Big decorated tote bags! These are often associated with the 1960’s, but the trend started long before. Whimsical, cute, pretty; whatever your fancy. Big skirts of hand-woven material; how Boho of you! This called for home-made colorful ankle-wrap sandals, designed to match your outfits – a bit of throw-back to 1940’s styles.

As always in mid-century magazines, the pages are also filled with special-interest advertisements and mail-order offers. Women were constantly encouraged to go into home-based business selling accessories and home-assembled items which they could start with a kit by mail or correspondence course – early front-runners to today’s online marketing.

While time and culture kept marching forward, we can continue to see the reluctance to give up previous ways of being and doing things. Just like today, there were big leaps forward that surprised everyone alternating with slow-grinding incremental change that almost seemed like no change at all. However, also like today, it was accelerating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM