When we think about the sex symbols of the 1920’s, images of long legged flappers with short bobbed hair doing the charleston and foxtrot to the latest jazz bands in shapeless shift dresses and plenty of publicly applied makeup come to mind.A fashionista of sorts who epitomized the spirit of a reckless rebel with a boyish physique and a girlish charm dancing the night away in smoky jazz houses around New York consume the memoirs of the era simply known as the “Roaring 20’s”.
The look and the mood certainly redefined modern womanhood and broke the traditions of earlier years. No longer were rounded figures and older faces, the passé.Instead, grown women who loved to party all night long in youthful glory and tomboyish fashion were all the rage. One didn’t have to look far to see the effects of this contagious fever, on stage and screen. Enter Betty Boop!
Betty Boop is known as the first and one of the most famous sex symbols on the animated screens of the 20’s and 30’s. She was a symbol of the depression era and a reminder of the more carefree days of the Jazz Age flapper. In the world of animation, this fem fetal would go down in history as the first cartoon character to fully represent a sexual woman. But she didn’t start out that way. In the early stages of her career, this lovely lady was designed as a human-like dog. That’s right. For those of you who remember her premiere in the 1930 film “Dizzy Dishes”, she was the yet un-named anthropomorphic character with obvious feminine qualities and charm enveloped in a poodle like body.By the time she starred in the 1932 film“ Any Rags”, her floppy dog ears gave way to hoop earrings, her ambiguous form molded into a petite hourglass figure, and her pudgy black nose became the cute buttoned one that accompanied her high baby voice and black finger waved crop that would later become synonymous with the world famous “ Boop-oop-a-doop” girl.
Betty’s flapper style and innocent sexuality led to what some have called the “Boop-O-Mania “craze over the years. Fans from far and wide fell in love with her combination of schoolgirl flirtatiousness and womanly maturity.Her short dresses, high heels, contoured bodice and signature garter beltdidn’t leave much to the imagination and certainly caught the attention of male viewers who were used to the straight bodied, boyish female fashion of the19 20’s they had grown accustomed to. But while some adored, some also condemned as well. As moralists and public broadcasting systems concerned with sexual content and indecent exposure issues found support from the public, the somewhat risqué Betty Boop began showing far less leg and her décolletage was often hidden by prim buttons.Her lecherous suitors started disappearing from her grasp and soon her limelight was dimmed out by her cute little trouble making dog “Pudgy” and the lovable “Grampy” who helped Betty solve problems with his wacky inventions.As the country saw the rise of yet another world war (WWII), the market for the once popular and in-demand flapper started to fade. Betty Boop’s final film series aired 9 years later with the release of “Yip ,Yip ,Yippy!”
"Though Betty bowed out as a headliner in 1939, her popularity remains as intact as her boop-oop-a-doop. Maybe it lies in her sassy independence or the fact that she is the only female cartoon who’s not a foil for a male. Maybe she just came at the right time, when the feminist movement of her era needed her the most…for the cycles of life will surely repeat again. Whatever the reason, Betty Boop still haunts the dreams and inspires the imagination of artists, craftsmen and designers still today. With no limit to the creative well of our minds, everything from Betty Boop bedding and quilts to character clothing and accessories can be found and created. After what seemed like years of patient waiting and anticipating, J&O has come back with some of the latest and greatest themed prints of this historic screen star& siren, just for you! From the in demand “Betty Boop Biker Chic”, an ode to our fem fetal bikers worldwide, to the ever popular “Lucky Ladies”, a great decorative print for casinos and game rooms across the nation; now all her favorite characters and scenes can be relived over and over again for friends, family or even just yourself.
With so much history wrapped around her little spit-curled hair, Betty Boop has left her mark on world, her “ Boop-oop-a-doop “ on our tongues, and a space in our hearts.
When we think of New Year’s, parties and celebrations come to mind. The next thought is how to decorate your home and bodies for these events. This can be a fun yet challenging process, but it doesn’t have to cause your hair to fall out or your veins to pop. With a little help from J&O, the perfect fabric for the perfect New Years’ gathering or garment can be easily and effortlessly found and put to use. With our vast selection of dress fabrics and novelty prints, you and your shim-dig will come off with a BANG!
If your looking for fabric to decorate your home or office, check our holiday cotton noveltysection. Here you will be able to peruse through our party, mardi gra and 4th of July categories. Each one offers an array of celebratory fabrics that will capture what your imagination is brewing. Select wonderful material to garnish your holiday spread, dress your windows or trim your furnishings. Images of fireworks, party beads and masqueraders compete with party balloons, hearts and stars for your attention. Even our decorative and upholstery sections can offer a taste of festivity with our sheers and retro prints. When it comes to reflective prints and designs for the New Years ’, only the sky’s the limit, so if you can’t decide on one, just order them all!
When adorning your body, check out our fabulous dress fabrics section for the latest in select fashion material and designer prints. Strut your stuff in satin and sequence. Have fun with pima dots and stripes. Get "jiggy with it" in our classic lamesand funky furs. Even play with some of our decorative fabrics like our silks and oriental printsfor a truly creative style and flair. With an array of colors and prints to choose from, the ideas are endless.
Whatever your taste, whatever your style…. let J&O turn your New Years’ celebration into a fashion extravaganza!
So you’ve been on our site and looked at 1, 10 or maybe even 100 prints from our vast array of assorted fabrics. You’ve seen some you liked, some you loved and some you could do without. And more than likely, somewhere in between our novelties and decorative fabrics, you caught yourself picturing what a print from the wells of your creative imagination would look like.
Maybe you have a little girl who is turning five, and for her birthday she tells you that she wants to be an astronaut when she grows up. You go out and buy the glow-in -the-dark stars and a mystical space sounds tape to make her night life more adventurous. You collect globes, spaceships and Star Trek figurines in hopes to nurture her passion (until a new one comes along a six), but what she really wants is an image of a little girl that looks like her, steering that infamous space shuttle into the unknown galaxy of ‘Little Hannah’. So you search for the perfect fabric to make the curtains and bedding that would send your girl to the moon with excitement, only to find your search is in vain.
In disappointment you shut down your computer, put away the phone book and call off the search; wishing that a magic Genie would come along with the exact print image, in the exact favorite colors and the exact weight that you want so desperately. And while the he is at it, maybe he can create a printed fabric bearing all the characteristics and personality traits of a 1942 Pisces as well. I mean, that was the year you were born, and everyone knows Pisces are the best Zodiac sign of them all.
Well, your wish is our command!
If you could wish for 3 unique-one-of-a-kind-nobody-has-a-more-creative-imagination-than-you prints, what would they be? Hot Latina Pin-up Girls, TV shows from the 70’s, Tabby Cats and Hound Dogs playing cards? You can see some patterns like this in our Retro Fabric section.
We’d like to hear from you, so email us back or reply to this post with your crazy and not so crazy print ideas…you never know what wishes the J&O Genie may grant you!
Great news is on the horizon in the novelty fabric industry! J&O Fabrics is happy to announce that soon we'll be getting in NBA team fabrics! Our customers have been inquiring about professional basketball fabrics for years and we will finally be getting them in around June of this year. When all is said and done we will have every NBA team available for you to purchase.
With our NBA novelty fabrics you'll feel as though you are part of the action during the regular season and playoffs. These discount basketball fabrics are ideal for making quilts, garments, draperies, table covers, pet clothing, placemats, purses, backpacks, aprons and many other items that will show off your favorite team.
Today, the National Basketball League consists of 30 teams, each of which is represented on their own cotton novelty fabric. Soon, we will also have in NBA polar fleece, so keep your eyes open for the new arrivals.
These are the team designs that we will be receiving in June:
Here at J&O we're constantly thinking of new ways to help our customers and make their shopping experience on JOFabrics.com simple and as effortless as possible. In case you haven't noticed, J&O Fabrics is currently in the process of adding coordinating fabrics to each type of fabric we carry. Everything from our most popular Cotton Novelties, to our wide selection of Upholsteries, will now be featuring two to six coordinates, in addition to washing tips and J&O's very own fabric dictionary.
Take note that the fabrics we choose as coordinates are not always coordinate sets straight from the manufacturer. Noooo, the coordinates we choose are selected with care irregardless of designer or manufacturer and are rarely apart of a collection. However, in some cases if a certain print is apart of a collection, we make sure to let you know.
Shopping for fabric online is a very different experience than wandering through the cozy aisles of a local fabric store. When at a store, you can see the fabrics' color, feel the weight and place it next to other prints to make a judgment. Relaxing at home on your computer, (or at work), you don't have the experience of seeing the fabric for yourself; feeling its' texture and weight. For this exact reason, J&O is implementing a new idea that we hope will help our customers make decisions about purchasing fabric. Allow us to be your eyes and hands by trusting our selection of coordinating fabrics.
Each fabric coordinate we feature on a given page was selected by walking around our huge store in New Jersey with charts and fabric samples; squinting our eyes, saying hmmm while holding prints up next to each other. . , going through the exact process of a shopper. This is the kind of dedication J&O Fabrics has for its customers.
On the contrary, shoppers typically already have in mind what type of fabrics they need for a particular project. We don't know how someone may be using the fabric they purchase, so on the most basic level, while coordinating fabrics at J&O, we first look for solid fabrics that are exact color matches of a similar weight. We know that upholstery fabric is not always used to upholster furniture, and decorative cloths aren't always used to make curtains. So, with some Home Decor fabrics we may add a dress fabric as a coordinate, to offer range in case you may be making something like a handbag or a hat.
Since we have such a huge selection, we at J&O don't assume that we know our customers' taste. While coordinating, we don't infer that all our customers are daring enough to put apples with oranges, if you know what we mean. Our most important goal is for you to know that there are other fabrics that we carry in the same color range. Many ideas of coordination matter on opinion and level of artistic expression. For example, if a lightweight cotton fabric print is black and white, we'll show you other coordinating fabric prints that are black and white. We won't automatically throw in an upholstery weight hot pink floral that doesn't have a hint of black or white, even though under certain conditions it may coordinate great. You see? Most of our suggested coordinates are on the safe side. To see a few examples of our new Fabric Coordinate feature click on a few of the following links.
Overall, J&O Fabrics' goal is to continue to bring the widest variety of fabrics on the Internet at affordable prices. We really hope that our new Fabric Coordinate feature is helpful. If you have any questions don't hestitate to send us an email at info@jandofabrics.com or call us at856-663-2121.
J&O Fabrics. . .sew many possibilities
If you're in the area, visit our store in Pennsauken, New Jersey, right outside of Philadelphia. The size of a supermarket, we have the largest selection of fabrics in New Jersey! Everything we carry is not on our website, so check us out and browse our fabric aisles.
J&O Fabric Center 9401 Route 130 South Where Rt.73 and 130 meet Pennsauken, New Jersey 08110 info@jandofabrics.com
Have you ever looked around your house and thought to yourself……I’d love to give this place a new look, but I don’t want to spend a fortune replacing furniture or flooring? We have five inexpensive and easy ways you can freshen up any room in your house simply by adding fabric!
1. Pillows: Pick out a bright fresh color, you can go with something wild, like an animal print, or more conservative, possibly a toile fabric. Pillows are a fun way to add spice to your room. Remember you are not committed to a certain look, pillows are an easy change. If one day you want blue put out your blue pillows, the next day put out your yellow ones! For this section we would recommend looking in the novelty fabric section along with the upholstery fabric and decorative fabric sections.
2. Seat covers: This is the best and easiest way to freshen up your dinning room or kitchen. Take the seat off of your dining/kitchen chairs and staple your new fabric around the bottom of the seat…..and like magic, you have new chairs! You can go with an ultra suede, or maybe an upholstery fabric that blends with your décor. 3/4 of a yard will cover 2 seats. 2 1/4 yards will be enough for 6 seats. We recommended any fabric in the Upholstery fabric section or Decorative fabric section.
3. Window swag: This one is so simple. Just pick out a fun or colorful fabric. Go to your local hardware store, even Target will do. Get 2 hooks, one for each side of the window. Once the hooks are up just drape the fabric from hook to hook and now you have just added a little flare to your window. We recommended sheer fabric, but chiffon is also a nice inexpensive cloth that has an elegant look and feel.
4. Window Shades: This is my favorite. Go to your local hardware store and purchase blackout shades (approx $5.00 per window) and they normally cut to size. Pick out a fabric of your choice and then glue the fabric onto the blackout shade. Now you have custom shades that would normally cost hundreds of dollars. Any of our novelty fabric would be fun along with the upholstery and designer fabrics.
5. Wall hanging: Simply pick your favorite fabric and staple it around a wooden frame that you can purchase at any craft store. This is an easy and low cost way to add artwork to your walls. Recommended fabrics: anything goes in this category. If you want to go a little wild, check out the retro fabrics or you can even go with tropical fabric.
Stay tuned for our future blogs for step-by-step instructions on how to create each of the five home décor fabric projects!
The world that the fabrics of Timeless Treasures inhabit is one where anything can happen and your imagination can compel you to fabulous heights of creativity. The designer fabric from Timeless Treasures are wonderful for quilters, crafters and sewing enthusiasts of all stripes. The home decorator can also find something charming amongst our huge selection of truly timeless Timeless Treasures novelty cotton fabrics.
At J&O Fabrics' online fabric store you can find a incredible array of fabrics from Timeless Treasures. We currently have in stock thousands of yards of about 850 different prints from this company. We also receive weekly shipments from Timeless Treasures with their latest fabrics.
Part of the appeal of these novelty fabrics is the designers whose distinctive work can only be found adorning Timeless Treasures prints. Following are some of the works of individual designers.
