Today’s “Throwback Thursday” Sexist Vintage Ads edition is brought to you by…Mr. Leggs. Slacks and trousers that will put your woman in her place. I actually did quite a bit of research as I want to make sure I always bring you, my dear readers, quality material: not something someone whipped together in photoshop. In this case, the key word “Mr. Leggs” turned up a treasure trove.
Before the ads…if you find these amusing, feel free to check out the ‘Vintage Ads‘ and ‘Insane Vintage Recipes‘ pages.
I first found “Mr. Leggs” with the image of a man standing on his trophy tiger lady.
The text of the ad is as bad as the picture: “Though she was a tiger lady, our hero didn’t have to fire a shot to floor her. After one look at his Mr. Leggs slacks, she was ready to have him walk all over her. That noble styling sure soothes the savage heart! If you’d like your own doll-to-doll carpeting, hunt up a pair of these he-man Mr. Leggs slacks. Such as our new automatic wash wear blend of 65% “Dacron®” and 35% rayon–incomparably wrinkle-resistant. About $12.95 at plush-carpeted stores.”
This is by far the most frequent image found on the internet. There are only two copies I’ve been able to find: one with the corner torn off, the other whole.
The one with the corner torn off is featured in a Mad Men premiere article (by NY Daily News) showcasing some of the sexist vintage ads that appear in the series. That being said, as far as I can tell, the original image came from ‘Make the Logo Bigger,’ an old blog.
There is a full image (no corner torn off), which proved to me the ad actually existed and wasn’t whipped up in Photoshop recently. The full image is from Colin Gould on Flickr.
As always, image credit belongs to them. Please visit them and credit them.
This second ad is also pretty good. He BURIES her just because she can’t keep her hands off him. Oh, how horrible.
Ad text reads: A display of affection is great…but enough is enough. She couldn’t keep her hands off him. Always the little hugs, the pats on the cheek. Sly pinches. It could drive a man to the license bureau. It all began when he wore his first pair of Mr. Leggs Slacks, tailored by Thomson. But he kept his head; now everything’s under control. Why don’t you try a pair of Mr. Leggs…and get ready to dig. Pure wool worsted flannel, $14.95 at better stores.
Though I found this image in multiple places, it all led back to Found in Mom’s Basement, as you can tell from the watermark on the bottom.
The text is fabulous! It is not only sexist, we have colonialism superiority (at least according to the SJW of today). It is definitely not p.c. “It can get you in a stew. A fellow wearing Thomson-tailored Mr. Leggs slacks must proceed with caution. The natives get restless if he attracts too many female head-hunters with his irresistible appeal. Set off jungle drums, but discreetly, in a pair of Mr. Leggs…like those in world famous Raeford’s tropic weight blend of 55%….”
I found this ad for sale on Bonanza. Here is the listing, at least at the time of me publishing this post. I doubt if they mind me using the picture since I’m linking to their sale.
This one is actually from Playboy. I had a laugh when I saw that. It is for sale on E-bay (at time of me posting).
Sexist-wise, this one isn’t too bad. Yes, skinny blond sequined and kneeling, but at least the ad didn’t right out say…I’ll stop there.
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