The Vintage Inn

I like beer and I have liked beer for a very long time. Maybe it’s being half German that helps but whatever it is, I enjoy the cold drink. My husband does too and we have over the last few years become big fans of the craft beer craze that is happening all over the world. When we travel we enjoy trying the local brews and if possible visiting breweries we have never been too. While in Scotland we went to 2 different breweries-Tennents and Drygate and they were both fantastic!

This coming weekend I’m making my annual pilgrimage to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for German Fest, a full weekend of Liz in a Dirndl, drinking beer. WIN!

Fun Milwaukee Fact! that you may or may not know. Milwaukee has been called the “Beer Capital of the World” with the city being home to some of America’s largest brewers — Pabst, Schlitz, Miller, Blatz (source). So that means….there must be some really good vintage beer advertising out there that I can share with you. And your in luck!

So friends, grab a beer (or drink of choice) and lets see what I kind of fun vintage beer ads I have gathered up.

1930s Vintage Beer Ad featuring a woman in a 1930s hairstyle holding beer steins. — Source: All Poster.com

Vintage Beer Advertising

Up first, the Beer that make Milwaukee famous (well according to the marketing team)-Schlitz (founded in 1858).

I want to be invited to this party as long as I can wear her dress. BUT I might pass on the jello, hot dog, green thing happening at the bottom of the pic though lol. -1950s vintage ad.

1950s vintage ad for Schlitz beer featuring a woman in a 1950s party dress drinking a beer. — Source: Denisebefore (tumblr)

This is a beer I have never heard of till now-Ballantine. Ballantine is an American beer that opened around 1850 in New York State.

Fun Fact: Ballantine had a close association with local sports. They sponsored the New York Yankees in the 1940s and 50s. N.Y. Yankee announcer Mel Allen’s called every Yankee home run a “Ballantine Blast” on his radio and later television coverage (source).

Nothing says drinking buddies, like wearing the exact same jacket and bow tie. -1950s vintage ad.

1950s vintage beer ad for Ballantine beer featuring two men dressed the same drinking beer. — Source: Laorosa

I’m really enjoying this post because I’m learning about so many beers that have been around for hundreds of years. Here is another one..Schaefer Beer. First produced in New York City in 1842.

Dosen’t Carole Landis just look amazing???!! OMG look at her jewelry, her hair, her perfect nails. Love it. I however NEVER look this glamours when drinking beer…ever. -1940s vintage ad.

1940s vintage ad for Schaefer beer featuring Carole Landis with a 1940s hairstyle.

And the winner for the “what does this advertisement mean?” award goes to this fantastically wonderful Rheingold ad from the 1940s, featuring Miss Rheingold of 1948.

Miss Rheingold Girls 1940–1965: At the center of their media campaign was the “Miss Rheingold” pageant. Beer drinkers voted each year on the young lady who would be featured as Miss Rheingold in advertisements. In the 1940s and 1950s in New York, “the selection of Miss Rheingold was as highly anticipated as the race for the White House.” The first Miss Rheingold was Spanish-born Jinx Falkenburg (source).

-1940s vintage ad.

Blatz Beer– Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1851. While looking for beer ads to share, I discovered a series of ads where it looks like they took various people that were “famous” and created an ad around them drinking the beer and talking about the beer. Here are a couple of samples.

Here is Maggi McNellis who was an American radio and television personality and talk show hostess from the 1940s through the 1960s. -1950s vintage ad.

Source: Vintage ad browser

And from 1949 Hank Marino, one of the world’s top bowling champions of the 1930s, with a career lasted half a century. -1940s vintage ad.

1940s Vintage ad for Blatz Beer featuring Hank Marino bowling champion promoting the beer. — Source: Vintage Advertures

Time for some glamour, courtesy of “Dorothy Dandridge in this 1950s Jax beer advertisement.

Jax Beer: Jacksonville, Florida 1913-1956 and is credited for selling the first 6 pack around 1945 (source).

1950s vintage ad for Jax Beer featuring Dorothy Dandridge — Source: Pinterest

I guess I cannot have a beer vintage advertising post and not mention Milwaukee’s “Pabst Blue Ribbon“. Established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1844 and is popular with Hipsters everywhere. I hate this beer and don’t understand why people like it, it is just a terrible beer (sorry it is!) BUT they did have wonderful vintage ads, like this one from the 1940s.

1940s Vintage Ad for Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

And finally I will leave you with another Milwaukee Brewery-Miller High Life, the Champagne of Beers since 1903 (their words not mine lol).

BUT I guess if they are advertising themselves as the “Champagne of Beers” then this really really fancy ad from the 1950s makes perfect sense.

1950s Vintage ad for Miller High Life Beer featuring a woman in a 1950s evening dress serving food and beer for a party. — Source: Pinterest

And there you have it. Is anyone else as thirsty as me now??

Question time: Do you enjoy beer? Have a favorite? Have a favorite vintage ad?

Further Reading:

Liz 🙂

1940s Vintage photo of 4 women in 1940s fashions Celebrating VE Day on Bay Street in Toronto — Source: Wikimedia

While looking thru Flickr the other day for some inspiration I stumbled upon this absolutely wonderful photo of 8 of the most stylish men and women 1940s Toronto has ever seen! Aren’t they just fantastic?? My favorite is…all of them 🙂

1940s vintage photo of a group of men and women in 1940s fashions posing in front of the house in Toronto, Canada. — Source: Flickr-Mary-Doug Wright

The post inspired me to gather up other images of stylish folks in Toronto during the same time period and put them together into one giant fashionable post.

Now lets see who was in “Vogue” shall we? 1940s Toronto storefront window display for Vogue designs (Stunning Women’s two piece suit).

1940s Toronto storefront window for Vogue designs. The window features a women's 1940s two piece suit. — Toronto Store Front Window 1940s. Source: Flickr-Jessica

The below image is of Betty Willis (vocals) and Frank Wright (vibraphone), two early stars of the Toronto jazz scene in the 1940s and ’50s.

I’m not 100% sure what is on her dress, but I do know I like it on her (great hair as well). Great examples of 1940s suits as well, such well dressed men.

1940s photo of Black Jazz musicians of Toronto -Betty Willis (vocals) and Frank Wright (vibraphone), two early stars of the Toronto jazz scene in the 1940s and '50s. Super 1940s Fashion — Source: National Post

Of course you must have a Beauty Pageant or 2 to showcase more great style (see a past post on Miss Toronto). In this case, great swimsuit style.

1940s vintage photo of Miss Toronto pageant winner of 1946 — Miss Toronto 1946

Even if you had to do your part for the war effort, true style still shone thru (even if it was how you did your hair or the colours of your nails). Here is the “Miss War Worker Beauty Pageant of 1942”, showing just that.

Further Reading: Vintage Canadian Beauty Pageants

1940s vintage photo of the 1942 Miss War Worker Pageant held in Toronto during WW2.

We cannot leave out Toronto’s very own Rosie the Riveter-“Veronica Foster the Bren Gun Girl”. You can read all about Veronica HERE. This is her “after work is done look”.

1940s vintage photo of the Canadian Rosie the Riveter-Veronica Foster the Bren Gun Girl in a 1940s hat and 1940s coat. Super 1940s fashion. — Source: Library and Archives Canada

Remember Miss Toronto 1946 in the swimsuit above? Well here she is again, modelling our Transit system very stylish uniforms for women in 1946. Pretty smart, right?

1940s Vintage Photo of the Miss Toronto winner of 1946 in a TTC Uniform — Source: Blog TO

More ladies in the uniforms of the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission).

1940s vintage photo of TorontoTTC women workers in their uniforms. — Source: Blog TO

Off to school? With storefront windows like this one in Toronto in 1942 you were guaranteed to not miss the hottest looks on campus. How do I make the look on the right mine?

1940s vintage photo of a window display for young women's 1940s fashions / college student looks in Toronto, Canada. — Source: archives.gov.on.ca

Have children and think you don’t have time to be stylish? Not a problem for the lovely lady Mrs. Jack Wright and her two sons Ralph Wright and David Wright in 1943 doing her shopping in Toronto in a stunner of a dress (source). Aren’t her kids just adorable??

1940s vintage photo of a Toronto street in 1943 featuring a woman in a 1940s dress walking down the street with her child in tow. — Source: Flickr: BiblioArchives

Think being stylish is only reserved for adults? Pish Posh, look at these 2 well dressed boys doing some reading of some very important books for their generation.

1940s vintage photo of Two young boys, seated with books, in the children's department of a Toronto public library, Toronto, Ontario — Source: Flickr-BiblioArchives

This last image is of a young couple with a lovely lady who was a member of the Canadian Women’s Army Corps in 1944. Can we take a moment to admire the 2 doves on the one woman’s dress? Fantastic!

1940s vintage photo of A member of the Canadian Women’s Army Corps feeds a treat to a cat as a couple seated on nearby loveseat watch — Source: Flickr-BiblioArchives

And there it is, Stylish Toronto of the 1940s. Did you have a favorite photo from this collection? Or maybe you have your own photos of stylish folks from your town or even a favorite image. Do share!

Would you like to own a vintage 1940s fashion item (or a replica of one)? Then take a look at the items for sale in my 1940s Fashion Etsy collection page (updated regularly), found HERE.

Further Reading:

Liz 🙂

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Let’s Have A Beer! Vintage Beer Advertising

Vintage Beer Advertising

The Stylish Toronto of the 1940s