Life, 1917-10-18 · page 16 of 40
Life — October 18, 1917 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains satirical commentary on 1920s fashion and gender relations, alongside unrelated cartoon humor. The upper sketch depicts a factory scene, illustrating the "Factory Hands" headline. The main article, "Concerning Women's Garb," mocks contemporary anxieties about women wearing increasingly revealing clothing (post-WWI fashion trends featured shorter skirts and looser silhouettes). The satire argues that women look attractive in *any* garment—even "horse blankets and rag carpets"—because they possess inherent charm. The author humorously dismisses fears that scanty clothing will seduce men, suggesting women's appeal transcends fashion. The cartoon below shows caricatured male and female figures labeled "SHE'S GOT HIM GOING, BUT IS SHE STRONG ENOUGH TO LAND A KNOCK-OUT BLOW?"—a boxing metaphor for romantic/sexual dynamics where women are depicted as aggressors. The brief "Scandal" joke is unrelated, involving someone named Bill caught in a compromising situation at a movie. The overall tone is tongue-in-cheek commentary on evolving gender roles and fashion during the Jazz Age.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
FACTORY HANDS Concerning Women's Garb TRAVELLER, recently returned from Paris, is re- sponsible for the thrilling information that the new scanty garb is very becoming to French women. Of course it is! There never yet was any sort of garb, scanty or voluminous, thick or thin, rich or poor, light or dark, that i was sufficiently unbecoming to womankind to decrease the _ number of love affairs or of marriages by one-tenth of one per cent. All garbs are becoming to women, Even though they wore horse blankets and rag carpets, they would do it in such a way that poor, dazed man would roll up his eyes, lose his appetite and be wracked by the sweet pangs of love. This is no time for anyone to lose sleep for fear women are going to be forced to wear garbs that will prevent the men from rolling their eyes at them. It can’t he done Scandal a ee R Bill was caught in a compromising situation.” SHE'S COT HIM GOING, BUT IS SITE STRONG ENOUGH TO LAND A KNOCK-OUT BLOW? “| HE “Yes; he was seen laughing at a movie comed comicbooks. gai