Watching PBS' "The War" has really confirmed some suspicions I've had about that era

[rockymountaindem]

To start out, I'm a heterosexual male. Here are my observations:

1) Men of that era were *far* better looking and more stylish than men of my generation.
2) Women today are more attractive than their predecessors at the same age back then. Women of the '40s all look like they went to the same hairstylist, too.

I've watched a lot of WWII programs and this is not something that's just cropped into my mind. I think that if anybody can make this judgment, I can, because I've watched probably every WWII documentary on the History Channel since I was 8 :)

Have at me.

[SeattleGirl]

1. Not sure about the men, but with the women, I think a lot of has to

do with the fashion and hairstyles of the day. They seemed to make most of the young women look matronly, even in their late teens and early twenties.

[rockymountaindem]

2. That's a good description

"Matronly"

[LibDemAlways]

5. I have pictures of my mom from that era. She was in her

early 20's and always dressed in below-the-knee length skirts with matching jacket over white button-down-the-front blouses. Her hair was perfectly coiffed in shoulder length curls.

Back then the average 20-year-old dressed like what you'd expect of a 60-year-old woman from a red state out to lunch with her friends at the country club today.

[SeattleGirl]

6. Perfect description. n/t

[yellowdogintexas]

14. those hairdos were not fun. my mom said her hair was the bane of

her existence, because it would not do any of those things naturally.

I would have had same problem...my teen years were a constant war with my hair, those 1960's beehives and bouffants were not what my hair was born to do.

Clothing styles, not much better.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

3. Women just couldn't cut their hair short and let it hang, apparently.

You had to roll it, curl it, perm it, whatever it took.
I have a pic of my mom from 1940 with the two big cinnamon rolls on her head, parted in the middle. It was all her hair, too! No rollers or rats in it.

[SeattleGirl]

4. My mom has a picture of herself from when she was about 6, with

her hair in ringlets. It's beautiful, but she said it was a nightmare to do. My grandmother used an old-fashioned curling iron (actually, irons) to get it to look that way.

:scared:

[idgiehkt]

9. yes

I remember watching tv with my grandmother one day and her looking at the television and sighing, " I guess women these days just don't care about their hair".

Back then, a woman's hair, like everything female, was to be kept under control.

[kitty44]

7. I agree with you

On the women - it's the hairstyle and dress thing.

But the men - they WERE better looking. But why? Maybe just because people were not as overweight?

[Ptah]

8. Are you talking about my momma?

I hope you are not talking about MY momma!

[eridani]

10. You would not believe the physical pain involved for women

An 80 year old feminist friend of mine saved some of her girdles from the 40s to horrify the younger generation with. You would not believe them-solid RUBBER with tiny holes in them. No kidding! There were metal grabbing devices for holding up stockings also--can't imagine anyone remotely sane sitting on them for more than 15 minutes at a time. She was a secretary and had to wear them to be employable. The bras weren't too much better.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

12. Hell, I remember garter belts from the sixties, when I was a kid!!

And started wearing stockings in junior high!!! Shortly before panty hose were invented.

My mom looked gorgeous with her hair in those cinnamon rolls. They weren't ALL ugly.

[pokerfan]

11. I disagree

Speaking as a hetero dude, watching movies and newsreels from the forties makes me thing wonder if I wasn't born thrity years late.

The society back then (racism, sexism) maybe not so much.

[yellowdogintexas]

13. it was OK to be stylish for men back then, and yes far fewer fat people

remember we had just come out of the Depression..people didn't over indulge in anything.


ok wanna see a hottie:



that's my dad in his WWII outfit.

[CGowen]

15. I just recently watched "Radio Bikini" where they had hundreds of soldiers and a handful of women on

an island, I assume the women were nurses and they didn't look that good.

http://www.vimeo.com/191433



http://imdb.com/title/tt0893570/

[LanternWaste]

16. I'd be first in line if the fashion of the 40's returned

I'd be first in line if the fashion of the 40's returned. Suit, tie and fedora for the gents-- might even feel like Cary Grant...

And I can't help it-- women's fashion and makeup of the 40's is tops to me, especially the poofy-coiffed hair.

[Aristus]

17. Here's my grandfather in his Coast Guard uniform from World War II:

Pretty good-looking guy, I think; he was a spectacularly successful ladies man, too.

[AlCzervik]

18. i started watching ww2 docs before there was a history channel.

god i'm old. World at War on PBS every Sunday.

[Highway61]

19. What I got from that series

Was just how amazing a president, a TRUE president, pulled this country together. How the woman from Alabama said EVERYONE gathered around the radio for those fireside chats to hear the latest and get all the updates. God, all we have today is disconnect, "all about me" and American Idol.
But then again we have Alfred E Newman running things.

All kidding aside, they were the greatest generation...hands down.

[Rabrrrrrr]

20. Yes, no celebration of obesity and people dressed like humans when they left the house.

And I agree about the hairstyles for women - frumpy, dumpy, and awful. And those glasses. Ew.

I was damned glad when the 90s came along, and we got out of the previous 50 years of shitty fashions for women (and for men in the previous 30 years).

It's so sad, though, that few people nowadays feel the need to dress decently when they go out - now it's just hats everywhere (and shitty baseball hats, too) including wearing them inside and at restaurants, sweat suits, expando-flex-pants, sweatshirts, and other ugly shit that is best left at home or for camping.

[rockymountaindem]

22. In a supposedly image-obsessed society

it's amazing how little people seem to care about what they look like when they go out of the house.

[Rabrrrrrr]

24. Darn right. Hell, they hardly even dress up for weddings, funerals, and jobs.

Go to any modern day funeral or wedding, and check out the clothing - it's appalling.

[Thirtieschild]

21. You didn't have a hair stylist or go to the salon. You went to the beauty shop.

I got my first permanent in 1943, when I was eight. Each curl was burned in place by metal curlers with wires attached to what I guess you'd call a gigantic iron. And when it was over your - my - hair more often than not frizzed. When it wasn't burned because the curlers were left on too long. If you had the money you could get a cold wave, which involved chemicals but not burning. And in 1948 the big thing was home permanents. Which twin has the Toni?

I remember girdles, hose with seams you had to keep straight, Fire and Ice lipstick, tacky to get your ears pierced, falsies if you needed them.

[TrogL]

23. The map is not the territory

You saw a movie. As with today, only attractive people were allowed on screen - the rest ended up on the cutting room floor.

There were plenty of ugly, fat, wierd people back then too.

[LSK]

25. well there was a war going on...

So I dont think it was looked to kindly on if women made a big deal of getting hair done and buying fancy dresses and stuff.