Life — September 13, 1923 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Vogue Forecast of Fall Fashions" — September 13, Life Magazine This page satirizes post-WWI women's fashion through Percy's "Paris Letter" from 99 rue de la Prey. The main illustration shows a woman in a chic green dress with crotons overlay—fashionable Parisian styling. The satire targets the "after-the-war slump" in women's fashion, mocking the persistence of drooping shoulders and let-down hemlines that designers attributed to the "Woman's Exchange." The text jokes about women adopting masculine postures and war-influenced aesthetics. The inset box "Should Milady Dress?" humorously questions whether women should prioritize practical housework clothing or maintain elaborate fashion standards, satirizing the tension between post-war "New Woman" functionality and traditional feminine aesthetic expectations. The overall tone gently mocks both Parisian fashion pretensions and American women's compliance with them.