The "Bow Code" of the 1940's 🎀

I look like I should be an extra in Toy Story for new so today I want to talk about a very serious and important topic what is your bow placement say about your relationship I've been seeing this image wandering the depths of the interwebs a lot of times I see images like this and I see little tidbits of history but I don't necessarily know what the source is and I don't know you know how legit it is so I decided to trace this back and it actually is legit and it comes from a 1944 issue of Life magazine and the article is about high schoolers and how their boat placements can basically tell you if they're single or looking or not interested which I thought was pretty funny the fact that that's in a wife magazine because it's like very hard-hitting journalism I also found it funny because it almost seems like every decade there is this kind of teenage code like for instance when I was in high school it was those like jelly bracelets each color signified something and I don't really remember the exact specifics and I don't think I actually knew back then there was something to do with boys and if their pant legs were pulled up on one leg meant you like wanted to fight or something and then both legs I don't know you're ready to bring about the apocalypse or something oh very serious intellectual science so I'm gonna pull up the article and I'm gonna read it to you that confounded it so I was actually really psyched that the whole magazine is actually up on Google Books so it's an issue from May 15 1944 it's definitely interesting because 1944 was during wartime the seriousness of the content juxtaposed with the beau tidbit is just very interesting it is part of a segment called high school fads so adorable these girls are the cutest thing I've ever seen and I want all of these outfits the image that I was seeing online is actually just the two major headline photos put together and they are split up by a page so this text is very small so don't mind me looking like an actual grainy trying to read this what are the kids doing the title girl's hairdo reveals love life okay yep two high school girls hairdos are a great medium for selfish but whoo and flashbacks in middle school and you had to read in front of the whole class and you would just spend the whole time rehearsing the part that you knew you had to read instead of actually paying attention to high school girls hairdos are a great medium for self-expression the teenagers have no traffic with beauty parlors they wash and cut their own and each other's hair thinking up their own styles and original ornaments as they go today's girls heads are fair territory for shoelaces dish towels cellophane bowls colored soda straws lacy paper doilies Christmas tree ornaments bells cowboy kerchiefs and a strip of bright colored felt those kids huh the simple hair ribbon has become a weapon in the battle of the sexes oh and Louisville the color of the ribbon is significant and yellow ribbon is a symbol of a man hater a white ribbon is a signal to the boys to lay off because the wearer is someone else's which in parentheses best girl to ask Nick if I'm his witch at Highland Park High School in Dallas Texas position of the ribbon is revealing so let us see what each placement means them a bow on the top of the head means that an mitchell is out to get herself a man called ha sassy that is out to get herself a man bow worn in the back means that betty Dupree is not interested in men you go Betty debris go worn on the right side indicate that Becky Browne is deeply in love and bow worn at the left is a signal and a challenge it means betty cheney is going steady there's a signal and a challenge I dare you how let us look at some images of ladies sporting bows and see what their bows say about them so let's take this image of these three and Babli women it looks like all three of them are out to get their self a man this girl's like get all loser we're going shopping now I'm not quite sure what this one would be it's in the back of the head and there are three of them if you're looking for an LGBT icon read this one she is out to get herself a man really shouts at you and now that you're well versed in the language of bows you can try a few new classics [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] anyway it's all silliness aside I just wanted to make a video about this topic because I've been seeing it for a while and I wanted to know if it was legit and it turns out that yes it is it is an article specifically about one high school but I think the idea of fashion trends and teenagers and codes is something that everyone can relate to and I think every generation has something like that I'd love to hear any anecdotes you guys have about that kind of stuff and I personally love learning about little tidbits of history like that even if they are considered insignificant and only specific to one part of the world anyways that's it I hope you guys had fun and I hope that you liked learning about this little teenage fad um I love you guys whether you're new or old to this channel and if you're new here and you feel like sticking around feel free to subscribe I upload twice a week and we have fun here and I will see you guys in my next video bye E that twizzler was basically fossilized but a dude anyways twizzler imitate it seems like no matter what decade yeah okay can I get this any bigger no it's so small at Highland Park in height weight Wow so what I see which that are you doing yard work there's literally snow on the ground ow [Music]

Channel: Rachel Maksy

Views: 628,619

Rating: 4.9726486 out of 5

Keywords: 1940s, bow placement, what does your bow say about you, life magazine, 1944, history, 1940s history, vintage, vintage style, vintage fashion, retro

Id: yyhUTxYZZFA

Length: 7min 41sec (461 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 15 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Squrlz4Ever]

"Out to get herself a man!" LOL... Very entertaining content. Also, the host has very expressive eyebrows. Thanks, 'Star.