The Arroyo Family of Los Angeles, ca. 1927

This photo comes from a project sponsored by the Los Angeles Public Library called “Shades of LA.” In order to capture the ethnic and racial diversity of the city, the library solicited a wide range of local families to contribute their photos. The date of this particular snap shot, ca. 1927, presumably comes from the Arroyo family itself. Is it accurate? If it is, then the Arroyo family (Augustina on the back left, Refugia on the back right) set their own fashions for the era. Instead of the dropped waists of the 1920s, they have chosen a style they showed their waistline curves.

Another point of interest is that three dresses in the back row appear very similar–gauzy light colored dresses with white trim at the neck and the sleeves. The third dress in the back, second from the left, has a similar cut in a lighter color. There is very little difference between the outfit of the older Augustina and the much younger Refugia. Were these very similar garments chosen for some kind of a family celebration? Or did the local seamstress specialize in a certain style?

How would you go about finding a date for this photo?

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One Response to The Arroyo Family of Los Angeles, ca. 1927

  1. Norah says:

    I don’t know if this is the case here, but I was just reading a memoir about a large family in which one of the teenaged young women was a talented seamstress. She had sewn the back-to-school dresses for her and her two sisters from one pattern, even though one was a preteen, one was a slender and tall, and one was curvy. It’s possible someone in the Arrpyo family was similarly talented!

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