ChiChi: Getting in Touch With Our Masculine Side

In case you hadn't noticed, Father's day is only one week away. I *know*! I can hardly believe it myself - it seems to be arriving far too early. That's easily explained if we notice that the first of June fell on a Sunday but I think it also feels too soon as spring is very nearly over even though it feels like it hasn't quite begun in earnest.

This week, in honor of Father's day, we bring you a series of posts about dear old dad...

Fathers - A History

Dads. Those old school guys who called caring for their children when their wives were out "babysitting" as opposed to "parenting". The fellas of my generation who are more involved, than ever before, in parenting their children. The men from the fifties who arrived home to find the children clean and shiny and their wife greeting them at the door in her best apron with the newspaper and a martini in hand.

Pre-industrial revolution a father's work was primarily home based as craftsmen or farmers and they typically trained their sons in their craft. Family involvement was crucial to earning a living and activities centered around dad's work with chores and responsibilities for all. Dad was the moral compass, educator and disciplinarian.

The industrial revolution saw men move away from home based jobs and into work at factories severing occupational ties between father and son. Fathers worked long hours away from the home and men were increasingly identified by their role as breadwinner. They had less contact with their children. During times of lay-off or work shortages they often left home to find employment. Their life on the margin of their families continued until the 20's.

Child and family experts in the early 19th Century promoted a new vision of the father's role in the family, bringing him closer into the fold as somewhat less the disciplinarian and moreso as role model and supplement to mom's emotional support and affection. Increasingly they were cast as 'home helper' rather than a primary parent.

The dirty 30's and the war years changed a father's role dramatically - the depression usurped his position as breadwinner and made his image of self, and his family life, exceedingly difficult. The war made him defender of the public. It wasn't until after the war that father's were reinstated in their roles as breadwinners.

In the 60's, as more and more women entered the workforce, men found their identities as breadwinner challenged yet again. Surveys at that time showed that men with working wives were unhappier, some feeling a sense of inadequacy as a provider. The women's movement threatened what was commonly viewed as the 'traditional' role of men in the family. Some men separated themselves from family life by marrying later, having fewer children or, in some cases, not involving themselves at all with the children they sired.

The other, more recent, spinoff of these changes has a happier result over the long haul. More and more men are likely to link their happiness with their level of family involvement. Increasing numbers are willing to sacrifice advancement at work in order to play a more active role in their homes and with their children. The role of 'breadwinner' is no longer the sole yardstick by which men measure themselves. And that is nothing but good.

Gift suggestion: Vintage Barware

Just because we're ChiChi doesn't mean we don't have cool guy stuff.

So dad doesn't walk in the door to be greeted with a martini anymore. We're sure he'd like that at least once in a while but we all know he's perfectly capable of mixing up his own cocktail. We have a whole range of options in house for the man who like to entertain with a bit of flair.

We have a fine selection of authentic vintage glasses, short and tall, some with caddies, all with remarkable colors or patterns or both! We also have a good selection of accoutrements to complement the ideal vintage bar from bottle openers and swizzle sticks to ice buckets and shakers....

We also have retro inspired and humorous barware from the Pink Martini pin-up girl clock to beer tumblers....

And, we expect, nay - we *hope* our order from the Canadian manufacturer of the original aluminum barware, Payne, will arrive on our doorstep early this week. Using the original tooling they utilized in the 1950's, Payne is making authentic new Vintage barware in original colors!