Life, 1913-09-18 · page 16 of 44
Life — September 18, 1913 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1910s *Life* magazine page satirizes women's fashion through "Life's Fashion Reform League," a fake organization proposing an absurd solution to a perceived crisis: men are losing interest in women because fashion has become too revealing. The satire operates on multiple levels. The league claims that showing *less* skin paradoxically generates more male attention—demonstrated by their "experiment" where a fully-clothed teenage girl drew such crowds that police intervention was needed. The khaki costume hiding all body shapes is praised for equalizing women regardless of appearance. The humor targets both fashion excess and the paternalistic male gaze: the league positions itself as "saving" women while actually reinforcing the idea that women's primary value is male attention. The accompanying dialogue jokes mock domestic life (a wife hiding shopping expenses) and class anxiety (a beggar's father being an "essayist"). The top cartoon shows observers expecting a mishap—visual humor about public spectacle—while the middle illustration depicts a street scene with onlookers, reinforcing the fashion display theme.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
= EGEsE* The Cynic: 1 HE FALLS, MY DEAR, YOU'RE NOT TO SCREAM OR FAINT, BECAUSE IT’S JUST WHAT WE ALL CAME TO SEF. The Lady: But 1 THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO TAKE UP A PASSENGER. to the aid of the Paris ladies—until our present styles became common. 1 Other rulers might falter in a crisis like this, but not Life’s Fashion Reform League. From our headquarters in Life Park'.(formerly Central) the edict is even now going forth.’ The time has indeed come when woman must be saved. We feel that when we have explained the whole matter,in its fundamental aspects everybody will agree with us that there is nothing else to do. So far as the ladies are dressing at present, the subtle danger lies in the overwhelming fact that, if they keep on in the way they are going, in a short time all the men will begin to lose interest in them. We see evidences of this everywhere. When, a year or so ago, we started some of our models down Fifth Avenue int clothes which were then deemed extreme, they were followed by crowds of intensely interested men; now any girl with practically no clothes on at all can walk anywhere with being even noticed. Of course, this marks the beginning of the end. The limit having now been reached, a reaction is due, and it is our business, as arbiters of fashion and true patriots, to take the lead. Our announcement, therefore, is as follows: From this time until further notice, the patrons of this league— which extends to the remotest parts of this country—will appear fully clothed. They will wear real material which cannot be seen through with a Yerkes telescope or a Zei: binocular, But that is not all. With our well-known and firmly established reputation for sartorial prescience, we feel certain that at the present moment nothing is so startling as simplicity. And we may say that our tests recently made have proven this beyond doubt. Last week for example, we sent a young girl of seventeen walking down Fifth Avenue without any powder or other chemicals on her face and clothed in a simple opaque print dress of curtain cloth, the skirt of which fell below her instep. She wore dark blue cotton hose, twenty-two button black calf boots and a Quaker bonnet. The result was remarkable. Every man who saw her was paralyzed with curiosity, astonishment and love at first sight, and if it had not been for the timely intervention of the police her life would have been in danger. One of our new costumes is made of khaki, and com- pletely covers the figure from head to foot. It arouses instant curiosity and excitement. Other styles will be announced soon. Already our headquarters are being stormed by interested patrons. Under the new régime all women’s figures will ve carefully concealed. A fat woman will, therefore, be on the same plane as a thin one. This is a wonderful gain, and will be appreciated by our customers all over the world. Now is the time to fall in line and order real clothes which will interest the men by keeping them guessing what you really are. Life’s Fashion Reform League. NOP2: Can your wife keep a secret? Topp: Well, I should say so! She never lets on how much she orders when she goes shopping. | BOY, YOU OUGHT TO KNOW BETTER THAN TO BEG FROM A poer.” “ PLEASE, SIR, FATHER IS AN ESSAYIST.” comicbooks.com