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UPDATE SEPT. 2017:
Now this is cool!
Just today I got a new AmperArt subscriber whose business is called Ampersand Heating & Cooling in Bridgewater, Virginia. How Bart named his business name “Ampersand” is quite interesting. Seems like a fun & friendly guy, too. If he wasn’t on the other end of the continent I’d hire him to keep my place cool & comfortable.
“Cool & Comfortable” was a popular advertising slogan before mid-century, as far back as the 1920s, & then again after mid-century, right up through the Disco Era.
Early on, it was used to draw crowds to air-conditioned movie palaces & businesses — “It’s cool inside!” — which were often colder than the local storage plant.
A few decades later the fashion world (if you can call polyester jump suits fashion) claimed its revolutionary new man-made fabrics were Cool & Comfortable. & sexy.
Enjoy some old ads for “modern air control” and “mod fashion”…
This 1953 The Saturday Evening Post photo features both synthetic air & synthetic fabrics. The caption says “Baby, it’s cool inside! A singed sun bather is invited to beat the heat inside an air-cooled Las Vegas, Nev., hotel. Next: air-conditioned streets.” Looks more like he’s saying “You want heat, you got heat. Don’t open that door & let the cold air out!”
You might enjoy these entire pages from that edition which contain wonderful old ads & some interesting facts about the evolution of a/c on The Saturday Evening Post’s website.
Decades later, this ad promises instant love & romance just by slipping on this one-piece wonder:
More great fashion of the era, posted by Steve Hauben of the Data + Design Project:: Cool & Comfortable (& Sexy) Polyester
Choose one: Does my latest background image remind you of a sexy fashion textile or a sexy air conditioner filter? Either way, stay Cool & Comfortable this summer.
PRODUCTION NOTES:
Original dimensions: 20″ x 30″
Programs: Illustrator, Photoshop
Fonts: Teen (a font which is very similar to a loose, contemporary hand-lettering style of the era), Amienne (ampersand)
Ampersand: Amienne (tilted)
Background: pattern from SquidFingers.com (lots of free patterns); posted by 1stwebdesigner.com (22 free seamless pattern sources)
CREDITS:
Air conditioning photo: Gene Lester, The Saturday Evening Post, June 6, 1953.
Clothing ad: Visual News; posted by Steve Hauben
It’s been Cool & Comfortable in Southern California the past couple weeks (I like the heat, so anything below 100 degrees Fahrenheit is fine by me), but two weeks ago it was so hot I blew three circuit breakers till I found the outlet that could handle the air conditioner in my studio. Even when I’m not around I want my cats to be Cool & Comfortable.
I hope you are enjoying your summer. Thanks for subscribing to AmperArt. Please invite your ampersand-fan friends & colleagues to subscribe – tell them it’s fabulous & free.
Hey Chaz,
This is really cool! Love it. And I would say the design is more groovy air con filter than the textile (polyester! yuck!) So funny that era was! I have to say I am completely repulsed by the “one piece” dude, though! :)
Thanks for such a fun poster and commentary!
Lisa