This eBay find is almost certainly a three-generation photo, one of my favorite kinds. The grandmother stands in the middle, with her daughter to her left and her granddaughter to the right. It is some kind of dress up event and each woman has answered the call in her own style. Because of the halter dress on the granddaughter and the geometric sheath dress on the mother, I am guessing that the photo comes from the late sixties or early seventies.
The grandmother abandoned the shirtwaist style so beloved of older women. However, her dress has quite a lot of shaping, showing that she was no big fan of the more sack-like sixties styles. Her curly hair has none of the Jackie Kennedy-esque bouffant look that her daughter favors. Although she doesn’t wear pearls, the three strand style also evokes an earlier era.
The daughter on the left has a graphic sixties look. I’m guessing she is in her late fifties. Her hair is elaborately styled, most likely with a lot of hair spray. Although she has a very elegant ring and perhaps real silver bracelets, her earrings look like plastic costume jewelry.
On the right, the granddaughter is the most up-to-date, with her halter top dress and bold color combinations. Are those tassel earrings, in style once again?
In this picture, we not only see different styles, but also three different interpretations of party dressing. The grandmother is the most formal. She could wear that outfit to a wedding or a fancy evening out. Her daughter has dressed up, but she might have just come in from a bridge party. By contrast, the daughter looks like she is ready to head to the beach after the event is over.
If the daughter’s hair “is elaborately styled, most likely with a lot of hair spray,” the granddaughter looks like she’s wearing a football helmet.