50 Recipes from a 1950s Housewife- A Cultivated Nest (2024)

FAQs

How to be the perfect wife in 1950s? ›

Not only did the women of the 1950s have to make exciting meals, ensure their children are well behaved without disciplining them excessively, keep their home smelling lemon fresh and always look appealing for their husbands, they had to make it all look easy.

The publication also outlines daily tasks that one should complete each and every day, which include: Kitchen: Put away food, clean coffee grounds, wash dishes & sink, sweep, empty wastebasket. Bedrooms: Hang up night clothes, make beds, straighten & dust, dust/vacuum blinds.

1950s Dinners

There was no such thing as the keto diet in the 1950s—meat and potatoes reigned supreme. You'd find hearty main dishes like Salisbury steak, beef stroganoff and meat loaf on a '50s dinner menu, plus scrumptious sides. Casseroles were also popular, particularly those featuring seafood or ham.

The 1950s dress that has become the iconic 1950s housewife dress is the button-down shirtwaist style dress. These simple dresses would have a modest high neckline, fitted bodice, defined waist, and circle skirt. It came in fun and colorful prints like polka dots, stripes, plaids, ginghams, and gorgeous florals.

A typical day for married men in 1950 was for their wives to wait on them and make their lives easy for them. If men held full-time jobs, they were considered amazing husbands. If they even “babysat” their own child, they were revered. Housewives' jobs were to wait on their husbands and children, hand and foot.

The image of American women in the 1950s was heavily shaped by popular culture: the ideal suburban housewife who cared for the home and children appeared frequently in women's magazines, in the movies and on television.

Once a week is a common baseline, experts say. That statistic depends slightly on age: 40- and 50-year-olds tend to fall around that baseline, while 20- to 30-year olds tend to average around twice a week.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Marital Status Historical Time Series Table MS-2: Estimated Median Age at First Marriage, by Sex: 1890 to the Present, 2003. The median age at first marriage in 1950 was 23 for males and 20 for females.

However, being a housewife often left women unsatisfied and lonely, sometimes even being diagnosed with 'housewife syndrome'. Housewife syndrome became a diagnosis in both the UK and US, as doctors found that housewives were complaining about symptoms of fatigue and unhappiness and they wanted to categorize them.

Why were women's waists so small in the 50s? ›

Sure, there are other factors than can influence one's weight but for the purposes of this discussion, the average American woman in the 1950s was slimmer because she ate less and burned more calories in her daily activities.

Women were naturally more active as 'helpful' modern technology hadn't kicked in quite yet and ongoing rationing meant people were eating plainer food and smaller portions. Fewer refined carbs and lower-sugar fruits meant women consumed on average 400 calories fewer a day than we do now.

Wake up at 6:00 am and start preparing breakfast for the family. As a vintage housewife, waking up early is crucial for having enough time to get dressed, fix your hair and makeup, and still have time to prepare breakfast and get the children ready for school.

Breakfast was viewed as the meal to set you up for the day so was, at the very least, porridge, followed by bacon, eggs and fried bread, then toast and home-made marmalade, and lots of milky tea. As children it was also when we had our vitamin tablets - Haliborange and Adexolin capsules.

However, packaged snacks were not about to concede to the fast food trend. Peanut M&Ms, Atomic Fireballs, Certs Mints, Hot Tamales, PEZ candy, Pixy Stix, Smarties Candy Necklaces and Marshmallow Peeps were all candies developed during this decade.

Peeps. This candy just screams the 1950s! Peeps candy is composed of luscious-tasting marshmallow candy depicting some very sweet-looking chicks. Peeps' sweet squishiness came to warm our hearts in 1953.

The average woman in the 50s had a 27.5-inch waist and her bra size was 34B; in 2017, women's waists are 34 inches and they wear a 36DD bra. Other differences: Women in 2017 are almost 20 pounds heavier (154 vs. 136 pounds) and wear larger-size clothing (size 14 today vs. size 10 in 1957).

1950's and 1960's

DuPont created the very first lycra leggings in 1959, and others soon followed suit. These modern versions were tighter, and moved away from a unisex garment into more feminine territory. They were worn both in high fashion and sportswear.

1950s color Colors There were three major color trends in the 50s; pastel, modern and Scandinavian. Pastel colors that were particularly popular were pink, turquoise, mint green, pale yellow and blue. Modern colors were clean and bright and included vibrant yellow, electric blue, orange, red, black and white.

The U.S. marriage rate was at an all-time high and couples were tying the knot, on average, younger than ever before. Getting married right out of high school or while in college was considered the norm. A common stereotype was that women went to college to get a "Mrs." (pronounced M.R.S.) degree, meaning a husband.

What makes a woman a perfect wife? ›

She can empathize with her partner, discuss issues calmly and rationally, and work towards a resolution rather than escalating conflicts. In essence, an emotionally intelligent woman is more likely to foster a healthy, harmonious relationship. And that's what makes her wife material.

The 1950s were marked by rising prosperity, as the U.S. economy grew rapidly and unemployment remained low. They are also remembered for strict gender roles: men as breadwinners and women as family caretakers.

Get yourself plenty of scarves, tie in the hair, around the neck or into a ponytail – dont be scared of using bold colours. Wide belts:- small waist was the must have accessory to create the desired look whether with a full skirt, a pencil or capri pants. Wearing a belt emphasised the slim waist that fashion demanded.