In 1908, it was not yet clear that Los Angeles would become the megalopolis that it is today. San Francisco was the dominant city in the state at the turn of the century, but things were beginning to change. While Los Angeles was only half the size of the city to the north in 1900, it had reached parity by 1908. By the next decade, Los Angeles would surge ahead.
Services like insurance companies are one of the needs of a growing city. This wonderful photo of the Prudential Insurance Company’s summer outing is a treasure from my sewing friend, Gloria Lewis. It shows her husband’s maternal grandfather, corner left, and perhaps his mother, the little girl at the center.
Most of the women, young and middle aged, wear shirtwaists and white skirts, an indication that it’s summer. The plump young woman at the far right might have decided that a light colored skirt would not enhance her shape and therefore stuck to the official uniform of the era, a white shirt with a dark skirt.
The one woman who stands out is the oldest, third from the left. I am guessing that she is the boss’s wife. She wears a kind of jumper in a light color with white trim and a beautifully embroidered blouse underneath. Her flowered hat is less wide but much taller than those of the other women. You see at a glance her status in the group. Clothes make the woman!
I was able to click on the picture to see the individuals up close. Such detail! The older woman’s dress with the braided trip is so pretty. I think of how much effort went into keeping those white skirts, blouses, and shirts clean.