Home fashions are sometimes very interesting in old photos. You shake your head and wonder how in the world? Not realizing they might look around our homes and do the same thing. Styles, resources, and uses change over time. Here in a photo from about 1957-58 in Kansas, I am helping my mother do the dishes. Apparently, it was an emotional experience, as I seem to be saying, "there, there, mommy don't cry." Either that, or I was saying, "You sure you want me to dry these things?"
When every week was a major laundry experience, the Victorians and Edwardians devoted an entire day to it. Washing Monday was normally the day used to catch up on all the laundry, starching, ironing, and airing required. Women judged themselves and each other by the whiteness of their sheets and shirts (did she or did she not use bluing to give it that glow?). They also had unspoken rules about how long the laundry should hang on the line. Washing machines were often in the 1950's as likely of being a tub washer with a wringer attachment as the more elite and expensive enclosed washing machines. The idea of curtains made from clear or opaque plastic must have seemed something out of a science fiction story. No more washing, ironing, or airing. So modern....
When every week was a major laundry experience, the Victorians and Edwardians devoted an entire day to it. Washing Monday was normally the day used to catch up on all the laundry, starching, ironing, and airing required. Women judged themselves and each other by the whiteness of their sheets and shirts (did she or did she not use bluing to give it that glow?). They also had unspoken rules about how long the laundry should hang on the line. Washing machines were often in the 1950's as likely of being a tub washer with a wringer attachment as the more elite and expensive enclosed washing machines. The idea of curtains made from clear or opaque plastic must have seemed something out of a science fiction story. No more washing, ironing, or airing. So modern....
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