What Old Library Books tell us about Beauty & Style
A friend sent me a link this morning to a fantastic site called Awful Library Books. The site highlights awesomely bad titles that are found in public libraries.
So, today when I was at the library doing a bit of research I couldn’t resist -I had to find out what my local branch had to offer in terms of style, beauty, and fashion books.
It was a-mazing.
Without further ado, here is the best of the worst:
Color for Men by Carole Jackson, Published 1984
Examples of “spring” men. The guy in the top left corner strikes me as especially hilarious. I think he is wearing a Members Only jacket.
Some more “spring” examples. For the top two guys….I just don’t quite know what to say…..
My favorite part of the book had to do with glasses suggestions based on the shape of a man’s face.
Under no circumstances should anyone ever wear these glasses. Unless you are a Hipster and are wearing them ironically. In that case, go forth.
More glasses pics. So 80′s!
Next, Hair Magic by Marion Mathews and Renske Mann, Published 1984.
You KNOW a book is going to be good when it shows a picture of a French Braid on the cover.
Pictures of modern haircuts….
A section on the “Versatility of Hair.” You can wear yours down, or in a side ponytail with a headband!
This is for special events. I can’t tell if they did a French Braid going up and then piled the rest of her hair on top – what do you think?
How to style hair when you wear glasses!
And, because I know everyone will love it, I’m including a bonus recipe found in the back of Hair Magic:
Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
2 egg yolks
12 fl oz warm water
2 tsp. vinegar
Beat the egg yolks into 4 fl oz warm water. Massage the mixture well into the scalp and then leave for about 10 minutes. Rinse with warm water. Add vinegar to 8 fl oz of cool water and use as a rinse. Rinse the hair 2 or 3 times.
Finally, we have a legendary book. The colors book.
Color Me Beautiful by Carole Jackson, Published 1980. (This is the same author as the first book above.)
I didn’t learn about the importance of the Colors Book until I became a Wardrobe Consultant.
I started to work with clients who would tell me all about the colors they could and could not wear. I learned that they were talking about a fad in the 80′s where women would have someone tell them the colors that they looked best in and if they were a Winter, Summer, Autumn, or Spring.
There is truth in what was taught in those color sessions. Certain colors look best on certain skin types. But, what I found is that it also locked women into a particular look for decades.
Again, there are certain things in this book that still hold true. But, the looks are so 80′s! Love it.
The moral of the story here?
Support your local library. This can’t be what is on the shelves for our dear friends / neighbors who are studying about fashion and style!
Ha!
