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1950's Topics:  1950s Main  1950s Beauty  1950s Children 1950s Cooking 1950s Diets 1950s Fads 1950s Fashion 1950s Home Decor 1950s Home Economics 1950s Housekeeping 1950s Husbands 1950s Romance 1950s Shopping|| 1940s Fads 1960s Fads 1970s Fads 1980s Fads 1990s Fads 2000s Fads

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1950s Roadside Diner Jukebox in Chrome - by Crosly
1950s Roadside Diner Jukebox in Chrome - by Crosly (Price: $79.00). Roadside diners of America boasted countertop jukeboxes just like this 1950's Select-O-Matic style. The Crosley Diner features a state of the art AM/FM radio with cassette player.1950s Retro Straw Dispenser The lighted song chart pages feature a decorative flip movement while the selection buttons conveniently conceal the dial scale. Polished to a high luster finish, this chrome beauty includes a high fidelity speaker, internal/external antennas, on/off switch controls and panel lights.

Marylin Monroe

1950s Monroe
 

Things Invented In the '50s

  • Teenagers
  • The Beehive
  • Corvette
  • American Prosperity

Personal Stationery A Social Must - 1951 Advertisement for Personal Stationery
The Ladies Who Lunch would invite you on their very own personal stationery!

RETRO-SPECTIVE HOUSEWIFE FADS, EVENTS & CULTURE

1950s

The Good Wife's Guide - Photo and Caption

In case you were wondering just what it took back in the 1950s to qualify for "Good Wife" Status, Housekeeping Monthly was kind enough to print a set of guidelines in their 1955 May Issue.

Noteworthy: The pictured children do not appear to be screaming, the wife is wearing 3 inch heals and the husband looks like a cross between Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart. Of minor interest may be the fact that my sister inherited a stove just like the one in the picture from our Grandma, and I can tell you right off that one does not appear so calm when trying to cook dinner on a 1950s match lit gas stove.

50s Sock Hop Club ShirtRemember taking off your shoes so you wouldn't mark up the gym floor while you danced? I don't...but I believe it happened...and apparently the guys wore shirts like this . Betty Boop Sock Hop Figurine

The girls dressed like Betty Boop here, only they had different hair. You know Betty...won't get a new 'Do for anything! The rest of her outfit is pretty authentic 50s, though! (If you are a Boop fan, you can find this figurine here.)

A Fad that stayed: At the start of the 50's, only about 3 million American families had a TV set (black & white, of course), and by 1954 more than half of all U.S. households had purchased the funny buzz box.

Rock N Rollin 50's:

1950s style neon guitar sculpture

Neon lighting was a popular fixture in outdoor advertising, reaching its peak in popularity in the 1950s. (Found at BettysAttic.com)Route 66 Gumball Machine In The Form Of A 1950s-Era Gas Pump

 To the right: Route 66 Gumball Machine In The Form Of A 1950s-Era Gas Pump. This chrome-trimmed gumball machine is a full-scale replica of a 1950s-era gas pump that dotted the landscape along the legendary Route 66.

1950s Movies

Th' Pessimist, by Bob Blanks November 1, 1950
Who recollects when a golf tooth wuz a social asset?

Th' reason they call 'em "wonder" drugs-- if you take 'em an' live it's a wonder. November 1, 1950 From The Ada Evening News.
Things a 1950's Housewife might read in the newspaper:

  • Alaska & Hawaii officially become states in 1959.

  • Thousands of College Men to get Draft Deferments Under New Order1

  • Red Hungary Nabs Writers (Called US Spies)2

  • Elizabeth II is crowned queen (1953)

  • Government conducts first Operation Alert3

1950s Stars


 Barry Manilow's Greatest Songs of the 50's

Images of the 1950s - As seen on TV

As Seen on TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life in the 1950s.
View Book.

Movies/TV Shows Set in the 1950s

  1. Happy Days - Happy Days featured a typical American family, the Cunninghams, a malt shop, lots of poodle skirts, and a "Greaser" named Arthur Fonzarelli, aka Fonzie, aka The Fonz, Ralph Malf and Potsie,
     (Brilliantly captured in these not-at-all-tacky Happy Days Action Figures!).Happy Days Action Figures - Fonzie in Falcon's Jacket, Potsie, Ralph Malph, and Richie Cunningham. Would make a great gag gift... 

    The series came out in the '70s but caused a mini-50s revival! I'm sure you have heard the song:
  2. Grease
  3. Laverne & Shirley
Happy Hits 1949-1957 CD Doris Day
Doris Day Happy Hits 1949-1957 CD  $11.95

Pajama Game with Doris Day 1953 - 1954
Pajama Game with Doris Day
 1953 - 1954
Original London Cast CD $15.98

       Purple Flower
1950's Movies at the IMDB
 
© Copyright Retro Housewife 2003-2007

1The Bridgeport Sunday Post, April 1, 1951 Bridgeport, Connecticut
2 Daily Herald, July 10, 1955 Chicago, Illinois
3 Mansfield News Journal, June 15, 1955 Mansfield, Ohio