Vintage Ad-Vancements

Generally, in my daily perusals of IG or some other addictive social media platform, I will occasionally come across the original ad for dresses that I own. I swear it never gets old to see a garment hanging safely in your closet on the pages of the vintage Sears Catalog, imagining a time when I could simply order my dream dress in multiple for 3.99 a piece…

A few years back, I shared a collection of vintage ads I had slowly amassed over the years that had its twin residing in my closet. In keeping with tradition, I’ve been squirreling away any new vintage ads I happened to come across this past year, still more than a little enamored with the classic catalogue poses, covetable prints, and rates of inflation….

So, without further ado, let’s kick back, jump in our time machine, and see if you can spot my garments!

I have to admit, I find advertising a pretty fascinating area of study. There are so many psychological principles at work that push us towards what to buy, how to look, boasting perfection from those glossy pages. As if you, too, are guaranteed joy if you only buy that dress. Now, while many dresses bring me a LOT of joy, it’s always does me well to remember that what they are really trying to sell is the fantasy.

These days ads have (for the most part) left the pages of a catalogue and have jumped over to our computer screen. Pop ups on them blogs I read, sidebars on my newsfeed, every third image as I scroll through IG (which I scroll past really fast so I don’t give them the satisfaction of my retinas). All designed to entice you towards the ideal. And in a way…aren’t we all guilty of it? Putting our best selves forward on social media, often only sharing the shiny glossy moments. Only posting the airbrushed version of our lives as if to sell our own fantasy.

More and more, I’ve been really appreciating accounts I follow who have been sharing their glorious outfit photos alongside their struggles. Who post about their social activism right alongside the shoes, share their mental health struggles along with their shiny moments, and fill their feed with their failures as often as their triumphs. Those are the accounts I gain so much inspiration from, because seeing perfection has become a bit exhausting. Maybe it’s partially due to COVID, but I have drawn a lot of strength by the friends I follow who are both powering through, while simultaneously admitting that this sucks.

Cause people, this sucks. I definitely do NOT want to buy whatever COVID is selling…

But, that being said, I must admit I’ve needed a bit of an escape into this sartorial wonderland this week. Our fall semester started and, as much as I wish things could go back to normal, unfortunately we are in for a few more twists and turns. It looks like I will be once again bound to teaching from my kitchen nook, staring at a computer screen rather than a roomful of students. Le sigh.

Truthfully, this feels like the right option, and is definitely the safer one given the case numbers on college campuses as everyone floods back to their respective ports of academic achievements. I know the realities of low vaccination rates, the delta variant, and the likelihood of poor choices in an age bracket without a fully developed prefrontal cortex. But, between us, I had hoped for better…

So, back online I go. Can you blame me if I need a few extra minutes in these glossy magazine pages?

xoxo

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Any items marked with a “c/o” (courtesy of) a retailer mean I was provided with an item for free in exchange for a review and/or feature on my blog. I always provide my honest opinion of any item I’m reviewing, regardless of whether it was sent to me as a courtesy item or if I purchased it myself. In addition, this post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click and/or make a purchase through certain links or ads on this site, I may make a commission from that click and/or purchase at no cost to you, which helps with the day-to-day running costs of my blog. 

1950, 1960, advertisement, dresses, fashion, vintage, vintage ads