Life, 1925-04-30 · page 6 of 42
Life — April 30, 1925 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is **primarily an advertisement**, not satire or political commentary. Phoenix Hosiery of Milwaukee is promoting women's stockings through an ornate Art Deco or Art Nouveau design featuring decorative floral and scrollwork patterns framing women's legs. The text uses romantic language about hosiery—calling it a "witchery" that expresses elegance—and emphasizes Phoenix's innovation: affordable stockings that combine "lovely color," good fit, and durability. This was a genuine selling point in the early 20th century, when quality hosiery was expensive and fragile. The page reflects contemporary attitudes about women's fashion and legs as a subject for aesthetic presentation, presented without irony as straightforward commercial appeal.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
&| There’s ever a witchery in fine “| hosiery that is shared by no other apparel. It expresses and reveals so much, that men and women are never well- dressed until they are well- stockinged. And now that desirable attainment can be had at small cost. Phoenix hosiery has worked a new economy in the world. To the allurement of lovely color and sure-fitting shapeliness, it has added a long-mileage service- ability that is peculiarly its own. PHOENIX HOSIERY MILWAUKEE comicbooks.com