The Wasp — 1893 — page 281: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

**Main Cartoon:** The illustrated dialogue satirizes San Francisco fashion trends. Mrs. J. Korner Lotts explains that gentlemen visiting from San Francisco have adopted wearing "de-coll-tee" (décolletage—low necklines). Mr. J. Korner Lotts expresses skepticism, with his response suggesting crude double meaning about comparing cold versus "hot stuff." The joke mocks both the adoption of London fashion styles and the sexual implications of exposed necklines, treating the fashion trend as ridiculous affectation. **Advertisements:** Below are period advertisements for Philip Kennedy & Co. (clothing importations in San Francisco) and Lyon's London Tailor (suits to order from $19.50). These support the cartoon's fashion theme, suggesting The Wasp's audience included fashionable San Francisco merchants and consumers.