Home for the Holidays (20s-30s Blog)

In one monumental year, Babe Ruth hit his final home run, Elvis Presley was born, and the first Volkswagen was built. Amelia Earhart was lost into the Pacific, Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler were in charge, and millions of Americans could not afford food for their families.

The year? 1935. This is also the same year that published the Ladies’ Home Journal that I found myself heaving off of the top shelf.

Opening up the musty book, I found myself in a magazine that popped with colorful drawings and pictures, bold text, and unique advertisements from Bisquick and Vicks Vapo-rub. Looking deeper, I noticed that all of the advertisements were targeted at women’s imperative needs like cooking, cleaning, and even ironing. Simultaneously, I noticed that most of the magazine was full of short stories. Ranging from mystery to romance to heroic, these stories seemed to be the perfect way for the 1935 housewife to get her mind away from the crushing depression. On many pages, there appeared an advertisement for women to earn their “very own money, without neglecting home duties.” Boy, is that different from the norm of the 21^st century where women are often the breadwinners.

Even with all these other captivating features, one article caught my eye. It was called “Home for the Holidays”, and featured two freshmen women who were coming home from their first semester at university. Named Betty and Mary Lou, the girls had been followed throughout the fall by the magazine, and this article would be covering how they should act while at home for the first time and how other girls could follow suit.

It began by saying that they would be packing away their socks, sweaters, and skirts, because that type of ‘casual attire’ would only be acceptable for class. Now that they were at home, they must begin to dress to impress to ensure that other people know that college ‘agrees’ with them. Thus, they must get rid of their tweed hats, since those were out of style, and start stocking up on “toques and turbans for going to lunch at the club.” Secondly, they must find an impressive dress for the New Year’s Eve party to complement their dates’ tuxes. After getting their hair cut, curled, and ‘foiled’ (which I learned meant colored), their new coming-home look would be complete.

Around the article, the beautifully drawn pictures of these outfits jumped off of the page. Every outfit that was pictured was highly conservative, yet elegant. It struck me that these girls were so concerned about looking polished every day for shopping, lunch, or even class. Comparatively on our campus, it is rare to see a girl that is not in sweat pants and a large T-shirt, let alone a skirt and sweater.

Comparing myself as a college freshman to these women, I feel as though I take my experience for granted. For girls of the 1930s, coming-of-age did not mean going to college, but instead it usually meant getting married and becoming a housewife. Women like Betty and Mary Lou were the lucky ones who were able to go away to school, to learn and grow like most women weren’t able to do in their time.  To them, being at college was an experience that was precious, so they needed to dress to impress. What a different concept than we see anywhere on TCU’s campus.

I may not begin to dress as refined as these women, but maybe I can learn to live each day in college for what it really is: a blessing. Even though for women in this era coming-of-age often includes college, it hasn’t always been that way. I am a part of a new type of woman, and I need to begin to embrace that.