On Monday this blog featured Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek, a memoir penned by Maya Van Wagenen about her year following the beauty and lifestyle advice written about in Betty Cornell's Teen-Age Popularity Guide. This book changed Maya's life, helping her to become healthier, more confident, and, yes, popular.
The Miss Cornell's Guide, originally published in the early 1950s, has been re-issued in 2014 with a special forward by Maya. Betty Cornell's Teen-Age Popularity Guide has chapters on everything from beauty (hair, skin, figure, makeup), wardrobe, health (diet and exercise), attitude and personality, dating, and getting a first job (and how to keep it). Some of the advice is pretty dated. Like, would you really wear a girdle? Do you even know what a girdle is? And, lets face it: The only girl who really brushes her hair 100 strokes every night is Marcia Brady. But other tips, like taking care of your health and mastering the art of writing thank you notes (not texts), is timeless. It's easy to see how this book could've helped a girl like Maya. Or any girl, for that matter--whether she was a teen in 1951 or a teen today.
Did you enjoy Maya's book and now want to see what all the fuss over Betty Cornell's guide is about? Now's your chance to see for yourself...and see if any of Betty's advice works for you too! --AJB
No comments:
Post a Comment