Bust cream, or food?

Both, apparently. This product was featured in an 1897 Sears catalogue (always a good source for all things busty).

From the context, I guess the "food" part means that it "feeds" breast growth, as opposed to being something that you would eat. Check out that plunger, ladies!

These images are from Retronaut. Check out the ad in the original context on Google books.  I also found an interesting cultural analysis of the ad here.

Dress your tween daughter as a "sassy squaw" this Halloween

My sister-in-law, Laura L., shared this picture from a Facebook. I'm used to Halloween being a celebration of awkward and/or offensive stereotypes, but "squaw"? Seriously?

The term was once common for indigenous North American women, entering English as a loan word from the Algonquian languages, but is now usually considered a derogatory (by some, even obscene) term.

This costume is marketed by inCharacter. Here it is in their catalogue:

The company also makes "adult" versions, but omits the "s" word:

The "Sassy Squaw" costume is also for sale at Amazon.com, Sears.com, ebay's Shopping.com and Buy.com (where it was renamed "Sassy Indian Maiden Costume") along with a number of other stereotyped native costumes for girls.

To my First Nations nieces, and all Aboriginal women: I am sorry this shit is still happening.

Sears Catalogue shocks America with covered glimpse of actual female human nipple

Oh, the humanity. Gawker was sure to post this "explicit image" that appeared in the Sears online catalogue with a "NSFW" (Not Safe For Work) tag. (While also linking to a large version of the pic for those of you at home.)

Apparently the catalogue designer grabbed the image from the supplier, Escante, and failed to give the model a creepy Photoshop nipplectomy.

First of all, in the days before pixel-by-pixel alteration of models' bodies, Sears print catalogues were an excellent source of nipples and the occasional pubis viewed through sheer and translucent undies. (I'm assuming 12-year-old me wasn't the only boy to notice this.) And then there's that time a male model apparently hung a rat.

Second, and this is for my readers in the United States, GET OVER IT! You have nipples. Your momma has nipples. If you're lucky, she fed you with them once. They're harmless, and actually kind of nice. Why do they scare you so?

Third, this is the opportunity I've been waiting for to link to this awesome New Yorker blogpost about how one of their editorial cartoons got censored by Facebook over two dots that represented "female nipple bulges".

Sigh.

Sears pulls "butt plugs" out of online catalogue #FdAdFriday

The Sears catalogue was once a famous source of female models in translucent underwear and the occasional accidental penis, but in this pornified age it seems they feel they need to try much harder to get attention.

According to AdFreak (via Gawker), this tee briefly appeared in their online catalogue, before being removed.

Here's a screencap, via Buzzfeed:

Yes, it even comes in Santorum brown...

Sears courts the undead demographic...

...and I don't mean "Jessica™" and "Arnold Palmer®" brand shoppers.

For Halloween, Sears has actually decided to do something interesting. So if you're among the living dead, or just have a little craving for a cerebral snack, check out Sears' new Zombie Department. You'll be glad you did.