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Poster for The Wonderful World of Wash 'n' Wear (1958)

The Wonderful World of Wash 'n' Wear (1958)

1958 · Ephemeral film · 22 min · dir. Walter Koste

  • Short

Synopsis

A look into the then-new synthetic fabrics, as well as Whirlpool's new washing machine and dryer.

Synopsis from OMDb

Details

Director
Walter Koste
Running time
22 minutes
Language
English
Collection
Prelinger Archives
Internet Archive item
Wonderfu1958

Subjects on the Internet Archive

Cast & crew

Reviews on the Internet Archive

★★★★★ · Wonderful! · bread · 2006-08-21

wonderfully entertaining film about clothes and washing.i was surprised just how amusing it was, unlike some Ephemeral films that, while interesting, do get a little monotonous after a while. i strongly recommend this film.

★★★★★ · The Suit? Well, no · BiffKay · 2025-05-17

That suit looks like a cheap wrinkled POS. A steam iron would be needed (look at the seams). It was a concept (for suits) that never really caught on. But at least, you didn't have to send it to the cleaners. That was way cool. Quickie process to make that suit ready to wear in a jiffy. Wash 'n Wear was a revolution in and of itself. No more having to iron everything. A touch up maybe, nothing more. Notice those were nerdy white guys at the lab bench. (I remember those days) That Westinghouse washer-dryer combo was way cool. We had a GE washer, and a Hamilton dryer with less choices than…

★★★★ · I wash, you wear. · Spuzz · 2005-09-28

Gaga film that shows us the many uh, benefits of Wash and Wear! Totally stage bound, and hosted by the most detatched narrator imaginable (he wanders in and out of scenes without people realizing hes there.. a ghost maybe?) Anyways, he lays it out all for us, telling us all about these weird fabrics, and how you can remove stains easily because of this fabric.. Yeah right guy! Did you hear you diatribe about the process that it needs to be washed?? Fortunately, theres the washer that can do the otherwise impossible job of washing your suit and tuxedo(!!), its a Whirlpool washer, and by…

★★★★ · It IS a wonderful world! · trafalgar · 2004-03-17

Excellent color, great clothes, and liberal use of the word "miracle". I laughed out loud at the list of "modern" fabrics: "Acrilan...Verel...Creslan...Dynel...Zefram..." Things slow down a bit when he finally gets to the washing machine pitch, but this is still highly recommended.

★★★ · Modern Fabrics · JayKay49 · 2013-01-26

Dynel ultimately was used mostly for the hair they used in cheap toupees advertised in the Sunday paper magazine section. Remember the "Lonnie?" The nice part was that you could actually get clothing clean in 125 degree water because the detergents in those days had phosphates and as a result actually cleaned clothes. A drab movie for some reason but does offer some useful information although I do feel slighted at times. Very 1958-ish. A must see for a homemaking class.

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