Do you ever wish you could live in another era? Or maybe visit one like in "Back to the Future"? I think about this idea a lot. If I could have lived in another time period I would have chosen the 1950's. There are so many things that I like about this decade, but these are my top five:
1. Design
One of the best parts of the Fifties was the way things were designed to be functional and pleasing to the eye. Not only were things made higher quality, they also looked neat. I love to browse through pictures of vintage kitchens because the appliances and décor were pretty. Appliances such as refrigerators and ovens used to come in a wide variety of colors such as light yellow, aqua, pastel pink, mint green, red, and white.
For my News Reporting class during the spring semester, we went on a field trip to the Ye Ole Carriage Shop, which is a local museum. The owner, Lloyd Ganton, had recreated his wife’s childhood 1950's kitchen. Seeing it was my favorite part of the field trip.
The dishes and other decorations came in a variety of colors as well. For the last few years, I have been buying vintage dishes at garage sales and resale shops. I hope to one day have a kitchen that looks like it’s out of the 1950s. I would love for it to have a black-and-white checkered floor with vintage appliances and furniture.
2. Lifestyle
In many ways, life was much simpler back then. There was a lot less technology, so people had to find other things to take up their time. People wrote letters, called people on the telephone, and spent more time in face-to-face conversations. No one could hide behind text messages or social media. I would love to live in a time where this was the norm.
Places were also a lot safer than they are now. Kids could wander around the neighborhood to play with friends and not have to worry about being kidnapped or hurt. They could also go places in town by themselves such as drugstores, movie theaters, diners, etc.
3. Fashion
If you’ve been around me in the last few years, chances are that you have seen me wear vintage clothing or at least clothing that is inspired by the 1950's. Everything I wear is not vintage, but I love to go to garage sales and resale stores and find great pieces from the past. I especially love to wear dresses and skirts, so I think I could have fit in well with the fashions from the 1950's.
Another thing that I liked about this era was the fact that people dressed up more. Girls wore dresses a lot more than they do now, and guys would wear suits to parties and to church. I also like that women’s clothing was more modest than it is now.
4. Cars
The automobiles from the 1950's are definitely my favorite types of cars. They used to come in a multitude of colors and had a lot of chrome. Everyone’s cars didn’t look alike in the way they do now. Cars nowadays are usually the same colors and are boring unless you can afford to get a new paint job.
Besides the cool 50's kitchen, the Ye Ole Carriage Shop is mostly known for its collection of old cars. Mr. Ganton specializes in Jackson-made cars, but he also collects other vintage automobiles. One of my favorites was the 1951 Frazer Manhattan. I loved the pretty blue color, the chrome, and the style of the car.
I also love how more people used to just take their cars for a drive. There used to be lots of drive-in movie theaters for people to take their cars, and I think that would have been really cool. I know that there are still some drive-ins now, but they are less common.
5. Entertainment
Although I do watch some current TV shows, my favorite shows are oldies such as "Leave It to Beaver or Happy Days" (which was set in the 1950's). The characters in these shows lived such simple lifestyles, and the shows were not full of obscenities like many of today’s shows.
I enjoy a lot of the music from that era as well. I love songs from Chuck Berry, Ritchie Valens, Sam Cooke, Roy Orbison, etc. A lot of the music from this decade had great rhythm and people could dance to it. I love the fact that people used to do actual dances not just jumping around.
Overall, there are a lot of great characteristics of the 1950's that I would have enjoyed had I lived then. Even though I live in this time period, I can still appreciate some of the things from the past.
