Mother and Daughter, 1925

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Given all the facial similarities, these two are obviously mother and daughter. They even have very similar hairstyles. The photo offers clear evidence of what aging does to facial features. The mother’s cheeks are sagging, the lines around her mouth are more pronounced, and her lips have thinned.

According to the penciled in date on the back of this photo, it was taken in May of 1925. That makes their clothing choices a puzzle. The daughter is dressed for summer in what might be a cotton house dress. The mother, on the other hand, looks bundled up for winter. Was she more sensitive to cold? Or did she just want to show off her coat?

Coats from 1924, Stella Blum, Everyday Fashion of the Twenties

Coats from 1924, Stella Blum, Everyday Fashions of the Twenties

The beautiful coat is cut in the surplice style so popular in the 1920s. Hers has fur trim at the collar, all the way down both sides of the front, and also at the sleeves. The main fabric has more loft than basic wool. It might have been a smooth fur as well. In her very informative book Fashions of the Roaring Twenties, Ellie Laubner says that the most popular fur trims were opossum, beaver, raccoon, rabbit, Manchurian wolf, squirrel, novelty monkey fur, and skunk. What’s your best guess here?

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3 Responses to Mother and Daughter, 1925

  1. eimear says:

    could not even hazard a guess but the fur looks very lush indeed (not short like beaver I thing) – I am reminded looking at the photo that when I was a teen I never felt the cold the same way as I do now, and especially if I wanted to show off a new dress! (which made me wonder if the daughter was showing off a new frock !)

  2. Carol in Denver says:

    I think the mother is quite ill. The daughter doesn’t have knowledge of the gravity of her mother’s illness.

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