(1957 Dodge Custom).
The Fifties were an exuberant time. Space-age atomic styling was the rage- we have talked about “Googie” architecture before- all teardrops and bold elliptical shapes in drive in restaurants and other projects that connected America on wheels to a glittering future.
America was thriving in its post-war recovery, so unlike the sclerotic times we live in now. The nation’s outlook was positive as well, despite the Cold War bluster and the dread of the looming nuclear threat. We may have had pastel dreams, but we also had “duck and cover” as required items in the grade-school curriculum and Nike missile bases in the ‘burbs, themselves creations of the Age of the Car.
(Can you get more Googie than the Stardust’s neon in Vegas?)
Dynamic designs were influenced by science, space exploration and new and improved technologies. Room and furniture designs were innovative for their time—yet endured throughout the following decades because of their modernity and classic appeal.
There were three major color trends in the 50s; pastel, modern and Scandinavian. Pastel colors that were particularly popular were pink, turquoise, mint green, pale yellow and blue. Modern colors were clean and bright and included vibrant yellow, electric blue, orange, red, black and white. And of course, Pink.
Like your Grandmother’s bathroom. Actually, Raven and Big Mama’s house in the little Village by the Bay had a guest bath with the ubiquitous flamingo-colored tile. It was a 1950s thing.
When the pictures of the Rambler Station Wagon got our, I got questions about whether my brother and I were intending on establishing a Mary Kay franchise. I demurred, of course, and was not surprised when Spike discovered what the real color of the Custom Wagon was: “Cotillion Mauve.”
And I live in Big Pink. Coincidence? I think not. Apparently there was also a “Hibiscus Rose” color in the Rambler palate that year, but it was much darker:
I think it is a little garish, myself, not the understated and elegant Cotillion Mauve of our ride:
Spike wrote me back with the lyrics to a Nat King Cole song that was popular around the time that our Custom Cross-Country Wagon was rolling off the line at Kenosha, Wisconsin:
Ramblin’ Rose, Ramblin’ Rose
Why you ramble no one knows
Wild and windblown, that’s how you’ve grown
Who can cling to a Ramblin’ Rose?
So, I think the wagon has gained a name. All we have to do is figure out when to drive the Rose to park it in a safe, climate controlled environment: Kokoma, Indiana and the Auto heritage Museum. We are going to be very large on this trip. I need to shop for vintage luggage to put on the rack for shows…and some other accessories. But there is time for that.
One accessory I really liked while starting to look for thing is this:
(I am not nuts about the black contrast, but the trailer is to die for!)
Ramble on, ramble on
When your ramblin’ days are gone
Who will love you with a love true?
When your ramblin’ days are gone?
Copyright 2015 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
Twitter: @jayare303