The Spinnerin Wives

There's little I love more than going to a thrift store and uncovering a collection of Spinnerin Yarn books, because I can guarantee--we're in for an amusing ride.

I still don't know whether this company had a streak of whimsy, or was dead-serious about their Yarnwork Couture. Are we laughing with them or at them? Only history, the photographers, and their marketing folks know for sure.

Like two I'm featuring today: "The Talk of the Town" from 1962 and "Best in Vests" from 1969. I mean, you just can't make this stuff up, folks.

For instance, here we have the region's Thieves' Guild, practicing for their annual Pickpocketing Competition and Association Barbeque...
Who can get the wallet out of the completely unrealistically-dangled handbag first? The winner gets a free pillbox hat (knitted, of course) and a Jackie Kennedy collector's plate in milkglass.

After that, there will be the manacled three-legged race and the 100-meter avoid-the-store-detective dash. As the music group The Smiths said, "Shoplifters of the world, unite and take over!"

Now, here, we have proof of what an excess of Aquanet can do...

Marnie and Peggy have been stuck together for the last 24 hours. It's something of a social experiment. Will one fight the other in attempt to survive? Or will they work together for the greater good? So far, things look rosy. They're actually sharing knitwear. Marnie went for the sweater, while Peggy chose the skirt.

Only when resources beyond wool-fiber start to become in short supply will we truly see what these women are made of.

My money's on Marnie. She looks like she knows more than she's telling right now.
Moving on, here we have the initial idea that spurred William Goldman's "The Stepford Wives." Originally, all Spinnerin models were built to specifications like this one, who was just a larger cast of the original 1950s Barbie doll mold...
Actress Joanna Lumley, and Ivana Trump, were also made out of variations of this mold. When this particular version, B19467, was originally produced, she was known for her position in Bamburgers department stores-- though typically wearing something a little bit more racy.

Last, WHAT did the photographer tell this group in order to get this particular pose out of them?...

"You're coy, but not too coy..."

"Nervous and cutesy, which is endearing, but also just slightly constipated...

"You're thumb-biters, the lot of you, and are in therapy for it... No, no, no-- not you, in the middle, you've got scoliosis and your scarf is choking you... Okayyyyy: go!"

Well, that about winds up this particular Spinnerin Yarns post. May the week ahead of you unravel into something fun.