Now I'll Never Be a Teen Model
Gilligan of Retrospace has kindly uploaded an entire issue of 'Teen magazine from 1970 and it's a corker! (see page 25) By the way, if you don't already follow Retrospace, you probably should - head over and take a look.
Just like today, there was a big focus on weight loss back then too and since this was a summer issue there were a lot of advertisements to do with getting a suntan. Astrological star signs were clearly a big fad and even used to advertise products. There were a few cautions and head shakes towards marijuana use and one poor reader even suspected her boyfriend of acid use but the letters to the editor kept us grounded in the big issues of the day - hemlines. 
"Let us hope enough young women can keep their wits about them to survive the hemline hassle" a reader pleads as the battle wages on between midi and mini skirt lovers. I kid, but it must have been a big deal as I remember it being mentioned in Archie comics a lot.The ad for ring adapters caught my eye. I wondered how girls 'going steady' managed to wear their boyfriend's ring, well this easily installed ring-adapter helped "change his ring size to yours quick - easy". Do kids in America still do this? I predict not.
Instead of 'Asking Jill', the dispenser of sage advice gets TOLD:Dear Jill:
...Why are you so unforgiving? When a girl breaks off with her guy and asks how to get him back you say, 'Are you sure you want a guy who left you for someone else?'
Sensible advice, I thought but this reader didn't think so;
"Just how unfeeling are you? Every girl wants her guy back. Erik and I went together for two years, and he left me for someone else. Did I give up? NO! I fought for him. After two months he came back. I won! We're going to be married".
She didn't mention her age but I'd love to find out how S. Rigby of Iowa's marriage fared.
I love these sundress/bikini combos yet I'm not so sure about this printed terrycloth beachsuit:
Yet there's something I adore about this outfit:
As you can see, my textile and pattern preferences are very difficult even for me to pinpoint.
Download the magazine and then you too can read the entire article on "how to get a teenage boy and what to do with him when you get him".
A snippet:
A snippet:
In brief, get smart. Just don't show off the brains, that's all. Sure, beneath that smooth exterior there hums a brain. But it surfaces only for air. Why? Because you're going to limit the number of guys you attract if you seem too intellectual. Few guys in their early teens or midteens are secure enough to handle a real 'brain.' They want a smart girl. But not a budding professor.
Oh yeah, and see if you can spot a then unknown Susan Dey in one of the many advertisements dontained within.
Micro-mini skirts became vogue about this time, and yes, it was quite the controversy!
ReplyDeleteI guess the whole hippy invasion of Haight-Ashbury wasn't such a big deal yet lol.
I don't know about invasion but there was a bit on hippies in there (p14):
ReplyDelete"Hail the 'new dynamic social class, the rich hippies'... only the spastic, plastic ones are still locked into their obsolete prejudices about hair, beards and colorful threads".
There are quotes from Dave Crosby, Mama Cass Elliot and Tommy Roe about the acceptance of hippies into the mainstream.
I did a bit of googling and the Haight-Ashbury invasion was apparently in 1966-7 so the dust seems to have settled a bit by the time of this issue.
Oh that's funny lol... Hmmm thought the height of the hippy deal was 1969. Didn't know they considered it a bit earlier!
ReplyDeleteSo by 1970 the were passe`. Well, there ya go lol...
I work in both the teen magazine industry and have also worked at several advertising agencies. I find it fascinating to see how teen-targeted ad copy and content have evolved over the years. Unreal.
ReplyDeleteFourthGradeNothing.com
Isn't Retrospace fantastic? It's truly one of my favorite sites right now, always good for a laugh.
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