Nothing can keep the 1950s housewife down—not dirt, not disappointment, not life! With a smile and a little elbow grease, she tackles the cranky husband after work, calms rowdy children with a snack, and erases that stubborn bathtub ring. Add the improvements of "modern" technology, and she’s got time to do even more. Dancing across the floor, mop in hand and makeup in place, RETRO HOUSEWIFE is a tongue-in-cheek presentation of the role of the 1950s housewife. Vintage product advertisements trumpet the man as head of household and woman as keeper of the home, with special instructions for women on how to be an attentive wife, efficient homemaker, and supermom. Kitschy and fun, this look back at how far we’ve come makes a perfect gift for your favorite female phenomenon.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
* Includes 1950s tips for making a happy husband and home.
* With more than 200 classic images of women as wives, mothers, and homemakers.
* Features fun-filled facts and elements of daily life that assisted a housewife in performing her daily duties.
* An ideal gift for bridal showers, bachelorette parties, baby showers, Mother’s Day, or girlfriends.
About the Author
KRISTIN TILLOTSON writes about popular culture and the arts for the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the land where Betty Crocker was born and still reigns. In her award-winning column, Pop Stand, Tillotson often examined gender issues past and present. In 2002–03, she was a fellow with the National Arts Journalism Program at Columbia University.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
41 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A disappointment,
By
This review is from: Retro Housewife: A Salute to the Suburban Superwoman (Hardcover)
Do you love clip-art!!! No? ok well then this is not the book for you. When I ordered this book I was hoping for some insight to the things that were being taught to the housewives, and future housewives in the 50's. Sadly this wasn't what was in the book, instead the whole thing consisted of old ads advertising everything from washers to steak and drawings from books of that era, along with a fact or statistic. For example page 72 shows drawings of 50's women in various outfits and reads "In 1957, supermarkets welcomed frozen pizza to thier inventory." The next page shows a drawing from an advertisment for an oven and the text reads, "Diner's club issued the first credit card in 1951 to 200 customers for use in 27 restaraunts. Card holders could only use the card for meal payments." And this goes on and on for a whopping 127 pages. I was hoping for some text from home economics books of the era, or magazine articles. Something a bit more meaty. The book doesn't deliver anything more than pictures and factoids...which in my mind fail to deliver on the "a salute to the suburban superwoman" promise. Oh well there's always Donna Reed re-runs!
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Loved It!,
By A Positive Guy "Jay" (San Antonio, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Retro Housewife: A Salute to the Suburban Superwoman (Hardcover)
There was a time when people lived like this. I know it's gone now, and I know we are supposed to be more 'with it.' And it should be mentioned that nowadays in this nation, it is almost impossible for a middle class family to get by on one salary.
But that doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with this period of time in history. It's just the way it was. The best thing about this are the fabulous, color-illustrations. The fifties advertisements had flair, boldness, and connoted happiness in everyday situations. Life moved at a slower pace and there was more 'one on one' interaction with family and friends. The advertisements mirrored that fact. We are way past those times today. In fact the advertisements of today can't hold a candle to their predecessors; Everything has to be 'in your face shocking.' Unfortunately there is a supreme lack of imagination in today's advertisements, which make some of us look back fondly at a time when people treated each other better, were more considerate and yes, life was really in color.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Photos and descriptions & text don't always match,
By LinAnne "Lin22" (Puget Sound) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Retro Housewife: A Salute to the Suburban Superwoman (Hardcover)
This is a cute coffee table book with reprints of ads from the late 1940's and 1950's. The main thing that I found frustrating with this book is that the photos did not match the descriptions (or the text/narratives) ! I counted, and only 2 photos matched the descriptions even remotely. I'm not sure why the author decided to write her book in this manner, but it was so frustrating ....for me. So, if you are buying this book for the kitschy photos, then this book will delight. But when reading the text, you will have to use your imagination. Good luck.
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