In 1964 my father accepted a job as Press Secretary for Senator Carl Hayden of Arizona, so my family left the Arizona desert outside of Phoenix for the foothills of the great Blue Ridge Mountains of Fairfax, Virginia, approximately thirty miles from Washington D.C. and approximately thirty miles from the newly emerging Dulles International Airport [...]

The post Seeing the Sun Rise on Dulles International Airport appeared first on Ultra Swank.

The TV show Mad Men om AMC sets a high standard for designer aficionados and gives endless opportunities to pick up inspiration for designers, illustrators and animators. For the season six premiere, Cape Town-based agency Radio came up with a series of three vintage inspired Mad Men posters that feature Don, Roger and Joan in [...]

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For those of you who are waiting to get away over the summer, here’s some inspiration. This “Look at life” video clip from The Rank Organisation dated May 1964, tells us about air travel in England from Heathrow Airport featuring classic BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) and BEA airplanes. Look at Life was a regular [...]

The post Look at Life – City of the Air appeared first on Ultra Swank.

I’ll never forget that summer day in 1976 when I walked into my boyfriend’s pad and saw the poster of a blond in a red bathing suit pinned up on the wood paneling. “Really?” I asked. “Are you kidding me?” He grinned at me rather sheepishly and replied, “She’s really hot.” “Oh brother.” Rolling my [...]

The post Farrah Fawcett – An Uncommon Angel appeared first on Ultra Swank.

The definitive Populuxe film on 1950s automotive, industrial, interior and architectural design. A tribute to the American designer presented by Chevrolet. The fist half of this film is a collage of 1950′s American design from appliances to architecture, the second half follows the design process of a new Chevrolet automobile from the early sketches to [...]

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I love cars. Let me rephrase that. I love vintage cars manufactured in America from 1955 to 1975. I love the streamlined, the finned, the hard tops, the convertibles, the muscle types, the bold colored, but mostly, I love that fabulous automobile icon, the ’57 Chevy Bel Air. My admiration for this vehicle began many [...]

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A 14-minute documentary about the last “red car” train from downtown Los Angles to Long Beach in 1961. The red cars, along with buses and streetcars were famous sights in California and operated by the Pacific Electric company. The Los Angeles to Long Beach passenger rail line served from July 4, 1903 until April 9, [...]

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My first encounter with Marilyn Monroe was when I was eight or nine years old and the babysitter had allowed my brothers and I to stay up late to watch The Misfits (1961) on our little Black and White TV. I remember clearly a scene of Marilyn sitting in between two men, an ethereal foil [...]

The post Marilyn Monroe – Beautiful Misfit appeared first on Ultra Swank.

Films from the 1950 made a big impact on pop culture as Disney’s Classic Cinderella and the first Father of the Bride starring Elizabeth Taylor were released. These timeless classics make us believe that movies from that generation were indeed golden and had a magical quality to it. Here are the Most Popular Feature films [...]

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In late 2010 this beautiful Parisian apartment saw the first rays on sunshine in over 70 years. Once its window shutters had been opened, a 70-year old, cog-webbed time capsule unveiled a magical place where time literally have stood still. Under a thick layer of dusk lay a treasure trove of turn-of-the-century objects. The owner of the [...]

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It’s Friday and the weekend is around the corner. So what could be better than taking a weekend trip to a vintage flavored past-time London with its vibrant and bustling city scenes? Join Ultra Swank as we take in the sights of 1960s London – grabbing coffee at one of the Moka Bars, checking in at a prestigious Hotel, [...]

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I remember as a child,  the huge propeller driven airliners starting up at the Cleveland Airport. In the dark blue December twilight, clouds of fire and smoke bellowed from those huge radial engines as they cranked over. Machines as living creatures. Angry tethered dragons. With names like Douglas, Constellation, Viscount and  Convair.  These were the [...]

The post Final Call – All Passengers Should be On Board appeared first on Ultra Swank.

A mecca for all things mid-century modern, Palm Springs once again showcases its world-famous modern design, architecture, and culture with the 11-day festival know as Modernism Week. Modernism was a popular design aesthetic originating in the 1950s and ’60s, which typified clean, simple lines with elegant informality. It came to define desert modernism as a [...]

The post Modernism Week – Coast to Coast Cool appeared first on Ultra Swank.

Do you ever think that things were better decades ago? Do you feel nostalgic looking at vintage postcards depicting city life with happy-go-lucky people, a shopping mall with a orange and brown color scheme or the latest and greatest town monument? Here are eight Swedish postcards from the golden era of urban-living that does just [...]

The post Vintage Swedish Postcards – Scenes from the Good Old Days appeared first on Ultra Swank.

In the middle of the twentieth century, fear and paranoia were ingrained into the subconscious of every American. The 1957 launch of the Sputnik satellite had Americans wary of Soviet attack from the skies. And the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 assured the world that Soviet Premier Khrushchev was serious in his threat when he [...]

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Here’s a interesting video capturing the midst of a sunny 1960s Los Angeles. Let’s take a cruise down famous, Sunset Strip with a up-beat rock & roll surf tune blasting out from the radio. Look at the beautiful and colorful signage advertising everything from restaurants, liquor and mortgages and not forgetting the parade of Chryslers, Oldsmobiles, Chevrolets that look [...]

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The newest season of AMC’s period drama Mad Men is back and what better way to celebrate its return than to throw a swank party with all your favorite Mad Men characters. The promotional black and white photo set is right out of a 1960s photo book and everyone looks to be in good spirits, [...]

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In the 1950s many countries were recovering from WWII. Across Britain, towns and cities were being rebuilt and redeveloped, more women were working in office and industries than ever before, and a sense of post-war optimism was beginning to flourish. What did this mean for interior décor? Homes had to be practical, with kitchen and [...]

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From YouTube user ModCinema comes a selection of cheesy American television ads from the 1970s. The selection contains ads for among others Mister Tony’s Submarines, Space Mountain at Disneyland and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. I do not know if I should be nostalgic or laugh. Do anyone of you remember these ads? The Shoe [...]

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Spend anytime on the internet and you will find lots of vintage advertising with ironic witticism tagged on the picture as the blogger marvels at the sexism of vintage advertising. Perhaps it’s Mad Men that has led us to devour anything that seems vaguely retro but for some reason ads from the midcentury continue to [...]

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