I was inspired to write Husband Auditions (click here for excerpt) by a 1950’s list of ways to get a husband as printed in McCall Magazine. I had so much fun with it (click here for fun facts), the book is done, and I already made it through my first round of edits.
THEN…
We found out that I’m not going to be able to use the actual list in my novel.
SO…
I have to make up a new list!!!
AND…
I need your help.
Here’s a sample from the original list:
I asked my Facebook reading group for suggestions, and here are some they came up with:
These are so fun, and I need lots more ideas. I’ll take everything from silly to sensible. It just needs to have a 1950’s flair. That means no texting or online dating suggestions.
I also want to divide the ideas into sections: Meeting Him, Attracting Him, and Getting Him to Commit
Bonus points for personal stories.
Bonus BONUS points for naming our fake magazine.
And GO!!!
Angela Ruth Strong survived breast cancer, works as a flight attendant, and uses her own crazy life experiences as inspiration for the stories she writes. Her books have earned TOP PICK in Romantic Times, been nominated for a Christy, won the Cascade Award, and become Amazon bestsellers. She and her husband also got to play extras when her novel Finding Love in Big Sky was adapted for film. To help aspiring authors, Angela started IDAhope Writers where she lives in Idaho.
Have your older brother invite his friends for dinner. Be sparkling!!
Go tot he hardware store for something. Ask the cute guy for help! :D
Go the auto supply store and ask a suitable young man how to shop for spark plugs. That special spark is so important!
Ask the man of your dreams to help start a Single Adult Ministry at your church. (That’s what happened to me!)
Magazine titles:
Young Ladies’ World
A Woman’s World
Mrs. Maybry’s Magazine for Ladies (“Maybry’s”)
Home Beauty Review
Welcome Home
The Hope Chest
Family Features
Halston’s Happy Family
Family Gazette
Homemaker’s Weekly
Women’s Weekly
Girl’s Gazette
Going all out for the extra credit :P
Need a spider removed and call out for help.
Go to a sports game pretend to not understand and find a cute guy to explain the game.
Go with the young people to a church event and say you need a ride home.
This happened to mum sort off. She first saw dad at a Church meeting then on New Years Eve a group of young people went to the lake for a picnic/swimming and fellowship. Someone asked mum who was taking her home and she said Jack is, then turned to him and said Isn’t that right. to which he said yes. (He had wanted to ask mum out for a few months but was scared she would say no).
The Fair Ladies Journal.
Hi Lincoln we have a magazine in Australia called The Australian Women’s Weekly and England also has one. I love The Hope Chest
My mom at her 50th anniversary shared a list of what a married woman in the 50’s was supposed to do. She was to greet her husband when he came home from work in a clean dress with fresh makeup on. The kids should have been fed and ready for bed. I haven’t seen my nephew laugh so hard over the 10 item list. They were all ridiculous.
Sew him a necktie and present him with it. If he lets you tie it around his neck, he’s yours.
Pretend you can’t understand the math homework (apparently in the 50s, women weren’t smart enough to), and ask the shy, smart boy for help.
Bake the boy you like a dozen chocolate chip cookies. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.
Go the auto parts store for new windshield wiper blades and ask him to put them on for you. Or, if it’s a place in your book that has a full service station, tell the attendant you need new wiper blades and ask him about the ones they sell. (I actually did this when we still had a full service station. The cute male attendant told me theirs were too expensive, go to a parts store and buy them, then look for his car next time I was by the station, and if his car was the only one there, stop in and he’d put the new blades on for me. )
I only have one, my mom and dad’s story:
Get a job as a waitress and give extra refills to the cute single guy who comes in regularly.
Love this! You could call the magazine something like Heart Magazine, Sophisticated Woman, or Woman’s World maybe. As to tips for attracting him, here’s a couple ideas.
1) A lady should always wear a delicate, floral perfume and always wear the same one. That way whenever a man smells a certain scent he’ll automatically think of you.
2) Play to his ego, never appear smarter than him, especially not before your married.
3) Cook a nice meal for him. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach after all.
4) Always carry a handkerchief in your purse so that when you see an attractive man you can drop it without noticing and if he’s a gentleman he’ll pick it up for you. That way you’ll know he’s a winner.
I love the idea for this book! Good luck coming up with ideas. You could always watch the movie How to Catch a Millionaire with Lauren Bacall. That movie could be a treasure trove of ideas.
Thanks, Jenny! I just got tickled with the idea and got on a roll. I’m not surprised that some of those titles are like real-world ones. I’m sure I was dusting off some old brain cells of something I heard in the distant, murky past. :)
Go to an auto shop and ask which wipers are better for your vehicle.
If you are friends and want to go pass the friend zone: make him dinner, buy him his favorite flowers, (yes guys like flowers) and watch an action film after dinner with coffee and brownies.
Magazine Name: Today’s Modern Woman
LOL…some of them are hilarious :)
Magazine name: Sisters
Personal story: I met my husband on his birthday – so it was God’s timing!
Find out guys birthday and get introduced that day claiming that it’s meant to be ;)
I was always the shy one so I don’t really have any advice. But I’m loving these funny 50’s suggestions!
Maybe attend the Bible study he does and ask him to explain a scripture that you may not understand fully? That’s the extend of what I can come up with. Building each other up spiritually would be a great start to a relationship, I think ;-)
My penpal come to NZ to work for over a year and then visited Australia for 6 weeks and we got to meet. She loved our women’s magazines (they were less sensationalized then). every week she would buy the New Idea, Woman’s Day and at that stage I think the woman’s weekly had gone monthly. there are so many good titles for magazines.
Work in a shirt factory and write your name and address and slip it into the box.
(Real story mum use to work in a shirt factory and during WW2 they use to make the shirts for the soldiers and many of the ladies put their names and address on the inside of the collar where the soldier would see it but no one else.) This was mainly the ones who worked on the folding floor. I think you could sleep a business card side note into the shirt as folding it.
I got to thinking about it and I ought to add a variant on the “Mrs. Maybry’s” theme, a tribute to my mom:
Miss Marjory’s Magazine for the Modern Woman
I don’t have any suggestions, but I sure enjoyed reading them all.
– Go roller skating with your sisters or lady friends. (My parents & my mom’s sisters all met their spouses at a small country town indoor roller skating rink. The sisters (ladies) went together & the guys arrived with guy buddies. Skating was considered less risqué, more acceptable than dancing in their area).
– Attend the local barn dance with lady friends (others attended those).
– Go to the movies with lady friends and chat up the guys in line.
– Go roller skating with your sisters or lady friends. (My parents & my mom’s sisters all met their spouses at a small country town indoor roller skating rink. The sisters (ladies) went together & the guys arrived with guy buddies. Skating was considered less risqué, more acceptable than dancing in their area).
– Attend the local barn dance with lady friends (others attended those).
– Go to the movies with lady friends and chat up the guys in line.
Mag titles –
Homemakers Corner
Homemakers Spread
Ladies Corner
The Home Fair Magazine. Ways to attract a man 1. Be kind 2. Smile 3. Be polite 4. Be yourself.
I like the word sparkling!
Perfect.
These are all great. And I love your personal story!
Great ideas! And I love the personal story. Some stuff you just can’t make up. :-)
Isn’t that fun? I felt the same way when I read the actual list for the first time.
Awesome. I’ve seen similar ideas, but the necktie idea is new. And super cute!
How sweet. Did you go back?
Linda, if it works, you only need the one idea!
I LOVE roller skating and barn dances. And thanks for the magazine name ideas!
I NEED to watch that movie. It sounds so fun. And these ideas are great. Though I’m glad we don’t carry handkerchiefs anymore.
Sounds practical too!
Brownies and action films. Sounds like the perfect combination! I think that might be a real magazine title. It sounds real anyway.
That’s a fun one. And I’m glad it worked for you. Sisters is cute.
I like that. Good way to get a spiritual leader.
It’s a hoot, isn’t it???
Smart and simple!
Yes, I did!!
After going to the salon for a full hair and makeup makeover, go to the hardware store and ask for help.
That’s just good timing. ;-)
My friend met her husband by letting him use the jumper cables she kept in her trunk. (I was single at the time and asked for jumper cables that year for Christmas and kept them in my trunk in case I could meet a man that way! :) )
So cute. That’s perfect!