Life — December 5, 1918 — page 38: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical page mocks the fashion trends emerging after World War I's end in 1918. The cartoons depict absurdly over-armored, robotic figures—likely representing both the militarization of society and the restrictive, heavily-corseted women's fashions of the era. "The collar-button episode" shows a soldier struggling with an oversized button, suggesting the impracticality of formal dress codes. "Sprucing up" depicts an exaggerated armored figure using Polish, satirizing elaborate grooming rituals. The main panel shows a beggar asking "Any old clothes, mister?"—contrasting poverty with society's obsession with fashionable armor-like garments. The joke targets post-war society's simultaneous militaristic values and superficial fashion obsessions while highlighting class inequality.