Moschino Cheap and Chic Eau de Toilette
notes: label: Description
content: Moschino Cheap and Chic eau de toilette perfume spray. Ceramic and plastic bottle in the abstract shape of the character Olive Oyl. Bottom half of bottle is black, middle section is red, top is black with white edge. Gold colored printing on front portion of bottle reads, "CHEAPANDCHIC / MOSCHINO". Filled with 100 ml of liquid. Bottom, black portion of bottle is ceramic; top portion of bottle and lid are plastic. Established in 1983 in Milan, Moschino is known for its campy, over-the-top, pop art-styled designs in ready to wear fashion, handbags, and perfumes. Launched in 1995, Cheap & Chic by Moschino is a Floral fragrance for women with a bottle designed to resemble the Olive Oyl character’s lanky silhouette, including recognizable black hair pulled into a bun, red top with prominent white collar, and black skirt. The bottle design won the FIFI Award for Best Women’s Packaging of the Year in 1996. Moschino’s designers have repeatedly drawn on Olive Oyl for inspiration, with her image appearing on scarves, apparel, and various versions of this perfume bottle over the years.
label: Description
content: Popeye the Sailor Man is one of the most recognizable and long-lived comic strip characters in American history. The character has been featured in adaptations in a variety of media and used as a notable spokesperson for consumer products, licensed toys and other goods, and political and social causes. Popeye has been a remarkably popular comic character from his first appearance in 1929 to today, loved by his fans for his anti-authoritarian sense of justice, self-reliant courage under fire, and his confident, good-humored authenticity. From his use as a mascot during World War II, through fans’ proud self-identification in purchasing Popeye merchandise, to his use as a spokesperson for social causes, Popeye has become a representation of American values and spirit, both at home and abroad.
label: Description
content: The Popeye character was created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who first wrote him in to a storyline in his King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929. Popeye is a sailor, usually depicted with a sailor’s cap, pipe, prominent cleft chin, one squinty eye, and bulging forearms bearing anchor tattoos. He is distinguished by the superhuman strength and combat prowess he gains from eating spinach. Popeye is often depicted as unsophisticated, his working class New Jersey accent peppered with humorous malapropisms, but he possesses a strong moral compass and seeks to right wrongs and defend and champion underdogs from bullies and unjust authority. Popeye courts the lanky, headstrong Olive Oyl, often rescuing her from the brutish sometimes-romantic rival Bluto, and is occasionally shown caring for a child named Swee-Pea said to be either a founding, relative, or son of Olive Oyl.
label: Description
content: Fleischer Studios licensed Popeye and the other Thimble Theatre characters for a series of animated shorts released by Paramount Pictures from the 1930s-1950s, and these popular cartoons expanded the character’s universe and popularity. The shorts introduced Popeye’s theme song (“I'm strong to the ‘finich’, 'cause I eats me spinach! I’m Popeye the sailor man!”) and cemented his reputation as a brave and virtuous brawler; many 1940s entries in the series featured Popeye fighting the Axis Powers on behalf of the United States. The cartoon series was adapted for television as Popeye the Sailor, which aired from 1960-1962, and has been revived several times in the decades since. Popeye has also been the star of a number of comic book series, web comics, radio programs, video games, and a 1980 live action musical film by Director Robert Altman starring Robin Williams as Popeye and Shelley Duval as Olive Oyl.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: associated subject
content: Cosmetics
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Popular Entertainment
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of King Features Syndicate
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2024.0153.04
label: accession number
content: 2024.0153
label: catalog number
content: 2024.0153.04
objectType: label: Object Name
content: perfume
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: ceramic (bottle material)
label: Physical Description
content: liquid (contents material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (bottle material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 7 3/8 in x 2 1/4 in x 1 1/2 in; 18.7325 cm x 5.715 cm x 3.81 cm