America Europeanized
A 1923 New York Times Magazine article by Konrad Bercovici described ways that the U.S. was becoming "Europeanized," including clothing colors, food dishes, and books.
Clothing colors:
Consider, because it is so important, the matter of men's and women's wearing apparel. Gray and blue and white were about the only colors one could see anywhere until a few years ago. One had to go to one of the foreign districts to see a little red or green or yellow.
...
We may have gone a bit too far now the other way. When one enters an office or a business establishment today, one is literally blinded by the riot of color behind the typewriting machines and mahogany desks.
Food:
Boeuf à la mode was about the only foreign dish on the hills of fare until not long ago. But today a knowledge of English is not only not necessary to order food but it is insufficient. One starves in Manhattan unless one knows a dozen different languages.
...
Of course spaghetti is our national dish, is it not? It has replaced corned beef and cabbage long ago. Chopped meat is out. Wiener schnitzel is its new name. Stew! Who dares to ask for stew? Goulash. Paprika. I could go on calling out a hundred names one needs to know when hungry.
Books:
Never before has there been such a demand for foreign books as at present. The library shelves are full of books from all countries and in all languages. One is really not a cultured American if he cannot discuss fluently Russian literature, Dostoyevsky, Andrief, Gorky, Kouperin, Knut Hamsun, Anatole France, Barbusse, Papini and d'Annuzio are far more in demand than any English language author.
This is true not only of New York. Statistics of the public libraries of Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and other large cities show that the demand for European literature is growing stronger and stronger.
Considering that meddling studio heads wanted to Americanize the Harry Potter movies by adding cheerleaders, clearly the Europeanization of America was never completed.
America Europeanized
Published: Sunday, September 16, 1923