I grew up in the 1950's so my idea of the woman I want to be is based on the women of that era.
My models were June Clever (Barbara Billingsly in Leave it to Beaver) and Margaret Anderson (Jane Wyatt in Father Knows Best), Donna Reed, Loretta Young and Doris Day.
I'm retired now with an adequate income. My wife is a 55 year old RN who will continue to work for another decade or so. I am the housekeeper and homemaker.
Of course she knows I am a woman at heart, and she seems to enjoy having a "wife" to take care of the home.
I would like to do my housekeeping and meal preparation dressed like my 1950's role models.
I wonder if anyone else of a similar age has such a desire. Have any of you actually lived this fantasy?
Randi
I grew up in the '70s and '80s, but I am a huge fan of early rock and roll / rockabilly. One of my favorite dresses is a polka-dot rockabilly deal that I love to wear out to concerts. I can't wait for my hair to grow out a bit longer so I can rock a pinup 'do. I especially love Veronica Lake's look.
I am a housewife, but I don't do cooking and cleaning all dressed up while alone, as I wouldn't want to mess up my nice clothes. That's what leggings and t-shirts are for...
I suppose it might be fun to dress up a bit retro next time I'm preparing food for company though. My house has a mid-century modern vibe to it and is full of Eames-era furniture.
Ditto. Vintage is fine vintage. I am mainly a housewife at the moment, I rock out to Kitty, Daisy and Lewis or the andrews sisters when cleaning and as soon as I pass I am heading back to swing lessons to learn the female parts too!
I have no issue with being a classic housewife so long as it's by choice not expectation!
A little irrelevant, since I'm so young, but I've always had a draw to 40's fashion. I don't think I'd dress as such all the time, though.
One day when I was in therapy my therapist began honing in on an aspect of my personality. Finally she asked me a question - "You're submissive, aren't you?" and wanted to know if I liked the idea of being a 1960's style housewife with all of the things that were expected of women back then.
Well that set me back on the couch. I had never had a thought like that before.
But after I thought about it (and since I was raised in that era) it actually was an appealing idea. I like a lot of the fashions and styles and makeup and hairdos from the 50's/60s; i see the women from that era as being very well put together even though I know that it wasn't a utopia for women back then. I can identify with the expected roles that women had back then too.
So yeah, i'm totally down with the retro woman concept.
I love that 60s look you see in Mad Men. I love those dresses they wear, the sleeveless things and the fit and flare. And the hair and the makeup too.
I could really do that look all the time...if I was in my 20s still :D
I grew up in the 1950s as well and from earliest childhood I wanted nothing more than to grow up, get married, and raise a family but by my early teens I had seen so many women who were trapped in bad situations by 'financial dependence' that I determined I would always have a marketable skill to fall back on and that's what I did.
With transition/SRS at 24, I got to experience the workplace from a woman's side first hand and became a bit of a feminist - not a placard-carrying protester but a woman who spoke up for equal-pay-for-equal-work and for equal opportunity. The opportunity to become a wife and mother never worked out for me so what started as a 'job' became a career and I continued as a feminist 'soldier' striking a number of blows against discrimination and sexism in life. Had I married and been able to start a family, I would probably have been quite happy doing that because I can be and am naturally 'submissive' but if circumstances warrant I can also easily become a force to be reckoned with - the contrast is really quite striking LOL!
Growing up, my favorite dress was worn by the lead actress in the original invasion of the body snatchers. It's a great dress.
I must check that out again!
One nice thing about retro is you get all the luxury of style but all the modern freedoms.
I think one of the mistakes of mainstream feminism is it seems to frown on submissive behavior- I find that excludes women who enjoy being submissive as a natural part of their femininity and sexuality.
I am submissive when it suits me but I take no ->-bleeped-<-. ;)
1980s new wave/skate punk here, but I don't really have the body to pull off the Siouxsie Sioux look.
I love her. Face to face video? Wow!
I'd say sixties and early seventies are my favorite period in terms of female fashion.
I'm not really into that style but I do understand wanting to emulate what you grew up admiring. I have developed a lot more admiration for Audrey Hepburn since I started transition. I don't think I could handle being a housewife very well, even though I do all of the cooking. I just like to cook.
I was born in '54 so I guess I can relate to the June Cleaver look. Something like this?
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.ebayimg.com%2Ft%2FVintage-Printed-Cap-sleeve-Swing-50s-Housewife-pinup-Dress-Vintage-Rockabilly-%2F00%2Fs%2FNjAwWDYwMA%3D%3D%2Fz%2FtZgAAOxyFjNSRNMF%2F%24%28KGrHqZ%2C%21oIFIq4QnbBVBSRNMFJZgg%7E%7E60_35.JPG&hash=32654a771e4e5f7e102fee2aeef5e2385841e738)
Quote from: JordanBlue on January 10, 2014, 03:45:39 PM
I was born in '54 so I guess I can relate to the June Cleaver look. Something like this?
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.ebayimg.com%2Ft%2FVintage-Printed-Cap-sleeve-Swing-50s-Housewife-pinup-Dress-Vintage-Rockabilly-%2F00%2Fs%2FNjAwWDYwMA%3D%3D%2Fz%2FtZgAAOxyFjNSRNMF%2F%24%28KGrHqZ%2C%21oIFIq4QnbBVBSRNMFJZgg%7E%7E60_35.JPG&hash=32654a771e4e5f7e102fee2aeef5e2385841e738)
That dress is so pretty. Where is that from?
Quote from: JordanBlue on January 10, 2014, 03:45:39 PM
I was born in '54 so I guess I can relate to the June Cleaver look. Something like this?
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.ebayimg.com%2Ft%2FVintage-Printed-Cap-sleeve-Swing-50s-Housewife-pinup-Dress-Vintage-Rockabilly-%2F00%2Fs%2FNjAwWDYwMA%3D%3D%2Fz%2FtZgAAOxyFjNSRNMF%2F%24%28KGrHqZ%2C%21oIFIq4QnbBVBSRNMFJZgg%7E%7E60_35.JPG&hash=32654a771e4e5f7e102fee2aeef5e2385841e738)
I have one with a similar cut from funfash.com.
Quote from: Jill F on January 10, 2014, 03:53:31 PM
I have one with a similar cut from funfash.com.
nice
Shame tiffany - you have the perfect face for 50's hair styles!
Quote from: LJP on January 10, 2014, 03:50:25 PM
That dress is so pretty. Where is that from?
Ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Printed-Cap-sleeve-Swing-50s-Housewife-pinup-Dress-Vintage-Rockabilly-/171143502217?pt=US_CSA_WC_Dresses&var=&hash=item27d8f29989
If you're really into this look, consider checking out some vintage clothing stores. I have a musician friend, Miss Jubilee, who is retro to the max - she gets all her stuff from vintage clothing stores.
https://www.facebook.com/MissJubileeSwings
http://www.miss-jubilee.com/miss-jubilee/home.html
Quote from: Emmaline on January 10, 2014, 04:47:42 PM
Shame tiffany - you have the perfect face for 50's hair styles!
Well, thank you for saying that :)
I actually have short hair.