Sunday, May 11, 2008

Retro, kitsch, and cute: what's not to love?


The 1950s contributed so much to our culture, from the Big Bopper to poodle skirts. Much of it was something your mother might have called "tacky," "tasteless," or "junk."

The rest of us know better. The photos above (a picture of a Treasury, or curated selection of items, I put together on Etsy) show a few of my favorite figural planters from that era. Lambs were popular, as were swans and other animals (often hauling a wagon or something, where the plant went). Many seemed to have been designed as baby presents (which makes sense, during the height of the Baby Boom). Yesterday at a garage sale, I found a planter in the shape of a gigantic blue bow, a perfect gift for little Jimmie or Bobbie.

If you want to see more examples, visit the Vintage Figural Planters collection on Flickr (my own little pink boy is a recent addition). Cute, kitsch, and retro. Dig it.

5 comments:

Marie Louise said...

My grandmother had a whole collection of these. She absolutely loved them and kept them on shelves in her kitchen. Seeing these brought back many memories for me.

Sarah McBride said...

LOVE that treasury. Very nostalgic and reminds me of my grandmother. Reminds me of when i was a kid and would go to her house.

Anonymous said...

Kitsch is one of my faves - unique style!
mary
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Megan McGory Gleason said...

My grandmother loves the swan planters. I can't even count how many she has, but now she's "destashing" and giving them --with plants!-- as housewarming presents to family & friends.

Celia Pleete said...

I have a couple of those crazy planters...and an ashtray or two. One's a bunny, one's a weird monkey, and the ashtray is a group of cats walking around a swimming pool. Thanks for posting!