vintage illustration Gil Evgren 1958

Americans have long had an ideal body type when it comes to women, but the shape itself has gone back to the drawing board every few years altering dramatically.

Go Figure

Don’t You Want a Body You Won’t be Ashamed of?

That question asked in a 1950s ad is one every woman can understand, but that headline was for an ad to gain weight, not lose it.

Trying on bathing suits was as mortifying 60 years ago as it is today- but for some unlucky slim-hipped girls it was for a very different reason.

What was a gal to do if she just didn’t have the luscious eye catching curves required to fill out a mid-century swimsuit.

Tooth Pick Tessie

Take poor Tessie. If she heard the words “skinny Minnie” or “toothpick Tessie” one more time, she’d pull her Toni Home Permanent hair out.

Her days were devoted to taking dictation and pounding the keys to her  Royal typewriter, so you’d think she’d have developed a good case of “office hips’ or a decent “secretarial spread” in all this time, but it was no use.

Even those extra malted milk shakes she downed at the lunch counter did nothing to help..

Tessie dreaded going to parties and socials simply because she was scrawny.

Now with swimsuit season in full swing, she despaired of missing out yet again of all the beach fun. The closest she’d get to a pool was the office secretarial pool.

Home Alone

One lonely Saturday night while flipping through an issue of Modern Romance Magazine she spied an ad that seemed to speak directly to her.

The headline asked the burning  question that haunted all women:  “Don’t you want a body you won’t be ashamed of?”

“How long have you suffered and been called skinny scrawny or bag of bones. How long  have you sat on the sidelines while Love romance and excitement passed you by?”

“Would you like to look into your mirror and see a healthy well rounded body with curves where they belong.”

Curves Cured

Lucky for Tessie help was right around the corner.

With NUWATE  tablets, alluring seductive curves could be hers with “this new and ez way. ”

This wonder preparation that contains medically proven vitamins that will add pounds of firm flesh to your bones. All this could be yours  with NUWATE.”

“Use NUWATE to add charm and flesh and you will soon have people turn to look at you with new admiration.”

Turning the page Tessie found  yet another ad that jumped off the page.

“Are you afraid to be seen socially and ashamed of your figure?”

“With the help of new miraculous MORE-WATE tablets, no more skinny scare crow for you!.

MORE –WATE was an amazing new development developed by modern medical science to put weight on.

What were the magic ingredients in this miracle pleasant tasting tablet?

It seems the secret ingredient was Vitamin B 12 “the amazing red vitamin doctors give many underweight patients in hospitals…it contains Iron and appetite building vitamin B1…and it contains easily assimilated malt, the amazing ingredient that helps your body turn much of the food you eat into well rounded flesh, instead of being wasted.”

“Any Girl Can Be Beautiful and New” Jantzen ad Illustrator Pete Hawley 1954

A Body to Be Proud of

Yes, you could achieve a rounded bust and luscious curves with this one little tablet

It didn’t take long for Tessie to be  one of the crowd again. With her her new form and alluring seductive curves she was mighty be proud to mingle with friends.

Before long her amazed co workers will be wondering: Say was that Marilyn Monroe swimming in the secretarial pool, or could that be  NUWATE  Tessie?

Copyright (©) 20012 Sally Edelstein All Rights Reserved