Life, 1921-05-12 · page 34 of 36
Life — May 12, 1921 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **Butterick sewing pattern advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. It targets women during what appears to be the early-to-mid 20th century, addressing a genuine social context: women's limited access to fashionable clothing due to cost. The ad's appeal relies on several assumptions about its female audience: 1. **Economic anxiety**: Women want stylish spring fabrics but can't afford ready-made dresses (savings of $0.50-$10 mentioned—significant money then) 2. **A new skill becomes accessible**: The "Deltor" (combining "Delineator" magazine + "Butterick" patterns) supposedly makes home sewing practical for non-seamstresses through step-by-step instructions 3. **Gendered expectations**: The rhetorical question "If you have—you aren't a woman!" assumes women's identity centers on perpetual desire for new clothes The advertisement exploits both aspiration and practicality: you can look fashionable *and* save money by sewing at home—a form of unpaid labor presented as empowerment rather than necessity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HAVE YOU ALL THE CLOTHES YOU WANT? . If you have—you aren't a woman! If you haven't—reag (pis: Do you get excited—or wistful—or “resentful—or just plain determined, when you see th@first spring bolt@of lovely crisp, sweetpea-colored organdy? The puffs of dotted swiss? The good-looking linens in peach and flame, and raspberry? The mulls and voiles and English prints? Why, they're all so delightfully cheap, compared to winter fabrics! They look so easy to work with. The colors are so clear and fresh, and young. And you can just see the rows and rows of adorable little tub frocks they're going to be— If you could only sew! Listen! Have you two hands? And a nice sharp needle? And three or four empty hangers in your clothes closet? Then go right back and buy your pattern. Yesterday, maybe, you couldn’t sew. But to-day you can. Because there's a new word— DELTOR (Now included with new Butterick Patterns) The new word inherits everything that belongs to the two other words that mean the most in the style world. Delineator, the magazine. And Butterick, the pattern. Deltor shows you, step by step, just how the experts would go about it if they were to make up the frock from the pattern. You can do it yourself and save from s0c to $10 on the material alone. It sounds too good to be true? Too easy to be possible? Well, who would have thought paper patterns practical till Butterick invented them! BUTTERICK [#3 Style Leaders of the World fie Honey:Se ; for Authority | in Etiquette for Fiction PETER J. CAREY & SONS, INC, PRINTERS comicbooks.com