Depression-Era Beauties

<< This gorgeous watercolor starlet by Meaghan Olinski...Check out more of them here...
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from style.com:

There's nothing sexy about bread lines. And yet, thanks to a bevy of glam 1930's starlets, the Great Depression decade was more than just soup kitchens, the Dust Bowl, and the collapse of Lehman Brothers (oh wait, that came later). Yes, hemlines dropped like the Dow, but calf-covering skirts couldn't conceal the appeal of babes like Carole Lombard, Claudette Colbert, Myrna Loy, and Jean Harlow—just ask Clark Gable; he married Lombard and starred with the rest.

see more photos (on style.com)

The era's sinuous siren gowns were as much a result of practical constraints as they were of a nationwide mood change. Fabric was in short supply, meaning not only that tighter silhouettes came in, but also that designers cut corners in the lining department. What's more—and maybe this is where Lindsay and Britney got the idea—women sometimes skipped underwear. Take Josephine Baker, who often played up her feminine form in nothing at all. Ernest Hemingway dubbed her "the most sensational woman anyone ever saw," and he saw a lot of her. Nudity aside, present-day designers can take comfort in knowing that fashion as escapism meant a booming business for their Depression-era counterparts. As for present-day women who might be looking for doldrums departure routes, they can take a page out of their predecessors' book and play up their natural assets. As Claudette Colbert put it in The Palm Beach Story, "You have no idea what a long-legged gal can do without doing anything."

—Alison Baenen

can't get enough depression-era glamour? Here's a great price on a great book!

A Depression Glass Primer

Depression glass left to right: yellow ”Sharon” pattern, cup & saucer by Federal Glass 1935-39; pink “Floral” pitcher by Jeannette Glass, 1931-35; green “Royal Lace” sugar by Hazel Atlas Glass, 1934-1941.

-- from Antique Quarterly; read this great article by Holly Regan

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Depression glass is clear or colored translucent glassware that was distributed free, or at low cost, in the United States around the time of the Great Depression. The Quaker Oats Company, and other food manufacturers and distributors, put a piece of glassware in boxes of food, as an incentive to purchase. Movie theaters and businesses would hand out a piece simply for coming in the door.

Most of this glassware was made in the central and mid-west United States, where access to raw materials and power made manufacturing inexpensive in the first half of the twentieth century. More than twenty manufacturers made more than 100 patterns, and entire dinner sets were made in some patterns. Common colors are clear, or crystal; pink, pale blue, green, and amber. Less common colors include yellow, jadeite (opaque pale green), delphite (opaque pale blue), cobalt blue, red, black, and white (milk glass).

Although of marginal quality, Depression glass has been highly collectible since the 1960s. Due to its popularity as a collectible, Depression glass is becoming more scarce on the open market. Scarce pieces may sell for several hundred dollars. Some manufacturers continued to make popular patterns after World War II, or introduced similar patterns, which are also collectible. Popular and expensive patterns and pieces have been reproduced, and reproductions are still being made.

Elegant glass

A second category of Depression glass, of much better quality, and sometimes referred to as Elegant glass, was distributed through jewellery and department stores. From the 1920s through the 1950s, it was an alternative to fine china. Most of the Elegant glassware manufacturers had closed by the end of the 1950s, and cheap glassware and imported china replaced Elegant glass.

Vintage Car Conversions

Neil Young is raising awareness of alternative fuels with his converted 1959 Lincoln. His new company, Lincvolt, is developing propulsion systems for BIG CARS that outperforms hybrids.

He's building a community of drivers - if you want to "transform your (vintage) car into a lean, green driving machine," you can upload your photo here. Read/watch more about his history-making road trip here.

Do-it-yourselfers can download plans for converting any car to electric here. And here is a cheaper and easier hack that creates a mini-hydrogen booster for any engine using plain tap water. (Yes, really).

Is anyone in our community driving retro-electric yet?

Depression-Era Movies

10 Tips for the Unemployed from 1930s Movies

By Christopher Campbell