Life, 1914-09-03 · page 3 of 48
Life — September 3, 1914 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily advertising, not satire or political commentary**. It's a Vogue magazine subscription promotion disguised as editorial content in *Life* magazine. The ad promotes Vogue's four seasonal fashion issues, emphasizing that readers should subscribe ($2) to receive all twelve annual numbers rather than risk making poor clothing choices by shopping without guidance. The language uses gentle persuasion—suggesting that spending $20-50 on a hat without professional fashion advice is wasteful, but $2 for Vogue's guidance ensures "correctness" of one's entire wardrobe. The "satire" is mild: it pokes fun at fashion anxiety and overspending, but ultimately serves as a sales pitch. The coupon at bottom right is the ad's primary purpose.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL oi Lidl cial ae Before spending a single penny on your new Autumn clothes, consult Vogue’s four great Autumn Fashion Numbers. Beginning with the Autumn Millinery they follow now, one right after the other! During the months in which these Autumn Fashion Numbers appear you will be selecting your entire Spring Wardrobe and pay- ing out hundreds of dollars for the things you have selected. yeu will soon pay $20, $30, $50 for an Autumn hat. For this you receive a few dollars’ worth of velvet, fur, ribbons, trimmings—all the rest of your money will go for style and correctness. Unless your choice is correct your money is wasted. Why take chances again this year when by simply sending in the coupon with $2 (a tiny fraction of your loss on only one badly chosen hat or gown) you can insure the correctness of your whole Spring and Summer wardrobe. For $2 you may have before you at this important buying season all four of Vogue’s special Autumn Fashion Numbers. Not only that, but far into the Winter, the other numbers that will follow them. THE Autumn Millinery Number is now ready. CET S MENTAL! MOM NOE: CTEM SE YOU WILL RECEIVE THESE 12 NUMBERS AUTUMN MILLINERY Sept. 1 The first showing of the new Fall hats. FORECAST OF AUTUMN FASHIONS Sept. 15 The first of the Autumn mode from the great designers. AUTUMN PATTERNS Oct. 1 Vogue's annual catalog of dress patterns covering the entire Fall and Winter mode. WINTER FASHIONS Oct. 15 The Winter mode at its height exhaustively discussed. SHOPS Nov. 1 A_ personally conducted tour through the world’s best shops. VANITIES Nov. 15 New discoveries for the vanity- box and toilet-table. GIFTS Dec. 1 A manual of holiday shops— Vogue's famous offer to do its readers’ Christmas shopping. CHRISTMAS Dec. 15 Festivities and frivolities of the metropolitan, social, dramatic and musical seasons, LINGERIE Jan.1 Everything in fine linen for the person and for the home. MOTOR AND SOUTHERN Jan. 15 Earliest hint of coming Spring and Summer fashions. SPRING DRESS MATERIALS Feb.1 The correct fabrics for the smart Spring wardrobe. FORECAST OF SPRING FASHIONS Feb. 15 The first complete and authentic forecast of the new Spring mode. You can get these numbers at your news- dealer’s — better still, use this coupon. If no newsdealer is near by, or, if you have any trouble at all in getting Vogue regularly, make sure of your copies now by sending in the coupon. Merely write your name and address and mail the coupon to Vogue. Or, if you care to enclose $2 and save us bookkeeping, we will reciprocate by extending your subscription to include the Spring Pattern Number of March lst—making thirteen numbers instead of twelve. If more con- venient, send the coupon without money. Your subscription will then start with the Millinery and continue through the next 7 ve eleven numbers. Bill will be sent you about October Ist. 7 ~*~