conditions The **Chorus** delivers the moral: the husband goes into debt funding his wife's extravagance. The satire targets both the cruelty embedded in luxury fashion and the conspicuous consumption of wealthy women. It reflects early 20th-century Progressive-era concerns about labor exploitation, animal welfare, and the environmental/human costs of fashion—while also critiquing women's spending habits as financially irresponsible.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
on ee If My Lady’s Raiment Could Talk “We are the nup- tial plumes of three cgrettes, shot while feeding their young.” “T was cut from the head of a dead Chinaman.” “ Four pearl divers’ wives are widowed that we might adorn your neck.” “Two girls ruined their eyes while mak- laces in a ighted room.” ing wy poorly Chorus Your husband is going deeply in debt trying to keep pace with your extrava- gances. comicbooks.com