A few weeks ago I bought a November 1937 issue of Harper's Bazaar at a yard sale. It was a warm afternoon, and I brought the magazine home, poured myself a glass of iced tamarind mint tea, and sat on the couch with the fan whirring quietly in the background. Then I settled for a few hours into a different world.
In those days, Harper's was a magazine of aspirations. The first few pages are ads for Bergdorf Goodman and feature a pouty Danielle Darrieux modeling a lamé gown, an ermine cape, and metallic Delman evening slippers. The lines of the dresses in the ads to follow show the late 1930s strong shoulder and shoes with high vamps. Almost five ads feature the new Talon “slide fastener” (known to us now with its catchier name, “zipper”) touting how smoothly it closes a garment…