Life — June 29, 1916 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "High Explosives" - Life Magazine, June 29, 1916 This cartoon satirizes women's hairstyles of the era, specifically the dramatic "pompadour" or volumetric updos that were fashionable during the 1910s. The illustration depicts a woman with an exaggerated, spiky tower of hair standing on end, her face showing shock or surprise. The title "High Explosives" is a pun—comparing the theatrical, attention-grabbing hairstyle to literal explosives. Around her feet are depicted various small creatures: rats, insects, and snakes, likely representing the chaos or "explosion" of fashion excess. The satire mocks both the impracticality of the era's elaborate hairstyles and perhaps the women who wore them, suggesting such fashions were literally explosive or dangerously over-the-top. This reflects contemporary anxieties about changing women's styles and social roles.