This takes LARP to a whole new level.

[monarch64]

I just have one question: how does she communicate with friends/family? Party line? Rotary phone? 'Cause she's using a smartphone to take those selfies...

https://www.comicsands.com/video-of...2&tse_id=INF_d8429d40e47d11e9b433ab68d22425b2

LARP= live-action role play.

 

[telephone89]

I have no issues with "homemakers" but she sounds almost delusional.
“I met my husband at a dance, so it was quite an old-fashioned way of meeting. If I had lived in the 1950s, that's how I would have liked to have met someone."

She also doesn't shun technology that makes her money - she has a fucking blog and insta Her blog is also pretty gross. She shits on modern day SAHW/M as well as working women.

 

[monarch64]

Yeah, I dunno about delusional necessarily but it definitely seems like a fantasy. She is a MRA's dream come true, which is scary in and of itself.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

If that's how they want to roll and she can support herself in the event of a job loss or divorce then so be it. No mention of if she has her own retirement savings, seems like all the eggs are in one basket here which is rather dangerous.

A lot of times women that become full time homemakers or SAHM's don't consider the true cost of the lifestyle. I know I didn't.

 

[arkieb1]

I watched a whole doco on women that live in bygone eras with 50s values we aren't just talking stay at home mothers, these ladies were the fully subservient, wait on your husband, the breadwinner - harking back to pre women's liberation households. And I'm not going to get into the rules in the bedroom other than to say again the man had all the power....

As Kenny likes to say people vary. It's just not my kind of variation...

 

[stracci2000]

The furniture in the photos is not Mid-Century. Red settee and radio are 1930s and the dining table and chairs are contemporary. Does she know how to use a wringer washing machine? She'll need to get one of those.
If she's gonna immerse herself in the 50's, she needs to get herself to the thrift shops for proper decor!!!!
Right, @StephanieLynn ?

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Right on @stracci2000, if you are going to play vintage house at least be authentic about the period you are representing.

 

[stracci2000]

Right on @stracci2000, if you are going to play vintage house at least be authentic about the period you are representing.

And she's gonna have to throw away those tampons and use a sanitary belt. I wonder if they still make those awful bulky napkins with the long ends..........bwahahahahah

 

[Rfisher]

My vote is shtick.
This is a bid for a reality tv show.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Also no modern toys for bedroom fun, nope ladies of that time period had to resort to this tool intended for barbers but delivered good vibrations other places.

Or she could just lean up against the washing machine during the spin cycle!

 

[stracci2000]

Or she could just lean up against the washing machine during the spin cycle!

They didn't have a spin cycle, you had to crank the clothes through the wringer. Hard work!
But you had to do it in high heels.
The automatic washers came in the late 50's, though, with the spin cycle.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

she seems a bit delusional
i imangine the food to be bland and horrible with veg boiled an inch past its life !
i actually joke on a regular basis i grew up in the 50s because NZ used to be 20 years behind every one else and my mother was strict and old fashoned

if you enjoy a look back in time i highly recomend call the midwife
meanwhile good luck to this lass and her vintage dressmaking bussiness
she's not entirely a kept woman
and everything old is new again

 

[lyra]

The furniture in the photos is not Mid-Century. Red settee and radio are 1930s and the dining table and chairs are contemporary. Does she know how to use a wringer washing machine? She'll need to get one of those.
If she's gonna immerse herself in the 50's, she needs to get herself to the thrift shops for proper decor!!!!
Right, @StephanieLynn ?

Haha, glad I wasn't the only one thinking almost everything was the wrong decade. I especially wonder at her jewelry too. I don't agree with her views, but she can do what she likes. I don't think it's sustainable long term, but I've seen other people do similar things. The BBC had a series on a man who was stuck in the '40s, but he seemed to have a more accurate situation. It was his "hobby".

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Man, no spin cycle, barber tool for bedroom fun and no handheld shower head...talk about repressed LOL!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

the model is only smiling because a copper was even worse
my grandma didn't even have a fridge in the 1950s

 

[cmd2014]

I wonder if she plans to use “mother’s little helper” (aka Valium), not have access to a bank account, not drive, and accept very limited legal rights...since those things were fairly typical in the 1950’s too.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Haha, glad I wasn't the only one thinking almost everything was the wrong decade. I especially wonder at her jewelry too. I don't agree with her views, but she can do what she likes. I don't think it's sustainable long term, but I've seen other people do similar things. The BBC had a series on a man who was stuck in the '40s, but he seemed to have a more accurate situation. It was his "hobby".

ive seen that man on tv
from memory it was somewhat tastfull and less kitch
i think its a phase and she'll tire off it like our grandmother's who lived through it !

 

[stracci2000]

the model is only smiling because a copper was even worse
my grandma didn't even have a fridge in the 1950s

My grandma had a wringer washer in her cellar (that's what we called the basement)and us grandkids used to watch her use it. Then she hung all the wet clothes on the line she had there in the cellar. You had to part the wet clothes to get to the steps leading up to the kitchen. Ancient times!

 

[tigertales]

The accoutrements aren't really the point, they're just just window dressing. I think the point she's trying to make is about the values. I can see how this is extreme, but it's bound to happen as the pendulum swings in reaction to our world today which is disintegrating into a zombie-like madness.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

My grandma had a wringer washer in her cellar (that's what we called the basement)and us grandkids used to watch her use it. Then she hung all the wet clothes on the line she had there in the cellar. You had to part the wet clothes to get to the steps leading up to the kitchen. Ancient times!

that's funny !
but our grand parents sure worked hard and i bet they were glad they had it better than their parents tevhknowledgy wise

my grandma's wash house including the loo (she called it the lav and it had a chain which us grandkids loved) was outside the backdoor off the porch
but i remember the caller being full of sacks of potatos from grandad's garden
we have a late1950s house and my laundry is also off the back porch
its a right pain in the rear especially when its cold but its better than our old flat that just had a cupboard in the kitchen for the tub and washing machine
plus we now have room for the beer fridge !

living in a house of appropriate vintage makes this story intetesting but rest assured i am not in the least bit inspired (and our loo in definatly inside the main house!)

 

[partgypsy]

She's not hurting anyone and it makes her happy and her husband happy. I do feel there is a sense of wistfulness in the article of wanting to recreate something not just in her home but a community that still seems she hasn't found. In that time and also when I was growing up, I was a free range kid. Doors were unlocked, you'd go to your neighbor's house to play, all the kids would hang out together. Life was simpler. I have fond memories of my grandparents coming over and everyone playing poker. Marathon board games sessions with my siblings.
“All the stories I've read are about women borrowing dishes or butter from each other, and the neighborhood kids all playing together. You find now neighbors will go from the car to the garage to the house and won't speak to each other."
Maybe when she has kids she will find that sense of "community". Cause right now it sounds a little lonely and boring just the two of them. I hope she is flexible enough that she allows her kids to go to soccer practice and things regular kids do in the modern age so they do have friends outside the family.

eta - yes I also noticed the stuff in the house was not from the 50's but that style is actually highly coveted and is difficult to find in thrift stores (Mid century modern). I like that style because it reminds me of my grandparents house but no dice unless $$

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

I think she's found herself a hobby or purpose after leaving her job and agree with @partgypsy that she is not hurting anyone with her lifestyle. She certainly is keeping herself busy with sewing her own clothes. I can't help but wonder though why two people create tons of dishes and laundry as she describes.

 

[jaaron]

On the face of it, it seems bonkers, but I agree with partgypsy about the wistfulness. Only it's like a wistfulness for a world that never really existed. Wonder if she's thought about the fact that it wasn't such a lovely era if you were gay or non-white or non-conforming in some way. Which is particularly funny because it's due to living now that she has the freedom to be... non-conforming, in her own way.

I did wonder if she's someone who really just can't handle any stress - her job in a payroll department was too much for her - and found a way to drop out without having to admit she was dropping out. She doesn't mention any group activities, friends, hobbies or interests outside the home, so I wonder if she's always had a sense of not belonging due to something like social anxiety rather than being born in the wrong era.

Agree about her having the the furniture thing totally wrong. We all have some stuff that from my grandparents' house and a lot of it is lovely and surprisingly timeless. The funny thing is that my parents, who grew up with it, passed it along to us because they can't stand it.

I also wondered, if they don't have cable or streaming, where do they find Donna Reed and I Love Lucy? Are those shows still on network very often?

 

[Dancing Fire]

I would love to go back and live in the 50's for a couple of months. I think it would be fun.

 

[cmd2014]

I don’t understand the nostalgia for an era that really only worked for one small and very narrowly defined segment of the population. It wasn’t a great era for women, the LGTBQ community, or anyone of color, education levels were generally quite low, and there was a huge population of people with untreated trauma from the war. Not to mention the large number of war brides who weren’t exactly feeling welcomed into the small communities that they were brought home to (magnified by the shortage of men and the women at home who were not only told that they were not allowed to work anymore after having worked through the war but who were passed over by the men who were left in favor of foreign women). But I guess the dresses were pretty and it seems simple in comparison to the complexity of today’s world.

 

[distracts]

I have been acquainted with a couple of people like this. The 20s and 50s are the most popular decades to “go back to.” I agree it’s at least partially due to not being able to fit in normally - all the people I’ve known who did this (friends of friends, all of them) do seem to have significant social anxiety. A lot of them long for “simpler days” and one way they have that idea around them is with simpler things and an idea of the past they get from sanitized tv shows. Elaborate pretend/escapism, like LARPing, I agree. If she’s judgmental about how other people live their lives though, that’s not ok.

 

[Arcadian]

I'm a woman of color. Seems to me its usually nonPOC folks that like going back to the 50s and the 20's or the 1800's early Americana. In those days, my type wasn't wanted. If fact, sundown towns were extremely prevalent all over the US. And it wasn't just one place and not just in the south. Start at California and work your way across the country. Sad.

 

[monarch64]

I don’t understand the nostalgia for an era that really only worked for one small and very narrowly defined segment of the population. It wasn’t a great era for women, the LGTBQ community, or anyone of color, education levels were generally quite low, and there was a huge population of people with untreated trauma from the war. Not to mention the large number of war brides who weren’t exactly feeling welcomed into the small communities that they were brought home to (magnified by the shortage of men and the women at home who were not only told that they were not allowed to work anymore after having worked through the war but who were passed over by the men who were left in favor of foreign women). But I guess the dresses were pretty and it seems simple in comparison to the complexity of today’s world.

My theory is that it seems a “simpler” time to some because roles were so clearly and narrowly defined, mixed with some longing not to have to think critically about anything or feel threatened by anyone except the other women in the neighborhood who maybe baked a better pie or whose children were cuter or whose hair was naturally blonde. I see it a lot (still!) around where I live especially among the far right evangelical crowd. Women living to serve their husbands, refusing to acknowledge that there is any world outside of their own self-imposed bubble, and refusing to let anyone “different” in. Well, unless of course that person were to voluntarily be indoctrinated with their particular belief system. Of course that’s not limited to that particular group; when I lived in major cities there was definite segregation simply because safety in numbers plus like attracts like plus it has gone on for generations.

I guess it really just comes down to creating for yourself what you consider a “safe space.” And now I’m curious about her political leanings. Or maybe she doesn’t vote.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

I'm sort of smiling here as some of you are having incorrect fantasies of the 1950's, just as much as she is. My family, just middle-class had an automatic washer. We did not, nor the neighbors, have a dryer. Everyone hung these wash outside and it truly smelled wonderful. People spent a lot of tie ironing. The wringer washer was mostly 40's. We had tampax and pads. Movies portrayed people asking for a cup of sugar, or borrowing something. Usually those movies took place in apartment buildings. Kids all played together mostly in the street, or sidewalks on our block. WE went to church, girlscouts, boyscouts ect, and enjoyed it. And our parents didn't have to worry about us. As Part-gypsy said. We were free. Baby carriages were left outside stores and if your baby woke while you were inside, you can be sure some woman would be outside rocking the carriage until you returned. No=one was looking to steal your children.

Women played a role, just as men did. I can assure you that in many households women ruled. My father was catered to as well. He was always served first at mealtime. If dad took a nap we had to be quiet. He gave my mother money for all household expenses and she didn't have to account for it.

My old friends and I talk about our childhoods often now that we are old. We had a wonderful childhood, not fantasy but centering for the rest of our lives. Many of us remained friends.

Our lady wants to not have to be so busy. Even city life back then was not so busy. People had time for one another. Yes, my mom had people over for tea, and they reciprocated. Now, people don't have real relationships. They have substituted human relationships for a pseudo- relationship on the internet. They call each other friend. The world has changed. She wants a 50's lifestyle, but if other women are all working and busy. I don't think she will find it again.

There are many societal cons that were present in the 50's. But, we live on a personal level first, and while not anywhere near perfect, it was better than it is now.

Annette

 

[monarch64]

I have been acquainted with a couple of people like this. The 20s and 50s are the most popular decades to “go back to.” I agree it’s at least partially due to not being able to fit in normally - all the people I’ve known who did this (friends of friends, all of them) do seem to have significant social anxiety. A lot of them long for “simpler days” and one way they have that idea around them is with simpler things and an idea of the past they get from sanitized tv shows. Elaborate pretend/escapism, like LARPing, I agree. If she’s judgmental about how other people live their lives though, that’s not ok.

Your post reminded me that there is a blogger I have followed for quite some time who has really gotten into 1800s period costumes the past couple of years. She sews all of her own clothing and embroiders, dyes fabric, you name it. But as far as I know, she doesn’t have a social network outside of her old blog and now Instagram. She has mentioned in the past that she was picked on in grade school, and I think for her the period acting is a way to connect with a community of people that she feels won’t see her as weird. (She goes to a lot of old timey events where other people who are into the same thing congregate.) I have also noticed that she has some really noticeable mood swings usually related to whether she gets likes for her posts or if people at these events were complimentary to her or not. It’s unfortunate that social media has affected some people this way—it’s not just fun for them, their self-worth ends up dependent on what strangers on the Internet think of their lifestyle. Looks like same thing is happening with the woman this thread is about.