The World of Women in 1930


As a man, I've always been aware that women seem to live in a different world than I do. And so when I started looking at this billboard from 1930 that I found on the Duke University site, I could see that I had two challenges in understanding it, it's both a different era and a different world from what I know. Let's take a look.


This ad is obviously trying to appeal the ladies. By the way, before we go any further, let's stop and take a look at the frame of that billboard - they don't make 'em like that anymore!


The ladies are all showing different outfits for different activities. I'm not exactly sure what "snappy togs" means, but my best guess is that it was slang for "nice-looking clothes". The lady on the far left is holding a riding crop, so she must be dressed for riding horses. Next to her is a woman with a tennis racquet, wearing what looks to me to be a housedress. Please correct me if I'm wrong! Sitting there rather uncomfortably on the beach is a woman in a bathing costume, complete with bathing cap.

The lady with her back to us seems to be a bit self-conscious about wearing such a short skirt. This was 1930 after all, and her grandmother wouldn't have even shown her ankles in public. Imagine! I suppose she's carrying a towel so that she could go swimming. And of course my favorite is the lady with the golf clubs. Back in those days it really was true that bags were that small. They really didn't turn into the heavyweight monsters that nowadays need a golf cart to carry until fairly recently. She's wearing a very stylish hat, and in addition to carrying a putter, I'd imagine that she'd have a mashie and a niblick in her bag. She's wearing heels so I'd raise an eyebrow if she walked on a green!

So there you go, a visit to the world of women, which had been greatly expanding through the 1920s, in 1930. See you on the third floor of Voorhees in Trenton, New Jersey!

Image from the Duke University Library Digital Collections.
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