Results tagged “old school” from The official blog of Vat19.com

This 1950s Candy Gift Box would be an awesome gift for any baby boomer you know with a sweet tooth. It features tons of different candies from the 50s. Some of them I've heard of and are still around today - Chuckles, Mike & Ike's, Sugar Daddy Pops. Others...sound a little interesting. Violet or teaberry gum, anyone?

Tons of other candy boxes are available, including decade-themed ones from the 40s to the 90s. There's even a "vintage" one with candies from the 1800s (ever had a Squirrel Nut Zipper?). It's a delicious way to relive your childhood and maybe even experience the childhoods of your parents or grandparents!

For more sweet stuff, be sure to check out Vat19.com!

Behold the cuteness that is Teddy Ruxpin. An 80s classic, he was one of the toys that I longed for as a child and never received, which is something I'm still a bit bitter about. I mean, look at him with his sweet little face. I had no idea he was still around, but apparently, good ol' Teddy has been updated for the 21st century.

He still has the same cuddly looks and soft, calming voice as the original, but now uses MP3 cartridges instead of analog tapes. How tech-savvy of him. He is also a bit smaller and not as heavy as the original. If I had kids, I'd totally buy one so that I could vicariously relive my childhood.

Be sure to check out Vat19.com for more huggable plush toys.

Sometimes you read about how awful looks are coming back into style – skinny jeans, gauchos, even pleated jeans – but no matter how bad it gets, it could be worse. We’ve given a little thought to the matter, and we’ve decided that we’ll take a few stray pairs of skinny jeans over these vintage styles any day:

Hoop Skirts – These were skirts for an era when people figured that things like bicycles and comfortable apparel gave women too much freedom to run off and get themselves into trouble. Back then, few things were more attractive than a woman with a massive steel cage under her dress. If you had enough room to host a welterweight cage fight down below, you were HOT.

Bloomers – Named for activist Amelia Bloomer, bloomers were not well liked in the beginning. They let women ride bikes and walk around easily, which was a big fashion DON’T at the time. Eventually, though, men took a liking to saucy wenches in bloomers, brazenly baring their ankles like it was their wedding night. That turned out to be a pretty slippery slope.

Bustles – Long before Sir Mix a Lot waxed poetic about the joys of large posteriors, women were creating ample silhouettes with a little help from their seamstresses. The general idea of the bustle was to make the fullness of the front match the fullness of the back. Couple that with a corset, and it becomes pretty obvious that the Victorians weren’t as stuffy as they’re often portrayed to be.

One of the side effects of modern life is that a lot of manual jobs have disappeared. Instead of growing up to be a “woodcutter” or “armorsmith”, most of us will grow up to wear suits and call ourselves things like “forensic accountants”, “loan processors”, and “sales managers”.

To honor the memory of those fallen jobs, we’d like to taunt you with a list of careers you’ll probably never get to pursue (unless you want to relocate to a place like Colonial Williamsburg.)

Treadmill Worker - Before we had things like bulldozers and cranes, we had treadmill workers. They were the poor, brave souls who walked on precariously placed treadmills to lift stones to workers at new castles, churches, and other structures.

Ewerer - A ewerer was a person who delivered and heated water for nobility. It’s not the most glamorous job, but it put food on the table.

Fuller - A fuller is a person who treats cloth, typically wool. By the definition, there are still a few fullers left in the world. I doubt any of them do it the way they did it in Roman times, though. Roman fullers would walk around for hours in vats of cloth and urine, hoping to extract all the dirt and oil from the fabric.

Armorsmith - Outside of Hollywood costumes and historic re-enactment buffs, there’s just not much of a demand for full plate and chainmail armor.

Telegraph Operators - Less than a century ago, it was considered entirely reasonable to advise someone towards a career in telegraph operation. Today, the idea is laughable.

Hostler - Hostlers cared for the massive legions of horses that helped people and things get from one place to another. While horses aren’t exactly extinct, it’s not exactly a growing field.

Bootblack - A bootblack is a person who cleans and polishes footwear for a living. When’s the last time you had your shoes polished?

Furrier - It could be a shift in public interest, or it could be Pamela Anderson’s efforts on behalf of PETA, but for some reason, this is another career in severe decline. If you were hoping for a career in animal furs, we suggest you work on a backup plan, just in case.