I picked up a copy of Helen Gurley Brown’s Sex and the Single Girl a while back and have read several old self-help/advice books since then.  If you haven’t ever done this, give it a try, they’re fascinating. You get a blend of timeless advice, hilarious ideas, and cringe-worthy anecdotes.  What advice were young professionals (particularly, young women in the workforce) being fed in the early 1960s?

It makes you wonder which of today’s bestsellers will be used-bookstore treasures in 50 years.

So here’s my take on the 1962 bestseller Sex and the Single Girl:

The Good

1. Helen Gurley Brown’s book is completely groundbreaking in suggesting that women can be happy and live a full life without being married (scandalous).

2. Great tips about building a quality wardrobe (“Don’t buy anything… not so much as a garter-belt… you don’t adore”).  Also timeless advice about tailoring your clothes (absolutely essential) and developing personal style.

3.  While the financial advice might not be directly applicable today, you have to applaud the fact that women are being presented with this advice in 1962 (“a small portfolio of stock is very sexy”).

The Bad

1. I don’t feel the need to keep two fresh cigarettes in the bathroom, sorry guys.  I’m also not cooking Lobster en Brochette with Devil Sauce and preparing a fruit and cheese plate just to have dinner together.

2. A pro/con list about having affairs with married men.  Really?

3. Some upsetting lines about how to spot an “effeminate chap.”

The Ridiculous

1. A diet plan to lose six pounds in two days: 1 egg any style and a glass of white wine for breakfast; 2 eggs any style and 2 glasses of white wine for lunch; and a steak and the rest of the bottle for dinner. 1962 must have been a very interesting year.

2. Putting a perfume soaked piece of cotton in your bra.  Right.

3. Thankfully we’re no longer told to mix 2/3 peroxide with 1/3 ammonia, add soap flakes, and smear this on arms and thighs.  I don’t want to bleach my hair a “far less obtrusive” platinum blond (would this even look normal?). Best of all, you can let it dry (then reapply and repeat for an hour) while doing the housework!

So enjoy a little glimpse into the past and a book with all the energy and attitude of a 1960s Sex and the City.  And if you must try that “diet”, please pair it with a weekend and a multivitamin (on second thought, just don’t!).