A Handkerchief Vapor-Tent, 1934

“Watch how I fix a cold,” says the lady in this 1930s ad. Uh, no thank you. Really, I’d rather not.

Oh, but she insists on showing us all how she splashed some Vapex onto her handkerchief and made a little tent over her nose. That’s right, inhale the Vapex. Deep, cleansing breaths!

Boy, now she’s over the cold, and she’s really, really happy.  AND she’s got a faceful of makeup on, just like that. OK, now I’m impressed. That’s some snazzy vapor-tent!

The ad is in a 1934 Ladies Home Journal, but the product is “approved by Good Housekeeping.” Um, all right. Does LHJ not approve? Why isn’t the ad in Good Housekeeping if…But…Oh, never mind.  If you write to the Vapex people they will send you some “VAPEXed gauze” for your very own handkerchief-vapor-tent. Boy howdy, that sounds great!

And they say that there are 75 imitations of this on the market. How do they know all that? Is there a Vapex Squad that goes around to all the druggists, hunting for fake vapor stuff? With little handkerchiefs, and colds. Hey, that’s not triple-action! Can’t be the real thing.

“The handy bottle uually last all winter.” ‘Usually’ being the operative word. I think this lady here has about used up her supply.

Life Is A Motel Room

I was reading on MSNBC awhile ago about the “staycation,” or staying home for a vacation because of the gas prices and so on. (It also could have an alternate meaning of ‘mistake vacation,’ of which I am sure we have all had some, I know I have. You get there and it’s depressing, or raining, or you’re all bickering a lot and someone says ‘boy was this ever a mistake, going on vacation!’ )

With these retro bedroom designs, you can really go on staycation in both senses of the word. Stay a home, and have the cheesy, slightly disturbing atmosphere of a really tacky motel.

And anyway, if life is a highway, why shouldn’t your bedroom look like a motel? A motel, moreover, with closet access made impossible because the round night table is blocking the door. A motel where the aqua Mexican hat ashtray/thingies match the quilt, dust ruffle and chaise.

Or if you are tired of aqua and white brick – perhaps burnt orange teamed with green gingham and faux-Colonial wood is more your thing. Note the lovely Siamese Twin beds, conjoined at the side – just like the Ricardos had in I Love Lucy.

What is the square black leather cushion doing there on the table? Surely no one will be sitting on it, it’s a table. Maybe it’s for the cat. Our cats would shred that thing in a jiffy, though. Or at least they’d do their best.

And for the Canadian content part of this post, here’s the Tom Cochrane song “Life Is A Highway,” from the album Mad Mad World (1991). But how did Tom get out there on the highway when he doesn’t seem to have a car?

[The lovely pictures, BTW, are from Better Homes and Gardens' Sewing Book (1961).]