The book is called Steps in Clothing Skills.
Here is a picture of the index page.
What amazed me so much about the book weren't the (cheesy) lovely pictures or the fact that the book was published by Avon Products company.
What amazed me about this book is what it contains. It doesn't just discuss simple sewing techniques for the beginning sewer (I'm assuming the book was a textbook for high-schoolers, by the looks of the pictures and subject matter). Actually, most of the book is taken up with grooming tips for the pubescent teen.
They learn things like how to sit up straight in their chair (posture), how to apply deodorant (to your toes?), and how to take a proper bath.
Here is the bathing section. Notice how they cover every possible type of bath a girl can take:
And here it tells you to put deodorant, not only under your arms, but between your toes:
I have to ask, how many of you out there has used deodorant between your toes? Of course, this may be a very private issue and if you don't want to share, I totally understand. I've personally have never heard of doing such a thing, but if you are the type of person who tends to have a lot of toe sweat, then this might be the thing for you, I suppose. I'm not judging, I'm simply making an observation here. There very well may be millions of people who use this method of staying dry between the toes and I'm simply one of the other half of the world who hadn't heard of it until now. Now, I am not above having toe sweat, but I have always just used simple talc powder or corn starch to help alleviate any issues with it. But I do suppose deodorant could work. Maybe tomorrow before I put my sandals on when I leave for work I should dab a little Speed Stick between my toesies. I'll let you know if it works.
After rambling on for over a hundred pagets, the writers finally get to the actual clothing information on page 122:
On page 268 (over a hundred pages later) we finally start discussing clothing patterns:
Now, while I was amazed that half of this textbook was taken up with things like deodorant to the toes and the various wonderful ways to take a bath, I realized something. Teens these days do not have this information in their classrooms any longer. I certainly never had these subjects discussed in any of my high school classes. However, I now wonder if kids these days would benefit by having a classroom textbook which discussed these subjects. How many teens these days really NEED a lesson in how to wash properly? How many teens need information on sitting up straight? It is interesting to think about how a textbook like this would go over in a high school classroom these days. The students would probably laugh it out of the school, but that may be because of the way society has changed over the last 40-50 years since this book was printed. I truly believe, after reading many sections of this textbook, that there are probably about 30% of the high school students out there who would greatly benefit by this book and a little instruction in how to take a bath, dress properly, iron their clothing, and to mend it.
Ahhhh, the good ole days.
Posts
