A Trio in Hats, 1910s

“Freddy seems to have some misgivings, but my expression is certainly hopeful,” it reads on the front of this photo post card.  I’m thinking that Freddy is the one in the striped suit in the front.  The writer must be the happy woman to the right behind her. A stamp indicates that the photo was taken in Amsterdam, New York.

There is so much to look at in this photo, from the wide array of garments to the elaborately trimmed hats.  I am guessing that it comes from the mid-1910s, when v-neck blouses finally overtook the high-necked style. 

We can’t see much of the writer’s outfit beyond her light colored coat.  I am puzzled by what appear to be small wings coming out of her back collar.  Are they angel wings in the background?  Her straw hat is turned up on the side and trimmed with what might be a piece of jewelry.  Freddy wears a sharp pinstripe suit, softened with a collar in a sheer dotted fabric. She carries an umbrella or walking stick and wears a lorgnette on a ribbon. What decorates her narrow brimmed hat? At first I thought they might be badges, but I’ve decided they are floral or fruit shapes embroidered in straw.

Most puzzling is the woman on the back left.  Let’s call her Ms. Cherry, from the trim on her boater style hat.  While the others are dressed for the street, she is wearing a low cut black (or very dark) dress covered by a filmy blouse.  Not only does she have a ribbon at her neck, but she is also has on a long black beaded necklace.

These three might just be pushing fifty.  Were they relatives? Neighbors? College chums? Maybe they were a team of happy spinsters, like those described in the Tish novels.