ARTICLE # 19... THE MODE in ADVERTISING
The mode in advertising has changed profoundly
in the last Century. Over the years the trend
in advertising has been to eliminate as much
wording as possible. Often today, a fashion
ad is nothing more than a surreal photo with
the designers logo someplace on the page.
Advertising minimalism is not new. It has
been around since the very early 1900s. Earlier
in the century the visuals used in minimalsist
ads tended towards gorgeous illustrations.
One of my favorite illustration artists was
Ernst Dryden an Austrian illustrator and
fashion designer who worked from the Teens
up through the 1930s. His advertisements
used little wording, letting the elegance
and beauty of the illustration convey the
products virtues. He illustrated for exclusive,
high end product lines geared toward the
leisure class.
Most fashion advertising then and now however,
is directed towards the mainstream population.
This is where advertising has changed the
most.
Recently I picked up a stack of The Youths
Companion dating from 1914 -1920. The articles
and stories say so much about the culture
of that time (good and bad). Some of the
best reading is the copy in the ads. A lovely
illustration and catchy slogan or phrase
would be accompanied by lengthy text. (this
was long before the era of sound bites)
Great emphasis was placed on educating and
informing the consumer as well as assuring
the finest quality. Vivid descriptions fill
in the details and bring the items to life.
Ie. “W.L. Douglas The Shoe That Holds its
Shape!”
“best known shoes in the world…” “finest
leathers that money can buy…” “made by the
highest paid skilled shoemakers…” “retail
price stamped on the bottom.. “Your protection
against unreasonable profits.”
You get the picture.
Over the next two decades advertising text,
though still imaginative, became more concise.
The magazines I have from the 1940s and 50s
bring the art of advertising copy to it’s
flowery best. They are my favorites. Quality
and value were still important but beauty
and allure was paramount. Examples from a
1956 Charm Magazine describing new summer
dresses.
“Sun Struck White with slim sophisticated
lines. Baring her creamy skin a deep dipping
back neckline softened by a dotted scarf”
(ooh la la!)
Or
“Cool Confection, Debonair refresher… iced
with rhinestones” “Cool and becoming”
Colors were described in wonderful terms.
Desert Blue, Ocean Sand, Gypsy Violet, Pirates
Gold, Candy Mint.
Fabric was important. Rayon was being used
to simulate natural fibers in new and innovative
ways. Nat Gaynes boasted “Even the Italians
can’t tell our Shandura from their own fabulously
expensive.. Silk!”
OR
“The pleasure of cool crisp linen…without
the costly price tag!”
Sometimes the wording was purely meant to
imply. A Mayflower Fabrics ad from a 1954
Mademoiselle magazine “Nobility shapes a
young suit to flower petal perfection…”….
Huh!? I like it even though I have no clue
what they mean!
As we work our way through the 60s and 70s
fashion photos were the main form of visuals
in fashion advertising. They became bold
and colorful. Illustration had fallen to
the wayside but copy was still important.
In the 1960s and 70s ads were still seducing
the consumer into buying fashion with the
written word. An ad for a sweater pattern
in a 1973 Sphere magazine… “Strong Vibrations…in
a crazy swirl of tropical colors. A generous
neckline and bell sleeves are in rhythm with
this pulsating pullover” Sounds groovy!
By the mid 1980s it was all about the photo
and only the photo. We were no longer being
told what a great value we were getting for
our dollar, or how we would be so much more
fetching in THIS dress. As a matter of fact
we were not always even sure WHAT the garment
looked like in real life. Models were playing
Dead on the Divan (they still are) or catching
Frisbees in their ball gowns. Image was and
still is everything.
Don’t get me wrong. I love fashion ads past
and present but there is a part of me that
laments the loss of the written word in advertising.
A part of me still wants to be told things
like “Whether your figure is toothpickian,
splendiferous or overly endowed.” You can
Hurdle the girdle and look svelte” “…when
you wear Suspants, the wonder undie!!”
Charm magazine 1950
Copyright Tangerine Boutique 2005