A Historical Get Ready With Me - 1950s Poland [PL/ENG] 

OMG, hearing Polish, reading English and being Russian native speaker is quite a mix.

I never realized how beautiful polish was. Love my meme mom

I'm so happy watching this! I've been trying to explain and show people that the 50's as a decade of renewal, teenage culture and rock'n'roll is a missing concept in Eastern Europe. It was a decade of scarcity, fear, and oppression, tinted with the faint echoes of whatever was happening west of the iron curtain. (I'm a Hungarian having moved to London two years ago.) In Hungary's case, the 50's culminated in a revolution, Budapest overrun by Soviet tanks and people dying. It's not only fashion, and not only the 50's but damn, I was born in 94 and my mom took me in a pram to watch the Soviet/Russian soldiers leave the military base near where we lived. That puts it in perspective. Many thanks for your efforts!

*How to explain life in socialistic countries without making them appear unattractive and bad and not worth interest.* Thank you. I am VERY grateful because you are doing a great job at this and it makes me love our "eastern bloc" more.

Karolino, chciałabym żeby media bardziej promowały osoby tak piękne, utalentowane, inteligentne, z pasją i merytorycznie przygotowane. Z ogromną przyjemnością obserwuję Twoje filmiki, gratuluję Ci wydania książki i życzę dalszych sukcesów!

That cat smack had me laughing, just *the face of extreme rejection*

nasza meme mama w końcu przemówiła językiem ojczystym!

When you understand half of words (because slav) but half of the time try to watch the subtitles))) But you know what? We need more Poland in our life))) Mom, You are the best!

I misread “deep into stalinism” as “deep into satanism” for a brief second and my brain said “what? No. Surely not!”

My family is doing a surprise party for my grandmas birthday. We are all dressing up in polish fashion of the time, so all of your videos help a great deal!

My grandma told me a lot of stories, though more from 1960-67 period. For sure there was NO makeup (countryside near Lublin), and when women wanted some hint of colour, they were damping pieces of coloured carton, which some products were packed in, and then they released the dye (red or orange) which was then used as blush/lipstick 😃 I loved the video in Polish! Refreshing and very real, as you talked about Polish women 🇵🇱 greetings from Upper Silesia!

“Why would you need fashion when driving a tractor?” 😂 dead 😂

The preference for separates over dresses might have also had to do with the fact that women could make it look like they had more outfits than they really did. Women could get multiple outfits out of a skirt just by swapping out the blouse.

this is everything i have ever wanted, it's amazing to see the Polish culture and history represented in this way. Also, my eyes are now opened and today's "style" of Polish grandmas suddenly totally makes sense!!! My grandma used to only use lipstick (for both lips and blush) for her whole life, the very permed hairstyles, the skirt and blouse sets... stereotypical Polish grandmas still wear all of that, and I feel they are kind of unique when compared to for example American grandmas.

i think a lot of people from Eastern European countries can relate. even if we were born way after that era, we were told stories from our parents and grandparents. I'm from Romania, born in '91. the communist regime ended in 89. my mom told me she was 18 when she received her first pair of jeans. i had jeans when i was 5. it's a huge difference and it seems so distant, but my parents were born in a communist era and i think it's amazing that they'll spend most of their lives in democracy (which is not perfect but still a whole lot better). my great grandma got permission to go once a year to Hungary to visit her sister, where the regime wasn't that strict and they had more access to foreign goods, and she brought all sorts of things for my grandparents and mom like clothes, exotic fruit, sweets, tampons and pads (!) that weren't accessible in Romania. whenever i see a reminder of the past i feel very lucky to have been born in (relative) freedom. yeah life is hard and things suck sometimes but damn I'm lucky.

Totaly relatable content for a lady also from the Eastern Block. During the soviet times in Lithuania fashion magazines from Poland were a very prized possession. My grandma said that the most common was called “Uroda” which means a beautiful woman.

Polish language is truly beautiful!! It's interesting for me as a Russian to pick up words that sound kinda similar :D Thank you for making this, it's really nice to see a piece of history that resembles your own and not Western

Wow, my grandparents grew up in WWII East Germany, and I feel like my great-grandmother on my Omi's side went through this. They did live on the border of Poland for a while for her to work for a farmer while my great-grandfather did electrical work for the Germans. They luckily were hosted by a friend to immigrate to the US in 1952 when my Omi was 16. They all had fur coats with, I love their New York arrival pictures.

I'M SO HAPPY WITH POLISH CONTENT

Oooooch prosimy o filmy tego typu o modzie w latach 60,70,80 w PL 😍

I've just started watching your videos...and I have no idea why RU-vid recommended them to me. After all, I'm a 73 year old American, and I have zero interest in fashion. But the first video "hooked" me, and now I've watched several. You're obviously smart and witty, and you have a very engaging way of discussing fashion. You actually seem to be some sort of fashion wizard. Wizardess? And of course you look very nice in your costumes, so that's a plus, too. Please keep the clever banter coming, because...oddly enough...I am really enjoying it!

Love seeing a video in Polish! You should definitely do more of them like this 😍

Well, I just have to learn Polish now.

"I'm going to bake a brain. Seriously. Life's full of surprises" YOU'RE SO FUNNY I CAN'T WITH YOU.

Wow all the stuff you said about how "a red lipstick" is considered western and all of that is just so familiar to me since we still haven't passed those beliefs of our government in Iran, like I can't even show my hair so like even Poland then was Idk better that now in Iran but still loved the video, it's so interesting to learn more about Poland and you bring fashion into it which I JUST ADORE, THANK YOU

Meme mom speaking in Polish is the quality content I'm here for

I'm an anthropology undergrad and history nut with a stupid obsession with fashion and your channel has been my favorite combo of the 2 for years now. Love this video, the in depth analysis on Stalinism and it's effects on fashion are so interesting. Thanks mom 💕

Comments: "I'm Russian and I can understand something!" Belarusian: hold my beer 😅

i love it, so educational and fun to watch at the same time! i’ve snorted when your cat slapped you 😂 also every other word i hear sounds almost the same in ukrainian and it’s so funny how i can understand half of it even without subtitles 😂 but it’s really nice to hear you speak both polish and english, keep it up🌚

I as a native Russian speaker was able to recognize some words, and it's such an interesting feeling а тЫ нЕ УмЕеШь ШиТь Не умЕЕшь

Hi from the Czech Republic! I live near Polish borders and it's so lovely hearing you speak your native language

finally an informative channel about fashion, plus it is really entertaining??? I felt in love with Poland last year, the country, the and language and especially the people OOOoF would like to thrift in Kraków again

20stolecie miedzywojenne w Polsce... pleaseeee 😘😘😘

Awww yes meme mom! More Polish content please, the language is so beautiful! Much love from Belgium 😊

The hair thing is similar with here in indonesia. Perm was big back then, but the curls isn't as complex as it was in american or french. If you watches 1950's indonesian movies some of the stars wear their hair permed and go. Also long hair was already a thing in 1950's indonesia.

"fileemoonnn :( "

Lol my brain split in two reading subtitles and listening to Polish, I forget how many words are similar to Italian! I feel post war Italian fashion was a lot similar, you probably had wealthier people in big cities being trendsetters and whatnot, but both my grandmothers lived in small towns and both had jobs, they just wore lipstick, blouses and a-line/ pleated skirts they either made themselves or had someone make for them. They also knitted most of the garments in the family, from socks to jumpers, along with my great grandmothers, which had most of the housework while my grandparents were at work.

Meme mom strikes again- sooo informative yet also entertaining! My mother was born in Poland in 1955 and spent her first 20 or so years living in Lubliniec (Silesia), before she and her older sister fled to West Germany. This video really helped me get more of a sense of the world they were born into- it's also making me regret that I never learned Polish... Greetings from Germany!

i'm russian and by the sound of your speech i felt like i should understand it but i couldn't much and this situation gave my brain a hard time figuring out what's going on

Moja mama szyje cudownie i mnie również nauczyła jak byłam nastolatką. Nadal używam jej nieśmiertelny Łucznik. Teraz szycie sukni na czyjś ślub czy Christmas party jest super umiejętnością i zawsze robi wrażenie (zwłaszcza gdy ma się 179cm wzrostu i bardzo krągłe kształty i kupienie czegoś gotowego, co NIE wygląda jak ciotka klotka, graniczy z cudem). Pozdrowienia z Londynu x Ps. Moja mama jest inżynierem, nie krawcową ;-)

I'm early and I FREAKING LOVE THIS!!!! I love hearing you speak polish it's so beautiful!!!

Don't speak a lick of Polish but I LOVED hearing it!! 😊 and about the time period from a European perspective!

Nasza Polska babcia miała ciocie w US w Santa Monica CA. Dostawała paczki, najlepsze zjawisko było zapoznanie się z... kokosem. Najcenniejsza opowieść i doświadczenie babci z czasów jej dzieciństwa, jak otrzymywała takie paczki od ciotki z Ameryki 🤣 jednak mówiła, że te paczki były otwierane i czasem nie docierały takie rzeczy jak zwłaszcza: biżuteria, pieniądze, zestawy porcelanowe czy niektóre ubrania. Babcia mówiła, że ciocia miała w liście napisane co jest w środku, a że paczka już (było widać) była przedtem otwierana, to zawsze było tak, że nie wszystko trafiało. Ale przynajmniej kokos trafił 🤣

I am from Slovakia so i understood like 40% of what you were saying cause it's very similar... but without english subtitles i would be lost af anyway so thnx for that 😂❤️

My mom is half Polish and I've been learning so much about Polish history from you these past few months, thanks for sharing your knowledge with us, would love to visit Poland one day! ❤🙏🇵🇱

The Polish language sounds so beautiful! There are many words similar to some from Romanian. Hope you'll post more content in Polish meme mom ❤️

So fun listening to Polish and actually being able to recognize some similar words to Romanian 💘 I always love how both entertaining and educational your videos are. Makes me wanna rummage through my mother's old sewing books, although I doubt she still has someting from the '50s

You know, I'm mexican, and you motivated me to do a research about the fashion in my country in the last century, cause I don't really know anything about it! (Btw, it's so funny to see you speak in polish haha because I don't understand anything hahaha, but sound really cool!) thanks for the video! you look very pretty!

Czesc Karolina! I am a Polish-American woman living in Polonia in Chicago. My grandparents came from Poland around the turn of the last century and had my parents here, so they were first generation. They spoke Polish, and I spoke it more as a child, but after the grandparents die off, well, the parents spoke it as a "secret language" but I could count, so at least I knew how much they were spending on the stuff they were talking about, lol. When we were growing up in the 60's, we always had a LOT of parcel boxes to fill with clothes going to Poland (my family was from between Krosno and Rzeszow, so part of the family is Galician.) My grandmother sent my mother's wedding dress for a cousin, and my aunt's had lots of clothes, and they also shopped the Thrift stores for clothes to send to the Village if someone needed something. I head that they sewed a lot, and if something was too small or big, it was amended. The clothes were prized and folks were happy, because it was American-made. They also sent nylons and other things like bras, panties, boots, shoes, purses, etc. Anything that would have been unused or discarded went there. I don't mean to say all we gave them was junk, but the good stuff had a "second go round" if you catch my drift. We also sent needed things like medicine, bandages, aspirin, and women's monthly supplies were sent regularly. My aunts and grandparents must have spent a small fortune, but everyone in Chicago was like that and we all kept our boxes, half packed, on the back porches or basements until they were assembled and sent out with a monthly trip to the Post office. Since the 70's, we had parcels sent via Polamer and other shippers to Poland. Just so you know what we did to keep our families and their friends who might not have had anyone living in Polonia in the US cities, with large Polish Populations like Chicago, Detroit, New York, Milwaukee, etc. We kept you guys going.

I have never had an interest in Polish until now. I've had a long list of languages I'd like to learn. It's shortened and expanded over the years depending on how cynical I'm feeling. But this sounds like Russian and German had a baby and vacationed in France every summer so it picked up an accent on certain words. I looked it up that seems to be an accurate description. I'm not fluent in any language but English, but I am picking out different sounds from those languages. It's really fascinating to listen to and makes me wonder if I should pursue Polish to help me learn those languages. Bridge a gap if you will.

Love these kind of videos! But please insert pictures when you give examples ! that would be awesome! greetings from south america!

Jak miło zobaczyć coś o polskiej modzie, co jest merytoryczne, aaa! Przy okazji dopiszę Twoją książkę do listy prezentów pod choinkę. (Przyczepię się tylko, że ubrań się nie ubiera, a wkłada :( )

I've been watching you for so long now that your animated movements are enough of a subtitle for me lol (it's a good thing! I love your personality)

I really like this video. But it would be easier to understand what you were talking about if you had put pictures of the styles you were talking about on screen. I love to see how the political situation in Poland effected fashion.

Polish is such a beautiful yet hard language

I have to say, Polish is very pleasing to the ears. It's interesting hearing you speaking in Polish. :D

Also what's the thing all Slavic peoples have in common to name their cats Philemon...

"How to look like your grandma" -> well, im so into that because my grandma was stylish

Yay, bardzo ciekawy filmik. Nie bardzo orientuje się w modzie z tamtych czasów, moja żyjąca babcia mieszkała na wsi i często wspomina, że wieszość rzeczy robiła sama, szyła sukienki na maszynie, robiła swetry, wtedy miała dowolność co do koloru i kroju.

To ty jesteś Polką?? Lol, nie wiedziałam! A YT tyle razy podsyłał mi twoje filmiki w proponowanych 😍 A wracając do tematu- moda z lat 50' to mój ulubiony okres, cieszę się, że nagrałaś ten filmik po polsku 😃

I am Bulgarian(also former European communist county) and I was a child in the 80s. I remember Polish tourists coming to our seaside for vacation. My grandma was a fashionista (as much as was possible at the time), sewed her own clothes from Burda (the German fashion magazine, which was a most prized possession to get your hands on and only possible in later socialism as was also explained in the video). My grandma always looked her best with lipstick and salon hair visits once a week. She taught me: a lady cannot go out without a bag! So every summer we would meet the Polish ladies on the beach, who had more access to better quality makeup. I still remember there was this pink lipstick and nail polish that was a big hit at the time. She would buy or exchange it for rose perfume. Thanks for the video - it brought up many memories of my grandma and I remembered where my love for dressing well comes from.

Jesteś przezajebista. Zgadzam się z wypowiedzią, która już tu padła, że media powinny promować osoby, takie jak Ty. Które mają coś mądrego i ciekawego do powiedzenia, do tego jeszcze jeśli dzielą się niespotykaną na każdym kroku zajawką i wiedzą, to już eksplozja mózgu. I trza dodać, że tak przyjemnie się Cię słucha po angielsku. 🖤 Gratulacje wydania książki!!!

I'm so happy I stumbled upon you on youtube! This is an incredible video and really makes me understand my grandmother better. She's the most important person to me and even though I've been visiting Poland since I was a little girl (Born in Canada), your content really sheds more light on the situation at the time as my grandma doesn't like reminiscing about the hardships of her past. Love you and you should definitely do more Polish videos!

Ironically , I have a school project about Poland.

3:04 Filemon nie da sobie w kaszę dmuchać.

Wyglądasz dokładnie jak moja babcia ze zdjęć z uroczystej komunii! Ta fryzura i sukienka, coś niesamowitego! Piękna praca, gratuluję ☺️

Can't understand a lick of Polish but I love hearing you speak it! So sexy. And thanks for the history lesson. So fascinating to hear how eastern Europe coped in the aftermath of WWII. I love history, so I think I"m going to research this further.

Z chęcią obejrzałabym więcej! Nie mogę się doczekać aż dostanę w swoje łapki twoją książkę ❤ uwielbiam klimaty vintage i ubolewam że tak mało ich na polskim yt 😟

Thank you for once again being so down to earth and for generously sharing the precious fruits of your research with us

While watching this I realized that my gradma was a young lady during that time and she was from silesia (is that the right word), so she maybe dressed a little bit like that and now I feel fond and sad at the same time .. thank u Karolina, this is keeping me sane in quarantine!

And here come the Romanians who thought (some still think) that everything made outside of Romania is better than anything Romania could ever make. Hence Polish items were in high demand and older generations still think that Polish goods are SO good. -not trying to say they're not good, just that some stuff Romanians make are just as good; and pointing out the fact that Polish people didn't like the fabrics they produced.. And yes you dressed VERY elegantly for the period. makeup or no makeup. you'd go to a party dressed like that ;) including a wedding.

I'm very late to the party. My daughter just introduced me to your channel. I speak a bit of Polish and got a hoot out listening to a true Polish speaker for the first time in many years. Please do more of these in your beautiful native language. I need the practice. 😊😊

As is true with watching anything in a language one doesn't understand, I paid very good attention to the subtitles. However it iis nice to listen to the lanuage, even if I don't understand it, simply because it gives me a little idea of it's tone and rhythm, and how fast it can be spoken at. THat final bit showing what the outfit looks like makes me think that if this is pretty elegant for the time, that scene would totally work as a scene of a young lady waiting for a dinner guest to arrive.

I am in love with the 50s but have are hard time finding good 50s tutorials if you ever get bored I would love to see you do some in depth 50s ideas or even some information on that time era. You are my favorite vintage RU-vidr please keep making videos!

Thank you for taking the time of writing and timing the subtitles :) this must have take you so long and I appreciate that. Love from France

I really love your in-depth explanations of how it really was in Poland and those eras. The fashion is great but the details of why and how really make these videos incredible. I love your work. You are amazing and I never get bored or tired of your videos. I am always excited to see a new one pop up. Thank you for sharing your passion with the rest of the world.

I think it is great that you are doing vids in Polish with subtitles and showing things from a Polish point of view!

I love that many Polish words are almost the same in my native language Slovak, so I understand something :D please do more vids in Polish

This was so interesting! It's nice to hear your perspective. Also, ITS NOT FAIR. YOU CAN LITERALLY WEAR ANYTHING AND MAKE IT WORK 😭

Fajnie, że opowiadasz o różnych rzeczach - suknie, włosy, wygląd aktorek - ale szkoda, że nie pokazałaś zdjęć typowego stroju, kilku fryzur, zdjęć aktorek. Mimo to bardzo ciekawy film. :)

I have a Swedish women's style guidebook from the 50's and it recommends those muddy muted colors (especially for women of a certain age) as they flatter most colorings, so it def. was not only in the Eastern bloc

Beautiful presentation. You really managed to completely evoke the style of fashion before the mid-50s. It was similar in our country in neighboring Czechoslovakia. My grandmother wore a similar dress. However, similar fashion was at that time in Germany, England, etc. The fashion of the 50s is often associated with "oversweetened" American fashion. But in Europe at the time, fashion was a little more laced through conventions and politics. I much prefer the European fashion of the 50's than the American one.

I jak tu się przestawić z powrotem na polski? Moja babcia nosiła wtedy na głowie koczek z warkocza sięgającego za pośladki, ale sukienki bardzo podobne w kroju. Zegarek też był elementem codziennego ubioru. Potem doszły broszki. Czekam na premierę książki. Bardzo mnie ciekawi jej zawartość.

Love this video, I really enjoyed hearing you speak polish because it isn't a language I am at all familiar with and you seemed really in your element here talking about polish history! Literally one of my new favorite videos!

I loved that you talked polish in this one! As I'm half polish I'm trying to learn more and this video really helped :) Dziekuje

You always shine a light on history in such a fun way, even with the less-than-fun aspects, but so respectfully too. It's really important to expose and explore history from all the differing global perspectives because mainstream education or knowledge tends to span the UK and US, with occasional flashes of France, Germany and Italy (for the most part, anyway, especially with fashion)

Please make more Polish speaking videos! I'm first generation Polish and I've been finding more content to listen to that are also relevant to my interests, which can be difficult. You have no idea how stoked I was to stumble upon your channel

Im angry... Why doesn't she do these in polish more often?

This was WONDERFUL to be recommended! Thank you for the dive into the fashion world In Poland! I think you still look absolutely beautiful, there is a lot to be said for women in simple dresses, i love wearing dresses and fashion from the 40’ and 50’s is something I’ve always absolutely loved! SUBSCRIBED AND I WILL BE WATCHING MORE! 😁

Twój głos brzmi o wiele łagodniej po polsku, nagrywaj częściej w tym języku ;)

I love your videos in Polish! I don’t speak it, but it’s really interesting to hear you speak it and subtitles are always a thing.

I’m new to this channel but I’m so happy to see some non British/American/French historical fashion, and I’m not even Polish! Also: hearing you speak your native tongue & English on a very successful YT channel makes me feel better about my accent. New subscriber!

First time being bilingual has actually come in handy in my life. 🤙

Karolino, wracam do Twojego filmu po roku, żeby zostawić Ci następujący komentarz: Starsza pani doktor z Warszawy, u której pomieszkuję i dobrze nam się gada, powiedziała mi ostatnio, że jej kumpela została wywalona z medycznej uczelni na początku lat 50 tych za makijaż. Jakkolwiek pomalowana studentka to była studentka, która "nie skupia się na nauce". Pani sama tam studiowała i dobrze pamięta, że wyglądała jak zabiedzone dziecko, żeby nikt się jej nie czepiał za cokolwiek i zakuwała. Gdy mi to opowiadała, to skojarzyło z mi się Twoją wzmianka o tym, że z pracy nikt za makijaż raczej nie wywalał. Ciężko uwierzyć, ale to chyba jednak miewało miejsce. Uszanowanko🌹

This is my first time hearing Polish and it is so beautiful!! And I’m not sure why, but some words sound a little bit like French to my ears

My fathers side is polish! but unfortunately I never knew anything about the culture. My grandparents passed before I could ask and my father has no idea...THEN I started watching you.... I absolutely am obsessed now. Thank you so much for enlightening me even just a little bit to my heritage! ❤️ I’m excited to learn more and can’t wait to see more content like this!!!

Moja babunia byla krawcowa przerabiala stare ubrania szyla sukienki z zaslon i nawet robila dla mojej mamy zabawki...bardzo dobrze zarabiala zwlaszcza w latach 50tych kiedy nie bylo absolutnie nic wiec klienci walili drzwiami i oknami😊

The best thing about these "getting ready with me", and "100 years of beauty" that you make is: The incredibly relevant background information about social, cultural, and political contexts you give through the "beauty" process. We ❤ it forever and a day!!!!! Cheers from Brazil!!!!

*cat slap

I absolutely love the cut of that dress. My grandmother's dresses from the era (Norway), was much more boring and practical looking. She wore hers in to the early 90's, when she finally realised that pants were more comfortable for everyday use. This dress is cute and looks like you're going to a party. Hers were dull and frumpy, like she was gonna milk the cows but had some flowers on it just in case someone would see her.