book | Jeanne Marie’s Sewing Studio

Beauty after 40, circa 1949

The prize of this month’s trip to the Sacramento Antique Faire was a vintage beauty book: Edyth Thornton McLeod’s Beauty After 40, published in 1949. While some of the advice is charmingly out-of-date, the author has a very upbeat and pragmatic attitude about the ‟Fourth Period″ of life.

A few fun passages and photos (click for a closer look):

❦ “The idea of women losing their looks, their sex life, and the ability to lead a full life when they reach the menopause is an old wives’ tale and has no place in modern thinking and achievement.”

❦ “Those of you who have not fully understood the menopause, and have secretly thought that you would have no further interest in sexual relations, must banish this thought at once. During the menopause and after, there is no lessening of your desire to enter into the normal sexual relations which you have always enjoyed — or endured!”

She’s holding up so well, people give her flowers.

❦ “Silver hair is an asset to smartness and to charm.”

❦ “Forty is a state of mind! Dramatize your GRAY HAIR and capitalize on your GRAY MATTER!”

She’s a “silver siren.”

❦ “Don’t, don’t dare go about the house without a corset and a bra — that’s the Road to Ruin!”

Corsets are good for you.

❦ “Plastic surgery is here to stay. I feel that it is a part of the modern approach to beauty or beautification of both face and figure.”

❦ “If you have been married and divorced several times, why should I give you advice? You’ve had variety, and they do say that variety is the spice of life! If it’s spice you want, go ahead and say, ‘I do,’ again and again!”

She’s ready to marry again.

❦ “After Forty you can laugh at tragedies because you know that they so often turn out to be comedies.”

That last quote is a serious piece of wisdom, my Friends.

An old friend that happens to be a vintage sewing book

My mother had the Better Homes and Gardens Sewing Book, 1970 edition. I LOVED leafing through that book when I was a kid. The techniques were interesting to me even before I learned to sew, but the pages on putting together a wardrobe were absolutely fascinating. Even the “casual” looks were elegant.

Years after I grew up and left home, I spotted that same book, same edition, at an antique fair. I couldn’t snatch it off the table fast enough. I think it was $10, but I would have paid just about anything to have my own copy. Following are my favorite pages:

Better Homes and Gardens Sewing Book 1970 edition, Page 325

The purple fabric looks fantastic with the leopard accessories.

Better Homes and Gardens Sewing Book 1970 edition, Page 326

This page makes my heart go pitter-patter. Nothing is classier than a tweed suit.

Better Homes and Garden Sewing Book 1970 edition, Page 327

I have to admit that the hats frighten me a bit, but the bags and shoes are beautiful. And why don’t we wear gloves anymore? They are so much more attractive than a little bottle of hand sanitizer.

When I was in college, I’d sometimes go down to the basement of the school library to look at the Vogue magazines from the 1940s and 1950s. They were right out on the shelves. The women all looked so sophisticated.

I spent several hours at the mall this afternoon, chauffeuring a couple of eighth-grade girls. Although I picked up a camel cardigan and a cream sweater that would both look good with vintage-inspired pieces, the outfits on these pages are far more stylish than anything the mall had to offer.

As I drove out of the massive parking lot, I felt happy not only that I can sew my own clothes, but also that I have vintage sewing books to turn to for inspiration, including one I first read more than 30 years ago.