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Tag Archives: colors
A Uniform for the Old–A Lace Collar on a Black Dress
Last week’s photo reminded me that the black dress with a lace collar served as a kind of uniform for the old in the first half of the twentieth century. The outfit combines two elements deemed necessary in any older … Continue reading
Visiting the New York World’s Fair
The New York Public Library has a huge digital collection of photographs and documents from the 1939-40 New York World’s Fair. Among the photos, you can find not only the expected ones of striking buildings, but also hundreds of shots … Continue reading
The Order of “Q,” 1965
Before we begin speculation about this puzzling photo, let’s take a look at the clothes. The year is 1965. The women look to be in their late forties to early sixties. Three have taken to the sheath dress style of … Continue reading
Be Who You Are: The End of Fashion Advice?
Have we entered a new era of authenticity? Where the old don’t try to look young? Where the wide don’t try to look thin? Where the bold don’t try to hide behind staid colors and tasteful accessories? If so, then … Continue reading
Fashion Advice for Older Women—Fool the Eye
Women of every age and shape get constant tips on how to look taller, thinner, fitter, and sexier. Older women face an additional challenge: They are also supposed to look younger. How does that trick get done? Distraction Because most … Continue reading
Mother Jones and the Coolidge Family, 1924
I was attracted to this Library of Congress photo by the contrast between the middle aged Grace Coolidge, wife of the thirtieth president, and the much older woman on her left. Reading the caption quickly, I assumed the older woman … Continue reading
The Famous Blue-Green Dress by Mollie Parnis, 1955
If you spend any time studying the clothes of well off women of the 1950s and 1960s, the name Mollie Parnis will come up sooner or later. She was a well known designer of the era who dressed a number … Continue reading
Friends in Los Angeles, October 1964
Maybe you don’t dress this way in your garden in October. In Los Angeles, however, the month can be very hot, with strong winds coming in from the desert. This snapshot gives names–Katherine, Ina, Della, and Flo–but no ages. The … Continue reading
Friends or Sisters, 1938
It’s hard to tell ages from old photos, but in a stroke of luck I found the names and ages of these four women written on the back: Anna 46; Margrete 48; Ingeborg 41; Lina 59. Given their Germanic sounding … Continue reading