Life, 1914-03-26 · page 13 of 41
Life — March 26, 1914 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines a satirical illustration with advice columns about hat-buying and wartime economics. The top illustration depicts an elegant interior scene where a well-dressed woman sits between two men in what appears to be a social or intimate setting, with a servant visible in the doorway. The caption reads "HEALTHY, WEALTHY AND WISE." Below, the "New Hats" section satirizes wartime consumer restraint, suggesting people should avoid buying new hats as part of broader sacrifice efforts (likely WWI-era austerity). The humor lies in treating trivial fashion purchases as morally equivalent to serious wartime privation. The "Caution" dialogue mocks affected speech and pretentious justifications for unnecessary purchases—a common Life satire target was conspicuous consumption and social pretense among the wealthy. The small illustrations on the right appear to be character sketches accompanying these social commentary pieces.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
New Hats N°. Kou do not need a new hat. This can be stated with nearly as much certainty as details of the al- manac. ° Practically nobody needs a new. hat, For that matter, with a few hirsuteless exceptions, perhaps nobody needs a hat at all; but that isn’t the point. The point is that the kind of hat makes very little difference. If you are obsessed with the idea that you need a new hat, it is more likely there is something the matter with you than with your hat. If you have time to think much about your hat, you are not in the right kind of work. Look around for something that is more pleasant and therefore more absorbing. MEALTHY, WEALTHY AND WISE Nobody but the hat manufacturers and dealers would be any the worse off if we all refrained from buying hats for a year, just as we are thinking of doing in regard to battleships. It would be an interesting experiment, but, of course, it will never be made, Go and get a new hat if you want it, but don’t try to make out that you need it. E. 0. J. Caution D.: Would you have the price * if I said you needed an opera- tion? Manninc: Would you say I needed an’ dperation if you thought I didn’t have the price? ' “SAY, MA, TP YOU HAD ONLY KNOWN EUGENICS AND MARRIED SOMEBODY YOUR SIZE, I MIGHT HAVE REEN LIKE THAT Boy comicbooks:com