Those Were The Days

It’s high time we shared our finds from the vintage magazines that we snagged for free at the Forest Hill Community Yard Sale. Towards the end of the day a nice woman had a slew of old House Beautiful glossies (we’re talking oooold, dating back 30-40 years to the early seventies) and she happily offered them up for free to avoid filling up her recycling bin. And we were just crazy enough to grab a hefty stack and lug them around for the rest of the sale. Well it’s a good thing we did because they were totally worth the effort. They were a veritable gold mine of eye candy and inspiration, with the added bonus of a  good laugh on almost every page. Here are a few highlights…

We love this Neutrogena ad from nearly three decades ago. It gets right to the point.

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We also liked stumbling upon ads for brand new items at the time that look super dated and old school now, like these amazing “state of the art” phones.

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And what about this snazzy onesie, I mean flight suit, from Banana Republic?

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This overly tan depiction of Vanna White thoroughly enjoying her Spring Air mattress in a satin suit (yes, there’s a cummerbund) also had us at hello.

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And we couldn’t help but wonder who thought this Tony Soprano faux pink marble and gold jacuzzi was a good idea. Very klassy- yes, with a k. We especially appreciated that stylish updo on the lovely lady (no doubt to emphasize her upscale bathing experience).

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We also liked how this faucet boasted that it was the first one that took it’s own temperature with a digital display on the top of the fixture. It may have also been the last.

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This ad took us back to the days or removing the pea green toilet in our half bathroom at which point we asked aloud “when exactly were green toilets cool?” The answer: 1979 apparently.

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We also loved how the last ten pages or so of each magazine was devoted to black and white ads that looked a lot like little newspaper blurbs full of strange products that nobody could possibly want, could they? I wonder how many Porta-Yoga devices they sold. I mean I can see how standing upside down would reverse the aging process, right? Just like walking backwards and putting your shirts on your legs and your pants on your arms would.

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This “cordless massager” was certainly the most scandalizing black & white ad in the end of one of the oldest House Beautiful magazines (1975 to be exact). We don’t know what was more disturbing, the fact that our mothers and grandmothers probably read about it or the fact that it was available in four different lengths.

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But don’t get us wrong. We didn’t spend the whole time tittering about the strange advertising of yore. We also found some fun and fabulous spaces that didn’t feel nearly as dated and odd, like this clean white room with pops of vibrant yellow.

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And this lively and lovely turquoise room that could totally have been in Domino magazine last year (as opposed to House Beautiful twenty five years ago).

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This groovy 70′s room is oh so Merimekko and fun, with giant graphic flowers on the bed and the vertical blinds. And check out that retro type treatment on the left page. It reminds us of Reading Rainbow (there’s another throwback for ya).

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We love that this shot could have run in House Beautiful last month. And if it had I would have been looking up where that fabulous chair came from because I totally want it.

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We also seriously swooned over this outdoor scene. You know we love white, natural materials, ottomans and dogs so this was pretty much the jackpot photo as far as we’re concerned. Isn’t it hard to believe it’s over 20 years old?

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But there were also some pretty crazy spreads that weren’t quite as “fresh” looking. For example, we’d love this vibrant fabric on a pillow or a lampshade, but whose idea was it to cover the sofa and the two arm chairs nearby? Then they must have stepped back and said, hmm, it still needs something. How about draping some more of the same fabric over the round table between the sofa and the chair? Perfect.

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Of course that’s nothing compared to this room that takes matchy-matchy to a whole new level. Yes the wallpaper matches the curtains which match the bedding which matches the table skirt. The fact that they stopped short of carrying it into the rug shows excellent restraint on their part.

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Oh the fun we had with our timeworn magazines in our laps, marveling at the fact that everything on those pages was once fresh and current and oh so in style. Check out these Simmons sofa patterns and tell me that it’s easy to believe there was a time when they were in demand. The one on the top of the pyramid is so grunge-rock-plaid-shirt  and the yellow floral is so grandma’s basement.

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And what about this insanely busy “Congoleum” flooring? Will we someday find ourselves coveting this aesthetic once again? I hope not.

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So thanks for the memories old stack of free yard sale magazines. You were enjoyed many years ago and equally appreciated just days ago when we flipped through each page, reveling in the fact that we were about negative eight years old when you went to press. We may have laughed at the old fashioned headlines and the strange infomercial-style ads at the back, but we’re still totally digging that egg chair on the cover. And white lattice, you’re still totally cool too.

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So that about does it for our vintage magazine showcase. Any favorite scenes or ads of the bunch? Have any of you uncovered some old finds that had you in stitches? Do you think our iPod and Nike ads will someday look this crazy to future generations? What say you lovely readers?

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