Vintage What? - 10 Oddball Vintage Products

10 Oddball Vintage Products

A few vintage products had us curious:

Wonder Sauna Hotpants

Sometime in the '70s, when the Wonder Sauna Hot Pants were first offered to the public. Too lazy to work out? Can't afford a tummy tuck? We've got you covered! Try a pair of inflatable Wonder Sauna Hot Pants! One size fits all…yup, this is exactly when the American consumer culture reach the point of no return.

Radium Suppositories

Once upon a time, men believe that they could be transformed from ‘weak, discouraged men' into strong, heroic males that would ‘bubble over with joyous vitality, thanks to these radioactive suppositories produced by the Home Products Company of Denver, Colorado. To take it up another notch, soluble radium was added into a cocoa butter base that was in the form of a suppository. This was then supposed to be fitted into the rectum in order to stimulate “the weakened organs that needed its vitalizing aid."

Cook And Wash on your Refrigerator!

In 1952, this was a great idea: COOK and WASH on your REFRIGERATOR! Complete kitchen in 5 sq. ft. Combines refrigerator, sink, 3 gas burners and storage drawer. Available with electric burners. Wife's two clones sold seperately!

Horse Exercise Machine

As the ad suggests, you can proudly display this 3-foot vibrator in your home under the pretenses that it is an exercise machine. But really, the hidden meaning of that second bullet point is the one and only reason to buy this product: “It invigorates the system by bringing all the vital organs into inspiriting action.” Oh yeah, and it's also listed as a cure for hysteria, which was often diagnosed in women back in those days. And what was the preferred medical treatment for female hysteria? Orgasms!

Multiple Electric Vibrator (Scalp massager)

The “Multiple Electric Vibrator” uses 480 little nubs to rub your scalp, stimulating blood flow and supposedly ridding you of dandruff and loose hair. Shake it up!

Solar Bath Apparatus

What better cure for the common head cold than a healthy dose of radiation? This scary-looking apparatus enclosed the head in a metal drum and doused it with ultra-violet rays. The Solar Bath Apparatus was meant to clear up catarrh of the ears, nose and throat, along with other head-related illnesses.

Interchangable Handles

It was a great idea in 1953, and still popular with Ikea today. But what happens a few years later when you update your kitchen colour, only to find these interchangeable handles are no longer being made? Well, the gas range model has also discontinued anyways.

Sanitized Tape Worms

Today's consumers might find the recommended remedy a little harder to swallow, but the thought of sharing meals with a thriving colony of "friends for a fair form", it appears, was not enough to dissuade the health conscious of the 1930s, who paid up in multitudes for this product. The mechanism was that after swallowing the parasites, they'd nest in your gut and feed off digesting food!

The Fluoroscope - Shoe-Fitting X ray device

The shoe fitting fluoroscope was a common fixture in shoe stores during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.
The primary component of a shoe-fitting x-ray unit was the fluoroscope which consisted essentially of an x-ray tube mounted near the floor and wholly or partially enclosed in a shielded box and a fluorescent screen.This of course, is before we found out how bad x-rays can be for the human body.

Make Your Spine Young!

An ad from the 1920s. A picture paints a thousand words, no doubt.....

80’s Hair

There were a few distinctive hairstyles in the 80’s and these are:

Jheri Curls

This is popular towards the later part of the 80’s.
Originated from Africa, Jheri Curls is a chemical product commonly used by Africans or extremely frizzy haired people, to relax their hair. The result is a curly and wet look. Michael Jackson himself has this look. And it is because of his chemicalised hair that caught a spark from the firework on set of his Coke commercial, that made headlines in World News.

Big Hair

The bigger, the better! This hairstyle was brought on by the rock metal bands in the 80’s.
Till today, it amazes me why people in the 80’s wear their funky hairstyle like a badge of honor. The hairstyle and the extensive hairspray used is enough to use as protection if Russians were to drop a bomb.
This hairstyle is very common for both males and females at the time.

Side Ponytail

Bubblegum pop and Valley girl Mallrats popularized this 80’s hairstyle to epic proportions.
You can achieve the effect of this hair style with either straightened or crimped hair. In the 80’s, the side ponytail was rocked by Tina Majorino in a very funny movie, Napoleon Dynamite and Jennifer Lopez in Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards imitated this look not too long ago.

Mullet

A mullet is cut short at the front and sides and longer at the back. This hairstyle became popular in the 80’s and right through to the 90’s.

The Rodent/Water Fowl/Rats Tail

It’s impossible go by a day without coming across anyone without a rat’s tail in the 80’s. A guy’s popularity can sometimes be based on the length of their little hair appendage.
If you like this hairstyle too much and think you were born in the wrong decade, then not to worry my friend. Like a friend once said “The journey through time has taken a most excellent turn”. Although, not as common as it used to be, the rats tail does still exist in today’s society.

See It For Yourselves!

This is how you do it yourself!

Sex And The City
Brings You 80’s Fashion

80’s Fashion

80’s clothing fashion is back! Splatter prints, neons colors and aggressive shoulders pads are all making the runway in today’s catwalks.

In the 1980’s female identity in the work force grew. Hence, more and more women started to wear blazers, and shoulder pads grew in retrospective to stay in proportion with the bell sleeves and pants of the 70’s fashion.

Women noticed that shoulder pads smoothes out the body postural imperfections, so no matter how hard designers tried to steer away from this padded fashion, it keeps appearing in the catwalk, like flower to the bee.
Heavy shoulder padded blazers can be seen in today’s fashion. Fashion conscious stars, the likes of Victoria Beckhams and DKNY’s 2010 collection are seen showcasing shoulder padded garments.

Acid washed jeans and denim jackets were very popular in this era for both men and women. Acid washed jeans is bleached denim forcing the colour to fade, resulting in uneven discolouration of pale white streaks and spots.

Sometimes I think acid jeans never left the fashion spotlight!

Leather jackets were also very popular in the 80’s, popularized by Michael Jackson and The Lost Boys. This introduced punk fashion in the 80’s.

The later of the decade, Aviator sunglasses made a comeback. They were very popular to be worn at night as well. But in today’s’ day and age, if you are a Retro-head and wish to wear sunglasses at night, make sure you have a golden retriever walking next to you.

Dr Martens shoes were worn by both sexes in the 1980s and were an essential fashion accessory. This year marks the 50 years anniversary since the iconic Dr Martens Boot. The boots were originally designed to be worn by workers, but is now a popular footwear item worm by many cult bands and musicians around the world.
To celebrate, DMs have asked 10 ARTISTS to record 10 TRACKS & 10 VIDEOS of a cult classic track which represents the spirit of the people who’ve worn DM’s over the past 50 years.
You may see the biography of these artists and download their FREE TRACKS at the link here

We’ll show you what we mean

Here’s what we mean about the shoulder pads making a come back. Check it out!

What: The Fifties Fair

Where: Rose Seidler House, 71 Clissold Road, Wahroonga, NSW 2076

When: Sunday August 29th, 10am to 5pm

Cost: General $20 | Conc/member $15 | Family $55

http://www.hht.net.au/whats_on/event/festivals/fifties_fair

70’s Hair

Every time the comes to mind I think Charlie’s Angels. Everyone wanted to have hair like the Angels, no matter what the hair colour, blonde, brunette or redhead. 1970’s is a time when women starting to really wear the pants, but still not letting go of that romantic, full volume hairstyles that are so feminine. It is that wonderful contract that has many locked in this decade and reluctant to let go.

Of course, the most remembered of the era is the carefree attitude that is essential to the hippie days. Wild and flowing hair, long and natural is the look of the time.

Great care is taken to ensure those long manes are lustrous, no one wants to be mistaken for a homeless during a peaceful protest after all.

I found this very interesting Schick Style Stick commercial:

Ferrah Fawcett Hair - How To:

Hippie hair how to:

70's Fashion

70s Fashion

70s fashion picked up from the 60s flower power and Mini skirts were popular still. Trousers were flared and shirts had big collars.

As well as the hippy style of the late sixties, nostalgia from the past also influenced 70’s fashion. With concerns for the environment and ethnic influences, 70’s fashion began to take on a multitude of different styles.

Men's fashion adopted a look that would have been considered too feminine a few years earlier. (Yes that provided a lot of laughter when we looked at Dad’s old pictures) Unisex clothing became trendy, and tight fitting shirts with bright patterns blur the masculine and feminine.

Flares and platform soles

Pants, increasingly flared, were popular with men and women for everyday wear. The flare was from the knee and was so exaggerated it has outrageous proportion by middle years of the 70s. The trousers were often hipsters, sitting on the hips rather than the waist, and tight fitting. (Ah, the all famous Disco Stew look.)

It’s no wonder then that women and more fashionable men wore platform soles – what other shoes can pair up with the tent link flares? Bright colours gave the shoes a space age look, whilst two-tone 30s colours set the mood for nostalgia. It’s either all the way into tomorrow, or all the way back 40 years. Our fashionable Mom and Dad will have nothing in between back then.

Mini, midi or maxi

Next time mother questioned your skirt length, remind her of her 70’s days.

Though the mini remained popular in the early years of the 70s, women now could chose between, mini, midi, (mid-calf length) or maxi (full length) skirts. Women wore hot pants, ultra short shorts, sometimes with just a bib and braces! (Even Kylie Minogue can’t beat that!)

Maxi dresses from the 60s continue to be in fashion, with paisley or floral patterns being popular.

The 70s were of more relaxed years. For women, long dresses were often worn for formal occasions. Long hair was fashionable for both men and women.

Jeans and printed t-shirts were increasingly popular in the relax mood, as were trainers and canvas shoes.

70s Punk fashion.

The Sex Pistols. Gosh were they a kick in the fashion gut. Punk got people's attention from 1977 onwards, with the help of the publicity surrounding The Sex Pistols. Mainly for shock value, the look was based on a sexual fetish for black leather, combined with ripped t-shirts carrying slogans designed to provoke. Ripped and bleached clothes were part of the look, as was spiked hair, dyed in bright colours. Black make up and safety pins as earrings were often worn. Thank heavens, the look could easily be created from modifying second-hand clothes, which is good news (no matter how old the news) to our ears.

Punk rejected the flared jeans and cheesecloth shirts, which were the popular mainstream fashion in the 70s. It rejected the hippy style and the hippy view of the world.

Thus, once again, the world of fashion begins its revolution.