Life, 1922-04-20 · page 15 of 34
Life — April 20, 1922 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page features an illustration by R. Cody (signature visible) depicting three fashionable women wearing elaborate hats and furs, accompanying a poem titled "What to Wear" attributed to Arthur Guiterman. The satire targets early 20th-century women's fashion excess. Guiterman's poem mocks the contradiction between fashion's demands for ornate dress ("frocks, feathers, frills and furbelows") and practical simplicity. The opening line—"What shall you wear today? A smile"—suggests that genuine elegance requires only confidence, not expensive accessories. The illustration showcases the very extravagance the poem criticizes: towering, elaborate hats and heavy fur stoles. The joke lies in this visual contradiction—the artwork demonstrates precisely the overcomplicated fashion the text satirizes, creating ironic commentary on Edwardian-era women's dress codes and their social pressures.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
What to Wear What shall you wear to-day? A smile. Then wear your smile and dimple; those No, not a pout!—that looks too simple— Demand no touch of art to flatter. Nor yet a frown,—that’s out of style; Frocks, feathers, frills and furbelows, But Fashion still approves a dimple. While often worn, don’t really matter. Arthur Guiterman. comicbooks.com