1 & 2 March 1955 " Speed, Technology, Hair, Clothes, and Food"

Lightweight Motorcycle. Milwaukee's Harley-Davidson Motor Co. unveiled a lightweight motorcycle called the Hummer. Weighing 160 lbs., the Hummer will get up to 100 miles per gallon, a top speed of 40 m.p.h. Price: $320 f.o.b. Milwaukee (about $100 under Harley's previous low-priced model). (that is $2521.11 in todays money)


Briefcase Tape Recorder. A battery-operated magnetic tape recorder that is built into an average-sized leather briefcase and weighs less than 12 Ibs. has been put on the market by Manhattan's Amplifier Corp. of America. The recorder, operated by touching a combination lock and switch, can pick up whispers at 12 ft. and ordinary speech at 100 ft. It provides recording for 1½ hours. Price: $225. (that is $1772.66 now that is an expensive gadget! )

On the personal technology front, the march towards better sounding music is really beginning and mingled with consumerism, get ready future, here we come. The beginning of quickly outdated technology with high price tags is beginning. The comparative price for today are in [ ] brackets:

Some 1,000,000 Americans have begun switching to Hi-Fi systems and established a new and burgeoning industry. Each week about 3,000 more homes go hifi. A mere fad until recently, hi-fi has become a $250 million business (equipment sales have increased as much as 500% in some areas since 1952). There is a standard pattern: about two years after an area is saturated with TV, hi-fi moves in.

The best buys among the package units—perhaps not as hi as fi should be, but certainly better than most old-fashioned phonographs—sell at around $150. [$1,181.77] A good custom hi-fi rig costs at least twice that much, and the price can go as high as $2,500. [$19,696,18]
In the wrong equipment, a great deal can go wrong with sound. Its top can be lopped off, like a headless amateur photograph, making a violin sound like a flute because its characteristic overtones are gone; its bottom can be restricted, making the basses sound an octave or more higher (or not at all). Overtones can be added that were never played by the musician (harmonic distortion) or be thickened (intermodulation).
Expensive equipment is not necessarily a guarantee against such hazards. But a good hi-fi system must include at least a turntable, price $60 [$472.71], a diamond stylus, $20 [$157.57] and magnetic cartridge, $15 [$118.18], a good amplifier, $100 [$787.85] and a loudspeaker system, $150 [$1181.77] which now usually consists of at least one woofer (a speaker designed to reproduce low tones) and tweeter (high tones). Tweeters may be cones (sweet, not too brilliant), horns (plenty of highs and often tinny), or the newly developed electrostatic type, in which a flat sheet of metal foil moves in the open air. Most speakers still need an enclosure of some six cubic feet, but it is no longer necessary to have huge coffins standing about the living room.
Looking Forward. When the all-out audiophile swings into action, his pet weapon is the tape recorder, with which he captures music for future use from his FM radio or his own and his friends' LPs.
At the current price of tape up to $5 per hour [$39.39], the tapeworm's music will cost him about as much as the most expensive LP; often it will sound better, because tape at its best reduces surface noise.









How is this for portable music. The pre-ipod maybe?




I thought I would talk about hair and clothes today.

I really want to get my hair cut short and plan on doing so in the future.

Here is a great commercial for a home perm showing wonderful short hairstyles of the day.

For my, it is a toss up between the loose casual style and the medium style. I want some where between those two.

However, I really want this look and I , too , do not want any "fussy frizzy styles" and I think I WANT a Bobbi perm.


What is wonderful about this advert is there is a great shot showing how she set her hair in the bobby pins to get that look! I want to try setting my hair like this after I get it cut and if I like the look of it, get a homeperm and try it this way with the pincurls and NOT perm rods. It makes sense, really. I never thought I would get another perm after my horror of one in the 1980s. I looked like a drowning poodle!

Unfortunately, I cannot find Bobbi perms any longer but the Vermont Country Store has the Lilt version. I am not sure, yet. I would have my hairdresser do it, but since my project I don't really trust anyone to try and recreate a style they little to nothing about. What do any of you think?

However, with my recent foray into home sewing my clothes and now considering doing my own permanent, I am concerned I may be reliving this hilarious scene from an "I Love Lucy" episdoe.



Now, before I said I would try to show some of the places I try to use as resources for vintage. Obviously one great source for vintage one of a kinds is Etsy. These Shoes are wonderful and though I would have once thought them only appropriate to the 1960s, I see many shoes similiar to this in my 50's magazines. I have two pair similiar to these in navy and white and red and white. Believe you me, if I could wear a size 8, I wouldn't be showing these to you except for maybe in a photo of them on my feet! But, for any of you 8's out there, $24.00 is pretty cheap for these shoes.

With stockings, sometimes I come across things like these. But, really for me, as I need to wear these as a normal part of my life, I stick with new reproductions. It is more afordable and realistic for me. There is the LadyGrace I had mentioned before. These are some of my favorites, though they do not have seams, but they are cheap and indestructible. I am very tall so the Queen size is perfect for long legs. These cost a little more and also do not have seams, but are really nice and hubby's like them, believe me! (I sometimes think lace was invented for men as much as women!) Now These are nice and I think a good buy, only they are in black. It is finding the seamed tan/nude stocking that is hard for me and they are honestly what you wear most of the time. Black is really more for evening, I believe. These are nice and you can get them in beige but not in the large, so they don't work for me. But, they look like a good price and if you can wear a small or a medium and want the beige, they look nice. Let me know if you try them.
For shoes it is really just hit and miss. I think I have found most of my really great vintage and vintage inspired on ebay. I have a large foot and it is hard to always buy vintage, but a site like this has great reproductions, but they are not cheap. But, then again, a frugal style of a few pair of high quality shoes that won't go out of style (another boon to dressing vintage!) can sometimes allow for a high priced shoe.
Now, for clothes, as you have been witnessing, sewing is going to hopefully be my salvation there. As I said, I am tall, so it is not always easy to find vintage things to fit me. But, I have good luck with cardigans and accesories at local thrift shops and also ebay. My fantasy by the years end is a redesigned newly built walk in closet (based on ideas in my homemakers manuals) neatly organized with hats in hatboxes (besides vintage ones, they always make hatbox size boxes in very pretty patterns at places like HomeGoods an such that are used for storage boxes, but they are indeed the original size of hatboxes.) Drawers for all my vintage hose and underthings organzied, scarves and gloves divided up for summer and winter wear. Shoes neatly placed on one wall with off season ones neatly stored in shoe boxes papered in a similiar pleasing pattern. And, of course, rows of my homemade dresses mingling happily with my vintage and modern but vintage inspired store bought items. Ahhhh. That will be a nice christmas present for myself, I think.

With my sewing I want to show some of the fabrics and the pattern I got the other day. As you remember, I post this pic as it was an inspiration for a pattern and some fabric.

Here is the pattern. I know the sleelves are different, but I think it was fairly close. This is the fabric I chose which I think has a very vintage feel and rather close to the original don't you think? This photo shows an enlarged closeup of the pattern, which I think is just lovely, don't you?











I had bought this pattern before and posted it for you, but I am showing it again to show the pattern I will be using for these fabrics.
The black and white two tone version of the dress will be made in this fabric. I am going ot use the pink in the front and the blue as the overskirt.

Here is the blue close-up and I really think it has a vintage feel as well.

This color combination will also be for the black and white dress. I will have the brown on the front and the back of the bodice and this pretty pink fabric as just the overskirt. I hope it looks good. I think the pink fabric is a very 1950s dusty/salmon pink.



Now, in the kitchen here is the eggs benny I made for our sunday breakfast. I actually prefer to make them on toast and they were quite yummy.






Gussie made us some delicious cinnamon rolls for Sunday breakfast, as well.
Here she is rolling it out.
Rolling them up,
and yummy,

here they are done.

They were delicious.



I am going to show pics and talk about recipes tomorrow concerning saturdays 1950's dinner.

Okay, I have spent too much modern time trying to figure out how the heck to imbed this MP3 they sent me of my interview. I have tried numerous times and it will not work. Please if anyone can help me or tell me how to do it.

Addendum: I think I may have figured it out, so hold on this may work. IF it does, please excuse my voice. I had been very ill and had actually lost my voice the day before, so please excuse it.