Life, 1920-11-11 · page 7 of 44
Life — November 11, 1920 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the consumption habits and social anxieties of the upper-middle class during the early 20th century. The main cartoon depicts a couple discussing household expenses, with the husband advocating financial discrimination between wants and needs—a practical stance. The wife counters that she always needs what she wants, highlighting the tension between restraint and desire in affluent households. The accompanying text mocks "Dresseurs"—apparently wealthy individuals who employ personal stylists or wardrobe attendants. The satire suggests these servants are essential social fixtures, their primary function being to enable constant wardrobe changes for opera, sports, and social events. The brief anecdotes that follow ("We Have with Us To-night," "Following a Fad") continue poking fun at upper-class pretension and the absurdities of maintaining fashionable appearances.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Hubby: pURING THIS PERIOD OF HIGH PRICES WE MUST DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN THE THINGS WE ERELY WANT AND TIIOSE WE ACTUALLY NEED. Wifey: nut sotenow 1 ALWAYS NFED WHAT WANT SO MUCH MORE THAN WANT WHAT I NEED, “We Have with Us To-night” Dresseurs HAT old saw about knowing a book by its cover does not apply to Dresseurs. They're covers nothing more. piano keys could be manufactured from the hiatus between their collars and their hats. Dres- seurs are the human waxworks of the social shop windows. merely The fate of Dresscurs is terrible. They die off at middle age from the overexer- tion of going in and out of the house to change for breakfast, tea, lunch, dinner, golf, fishing, yachting and checkers. If you have fallen into the natural as- sumption that Dresseurs go in for sports or anything else, there’s a rain check com- All the Dres- seur does is to dress up for the perform- ance. After that he’s through. The Female than the male. to the beach, decks herself with a cobweb which she calls a bathing near the surf opera, motoring, tennis, ing to you at the window. Dresseur is more deadly In summer she flits off suit, and gets But does she bathe? She —does—not, She laves in the rude star- ing of bold, bad men, because it is so dreadfully annoying. off to the opera. hear the music? In winter she runs Does she come out to Yes, she is three-quar- ters out, but she is there, not to revel in Wagner or Mozart, but to advertise Creation — er — pardon—to advertise a creation. When a Dresseur dies, the family re- place him by a wardrobe. Following a Fad (CRAWEORD: must. bel! Your business friend © thoroughly in system, if he has just hired another efficiency ex- pert. Ckarsuaw: He got him to > find out what was the matter with the first one. RAVELER: labor this season? Hiram Having any trouble with Yes—getting ‘em to work be- tween meals, comicbooks.com