Life, 1916-01-06 · page 44 of 48
Life — January 6, 1916 — page 44: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon but an advertisement**—a full-page promotion for Vogue magazine subscriptions, appearing in Life's editorial pages. The pitch targets women's anxieties about fashion mistakes: buying expensive clothes that don't match their needs or taste. By subscribing to Vogue ($2 for twelve monthly issues), readers are promised to "save $200" by making better purchasing decisions through expert fashion guidance. The accompanying illustration shows a fashionable woman in a mid-length dress, embodying the "well-dressed American woman" ideal that Vogue claims to represent. The satire (if any) is subtle: the tagline—"Nine of ten women copy what the tenth does; the tenth is a reader of VOGUE"—simultaneously flatters subscribers while admitting that fashion is about conformity, not individuality. The promise to prevent costly mistakes through expert consultation appeals to both vanity and thrift, reflecting 1920s-era consumer culture anxieties about propriety and expenditure.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOGUE suggests: that before you spend a penny on your new clothes, before you even plan your wardrobe, you consult its great Spring and Summer Fashion numbers! Beginning with the LINGERIE NUMBER ‘* and continuing for six months (twelve numbers—see list-below) you will receive the most complete pre- sentation of styles ever offered American women. During the very period when these numbers appear you will be selecting your Spring and Summer wardrobe and paying hundreds of dollars for the suits, gowns, etc., you select. The gown you buy and never wear is the really expensive gown! Gloves, boots, hats, that miss being exactly what you want, are *’ ones that cost more than you can afford! $2 Invested in Vogue will save you $200 Why take chances again this year when by simply sending in the coupon, and at your convenience paying $2—a tiny fraction of the loss on a single ill-chosen hat or gown—you can insure the correctness of your whole wardrobe? Vogue is a beautifully illustrated magazine; the acknowl- edged authority on what is worn by well-dressed American women. Here are your twelve numbers (and one extra): Lingerie Number, January 1* The very first murmurings of the coming mode Motor and Southern Jan. 15 Smart Fashions for Hints of Spring and Summer fashions Limited Incomes Apr. 15 shown in clothes designed for the South _—First aid to the fashionable woman of Forecast of Spring Fashions Feb, 1 __ not unlimited means The earliest and most authentic forecast of the Spring mode Spring Millinery Feb. 15 The newest models in smart hats, veils and coiffures Spring Patterns and New Materials Mar. 1 Working models for one’s whole Spring and Summer wardrobe Paris Openings Mar. 15 The complete story of the Paris open- ings establishing the mode Spring Fashions Apr. 1 The last word on spring gowns, waists and accessories Brides and Summer Homes May 1 A journey “thro’ pleasures and palaces.” News for the bride American Travel May 15 Places in our own country well worth a visit at least Summer Fashions June 1 The final showing of the Summer modes that will be In the Country June 15 Society takes to sports and life in the open Hot Weather Fashions July 1 The correct wardrobe for all outdoor sports *OURSPECIAL OFFER THE Lingerie Number is al- ready on the newsstands. If you enclose the $2 with the cou- pon below, we will send you, with our compliments, this earliest and most authentic forecast of the Spring mode, making thirteen numbers instead of twelve. Or, if more convenient, send coupon without money. Your subscription will then start with the Motor and Southern Number, and continue through the next eleven numbers. “Nine out of ten women copy what the tenth does; the tenth is a reader of VOGUE” comicbooks.com