Wednesday, February 17, 2010

"Top Hit" Scarves by Baar & Beards

I love it when I have one of those serendipitous moments while perusing a vintage magazine.

Last week, I listed this vintage silk scarf. It's by Baar & Beards, a relatively well-known scarf company from the 1940s and 50s. This particular scarf is sheer silk chiffon with a print of bearded iris, and what look like daffodils and cherry blossoms with a border of hearts and clovers.

The label says "a 'Top Hit' fashion". At the time, I wondered what that meant, but I had no clue.

This morning, I was looking through a magazine from 1949, and this ad in the back popped out at me because there was that phrase "Top Hit fashion" again. Turns out, Baar and Beards did a line of scarves inspired by popular "Top Hit" songs. This ad features a scarf design with buttons and bows, which was a smash hit song "Buttons and Bows" sung by Jane Russell in the movie "The Paleface".

Darned if I can figure out what song my scarf is based on, though. If you have an idea, please let me know. I'd love to figure it out!

Here's Jane Russell, Bob Hope, and Roy Rogers singing "Buttons and Bows". Enjoy!