GAYella

It's interesting how language is fluid and alive and how culture changes the meaning of words over time, in some cases its downright hilarious. In many of the crafting magazines I found from the late 50's early 60's, advertisements repeatedly call fabrics or patterns gay. E.g. "the gayest crochet sweater set!" or "gay cross stitch for the playroom". This language trend comes to an abrupt halt in the mid sixties -go figure. The advertisementon the left, taken from My Home, 1958, is perhaps the best example and had me laughing with the level of maturity found in 13 year old boys. 'Whee! Gay as can be!'