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July 1941. "Detroit, Michigan. Women drying their hair in the beauty shop at the Crowley-Milner department store." Under the Helene Curtis Express. Large-format negative by Arthur Siegel, Office of War Information. View full size.
Every department store had a salon when I was a kid in the 50s. The thing that was really scorched into my memory was the terrible (in my view) smell of those facilities. I can only assume it was the various fluids that were used for perming and coloring the hair. Don't know how anyone could work all day in those places!
Every Crowley-Milner department store picture so far has had Life magazine in it somewhere - from the desk of the Ad man to the Mattress department, and now here, Life is the ONLY magazine on the table and the one being prominently held up for the camera. Seems the Office of War Information had a vested interest in Life.
[More likely that Crowley-Milner had a tie-in with LIFE. - tterrace]
That reminds me of going with my mom to the beauty shop when I was a pre-schooler. I was awestruck by the ladies with their heads in the dryers as they chattered away amid the din of whirring dryers. I'm also reminded of the strong smell of hair spray, Dippity-Do, and whatever else hung in the air.
If you look closely, the label on the hair dryer reads
"Helene Curtis Empress"
I don't know where my parents got it. But we had one of these in the basement when I was growing up in the early '60s. Used it as a space helmet/ship during playtime when Mom wasn't drying her hair.
I think I recognize those two women on the left. They're from France.
That's George Patton on the cover!
Hard to believe this was Ringo's ambition had the Beatles' bubble burst.
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