Tag Archives: shoes

Portrait with Yucca, 1928

Posted on January 31, 2024 by Lynn

I puzzled over this photo for a long time.  Is she an older woman or not?  Her cropped hair is certainly a style favored by the young in 1928, and it looks like she might be pregnant.  However, elements of … Continue reading →

Posted in 2020s | Tagged , | 3 Comments

“Five Babushkas,” 1970s. A Photo by Rod Bradley

Posted on January 24, 2024 by Lynn

I’m slowly forgetting all the Russian I learned in my career as a historian of the Soviet Union. However, I do remember that the proper plural of the word babushka (grandmother) is babushki.  I suppose I should be glad that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1970s | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Considering Mrs. Claus

Posted on December 25, 2023 by Lynn

A recent viewing of Miracle on Thirty-Fourth Street made me consider the fate of Mrs. Claus (or Kringel), the often forgotten partner of Santa.  Her history stretches back to the nineteenth century, but she is almost always left out of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1970s, General | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Phyllis Diller, Happy Eccentric

Posted on September 26, 2023 by Lynn

There are many reasons to remember the comedian Phyllis Diller (1917-2012).  She was the first well-known female standup comic in America; she had a long career in television and film; and she was an enthusiastic advocate of plastic surgery—theme for … Continue reading →

Posted in 1960s, 1970s, 1980s | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Labor Day Race, 1917

Posted on September 4, 2023 by Lynn

I thought it might be hard to find photos of women on Labor Day doing anything but dishing up potato salad, but I was wrong.  The Digital Pubic Library of America, one of my favorite sources, had many pictures of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1910s | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Considering Sportswear–Golfing, 1937

Posted on April 4, 2023 by Lynn

By 1937, some young women were wearing pants to play golf—but not these two.  It looks like their mother had brought for a day on the course. Did she play as well?  If so, she has on the wrong shoes. … Continue reading →

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What to Wear to a Picnic, 1969

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Lynn

So much information on this snapshot—enough to make any historian’s heart beat faster!  We have not only the names of the picnickers and the place they were meeting, but also the exact date.  If I’m not mistaken, this is an … Continue reading →

Posted in 1960s | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

“It’s Fine for Us,” Rural Electrification Poster

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Lynn

Graphic artist Lester Beall made a series of posters in the 1930s and 1940s advertising the goals of the Rural Electrification Administration.  As the name implies, the New Deal Era program aimed to bring electricity to the countryside, which was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Grand Opening at the Waffle Shop, 1931

Posted on March 6, 2023 by Lynn

I chanced upon this wonderful photo in a search for polka dresses—a favorite theme of mine.  You never know what you will find! There isn’t much of a backstory to the photo, but I imagine it was opening day at … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Gertrude Stein’s Philosophy of Dress

Posted on February 12, 2023 by Lynn

Not long ago I picked up a copy of Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, a memoir of his early years in Paris.  It includes long accounts of his contact with Gertrude Stein, who helped him establish himself during the 1920s. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s | Tagged , | 5 Comments