A message to all of the Sears Charm School attendees desperate to find a copy of the binder: Anne wrote to say that her school is doing a fundraiser for their library and auctioning off a Sears Charm School binder on eBay. “This was donated by one of our patrons, and the money raised from […]
Category: Beauty and Charm
Beauty and charm tips.
What’s Your Charm Rating? (1955)
So here’s how things go around here somedays. Yesterday I thought about doing an Easter post, and then got distracted by the lovely D.C. weather and went to the National Arboretum with some friends instead. Then I meant to do the post last night, but ended up watching the toe-tapping movie Easter Parade on TV […]
Glove Personalities (1961)
One of my more popular posts on this site has been one I did many years ago on glove etiquette. I recently (re)found in my piles of smaller thinner books the pamphlet that this came from, and thought it would be fun to share another excerpt. Gloves: Fashion & Etiquette was published in 1961 by the Hansen Glove Corporation. I […]
The Most Dire Female Crimes in Looks and Dress (1959)
One of the books that fell off my shelf during the “The Big Mineral, Virginia, Earthquake of 2011” was a paperback titled McCall’s Guide to Teen-Age Beauty and Glamour, written by Betsy Keiffer. My version is from 1959 and claims to provide “the sure-fire way to become the most charming, poised and popular girl in […]
Summer Icicles (1955)
What else is there do to do on a sweltering summer day but to stay inside and blog about it? Here are some summertime tips from a book called Teen-Age Glamor, written by Adah Broadbent in 1955. These could come in handy on a day like today: When the sun is at its zenith, and the […]
Personality: How to Exert It (1915)
“Personality is defined as the qualities or characteristics, personal traits or attributes peculiar to some individual. Specifically, it is that quality which sustains poise through self-control in the face of propitious or unpropitious circumstances,” asserts the preface of H. Laurent’s Personality: How to Build It, which I picked up in Austin last weekend. Do you […]
Recent Acquisition: The Answer Book on Naval Social Customs (1956)
Yesterday a package arrived at the door: a book titled The Answer Book on Naval Social Customs, sent by the mother of a friend who wrote a week or so ago asking if I’d like it for the collection. She said: “It is a first edition, Jan 1956, Military Service Publishing Company. What a kick! […]
Sears Discovery Charm School Book Teaser: Ideal Body of the 70s
To whet my reader’s continued appetite for excerpts from my copy of the Sears Discover Charm School book, I’ve scanned in this “fun with graphic design” page from the notebook’s section on Fashion. You’ll have to wait a bit for more from this section; I’ve been so busy and am I’m headed out of the […]
Sears Discovery Charm School: Exercise
Per Lynette’s suggestion, Part II of my series on excerpts from the Sears Discover Charm School book (ca. 1972 version) will focus on exercise. This chapter features none other than Olympic skater Peggy Flemming! Peggy, take it away: ~~ A smooth flowing body. A tingle. A good feeling all over. A scrumptious look. A healthy […]
Sears Discovery Charm School: Introduction to the 1972 edition
Many moons ago, I published a query from a visitor to the site about the Sears Discovery Charm school. Little did I know, that this would be one of my most popular posts on the site! Seems that many of you charming, lovely, Googlers out there have fond memories of the course (which ran from […]