The bride wants a theme shower.

I have fun friends and we enjoy any excuse to dress up.  This means theme parties and we really get into it.

A Retro Housewife Bridal Shower might be in the works for a friend of mine.  My advice for the maid of honor would be:

1.  Get this “How to be a Good Wife” bridal shower game on etsy for $8.  Inspired by an actual article from Housekeeping Monthly in 1955, you get a PDF customized with your details. Just buy, download and print yourself.

2.  Print 1950s housewife illustrations and add these hilarious captions from Anne Taintor.  My favorite is, “The secret ingredient is resentment.”  Stick them in white frames and voila – centerpieces.

3.  You need to look the part and NO WHINING ABOUT IT.  This is fun, remember?  Here is are some retro worthy dresses over at ModCloth.  Don’t forget your red lipstick.

4.  Color scheme.  I think you should choose cherry red and turquoise.

5.  You’ll need this “Sweet Dreams” paper banner from Catbird because it’s turquoise and I love it..

6.  Play 50s music and serve pie instead of cake.  To really go over the edge, bake it yourself.

7.  Put a few simple blooms in old coca cola bottles to add to your framed housewife centerpieces.

8.  You’ll be drinking champagne, obviously.  Champagne cocktails became popular in the 50s … bonus!  Or try something else old fashioned, like um, an old fashioned.  Martha Stewart recipe here.

9.  Paper lanterns, streamers, honeycombs – anything you can find in you color scheme will tie this together.  You can get these honeycombs on amazon for $1.29 each.

10.  HAIR.  This is very important and goes along with #3.  Some call the 50s a simpler time but those girls really gave a shit about their hair.  Here is a how to.

And since everyone knows today would have been Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday, why not draw inspiration from the funniest 50s housewife there ever was?  Watch 6 amazing moments of I Love Lucy on the Google homepage.

Now get to it!

Noelle