A Vintage Crystal Cigarette Lighter & How Women Were Sold a Load of BS
How a sparkly tool and a sleek brand tried to sell women “liberation”, one puff at a time.
My vintage crystal cigarette lighter is a reminder of a time when glamour ruled and doctors blew smoke directly into their patients’ lungs. The sparkling crystal, polished metal and implied drama of my vintage lighter tells me it wasn’t at all about utility.
This was a prop for the modern mid-century woman who, like Virginia Slims told her, had "come a long way, baby."
Indeed.
While my lighter has long since been retired, its history is worth a quick cigarette break. Let’s talk about Virginia Slims, women’s lib (or some version of it) and why lighting a cigarette could feel like an act of rebellion…or the world’s most glamorous photo op.
Virginia Slims: Marketing “Liberation”
This WTF ad is an absolute gem, from the photo at top left talking about a 34-year-old woman being “sent to her room” by her husband to cigarettes that “fit your lips and your purse”. Ahh, breathe in the casual misogyny along with the carbon monoxide.
When Virginia Slims first hit the shelves in 1968, they weren’t just cigarettes; they were an entire mood. As a brand of the famous (and decidedly not female) Philip Morris International, Virginia Slims were thinner, longer and unapologetically targeted to women. They were introduced just as the women’s liberation movement was gaining steam.
With a sleek design and unforgettable slogan, Virginia Slims aligned themselves with the modern, independent woman of the day.
But let’s be real. This was pure consumer marketing; a perfectly manufactured world where the fight for equality could be boiled down to slimmer cigarettes and sexy packaging. And it worked. Women flocked to the brand.
Aesthetic & Cultural Appeal
The slim, 100mm (or longer) design of Virginia Slims made standard cigarettes look pudgy, while the minimalist packaging, bright white with colored stripes, was, well, chic. These cigarettes were fashion accessories, complementing other mid-century status symbols like my vintage crystal cigarette lighter.
Virginia Slims also dipped a toe into women’s sports, sponsoring the first Virginia Slims Tennis Tournament in 1970. The tournament gave female athletes a platform and prize money (if a children’s book on Billie Jean King is to be believed, women didn’t get prize money at the time).
Was it progress? Sure. Was it a gimmicky PR move to subtly link cigarettes with female empowerment? Why, yes.
Back to That Vintage Tabletop Cigarette Lighter
In the 1950s and ‘60s, everyone smoked everywhere, but smoking the “right way” could still be a statement, indicating class and refinement. A glamorous lighter, preferably made of crystal and heavy enough to double as a weapon was a thing to be desired.
Let’s say it’s 1960-something, and you’re hosting a dinner party in your avocado-green living room (love it), and a guest reaches for a cigarette. Do you hand over a cheap cardboard match? Absolutely not!
You slyly glide your ornate crystal lighter across your kidney-shaped coffee table, briefly catching the glow of your space-age chandelier. This is a drama. It’s class. It’s ridiculous, and that’s why we love it.
Side note: for other ways mid-century hostesses rocked it, check out my article on the vintage Ice-O-Matic Ice Crusher.
Let’s Have Liberation, But Make It Shitty
The irony of Virginia Slims is, of course, that the very product pitched as a symbol of independence was extremely fucking deadly. Women were sold a bill of goods that these sleek cancer sticks would make them gorgeous and slender and carefree, while really they got addicted (often for life) and Big Tobacco laughed all the way to the bank.
Today, vintage smoking accessories (a.k.a., tobacciana; I’ll dig into this more soon) are collectibles, offering glimpses into a world where women’s lib was sold as consumerism. (Thank god THAT never happens anymore.) The lighter, the cigarettes, the whole ritual is a reminder that history isn’t just what we did; it’s also what we bought into.
