Life, 1916-11-30 · page 29 of 42
Life — November 30, 1916 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is not a cartoon or satire—it's a **luxury advertisement** for Ostby & Barton Company's costume jewelry, published in *Life* magazine. The page features an elegant illustration of a fashionable woman in haute couture (a "modiste" or fashion designer) to establish prestige. The ad claims that Ostby & Barton pioneered costume jewelry in America and that each piece is handcrafted from real gold and gemstones—positioning it as luxury goods, not cheap imitation jewelry. Key sales pitch: costume jewelry should be as "individual" as the outfit itself, available only at exclusive specialty shops, and purchased by name. The strategically placed jewelry photographs showcase the product's sophistication. The term "costume jewelry" meant fine, specially-commissioned pieces for specific outfits—quite different from today's meaning (affordable fashion jewelry). This appeals to wealthy readers who could afford bespoke accessories.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘LIFE Bibs 3 Barton _ Company of jewelry that should be worn with it—a ring, a brooch, a pend- ant that will give it the touch of color or emphasize its theme by harmony or contrast. Every woman of taste has long known that the jewelry one wears with a costume should be as individual as the costume itself. The original makers of Costume Jewelry in this country are the firm of Ostby and Barton, who have retained the leading designers on both sides of the Atlantic. This beautiful new jewelry is made altogether in 14K. yellow gold, green gold and white gold (with the color and luster of platinum), set with genuine precious and semi-precious stones. Costume Jewelry is not to be found in casual shopping. It cannot be produced in quantities. Each Costume Ring, Brooch and Pendant must be made by hand—the individual work of one of a few very unusual craftsmen, The woman who really wants Costume Jewelry must look for it in the exclusive little specialty shop, at the exceptional jeweler’s, in that one department store of a dozen that somehow manages always to know the style before it happens. Ask for it by name. A ND now a famous modiste indicates for each of her gowns the design OSTBY & BARTON COMPANY, PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND comicbooks.com