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Tag Archives: fur
Gold Star Mothers on Memorial Day, 1924
With all the talk of road trips and crowded airports, Memorial Day is mainly known as the official start of the vacation season in the United States. However, its original purpose was to honor war dead. Read this fascinating articles … Continue reading
Posted in 1920s
Tagged fur, hats/headcoverings, holidays, Washington DC, World War One
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Strange Fur Pieces from the 1920s
The undated photo above shows New York governor Al Smith and his wife Catherine in around 1925, judging by the length of her skirt. That would make Catherine, born in 1875, just about fifty here. This photo makes me reassess … Continue reading
The Full Fancy at the Airport, 1963
This dressed up woman has inspired me to coin a phrase—“the full fancy.” By that I mean adding every possible fancy element to your outfit, even when the situation doesn’t necessarily call for it. Is she going on a trip … Continue reading
A Skirt with Fur Trim, mid 1910s
Here’s an elegant update to a classic style. This older woman wears all the components of the classic shirtwaist look–a white blouse and a dark skirt–that had been an American fashion standard for years. However, the fur trim added to … Continue reading
Wrapped in Fur
These fur scarves, wraps, or boas (I’ve seen many different names) were a terror to me as a child. My grandmother had one and I was convinced that she was wearing an entire dead animal around her neck. Since then … Continue reading
Delila’s Christmas, 1957
Doesn’t this image of a very cheerful, single, older woman call out for a story? Maybe Delila Pinegar was recently divorced and had just bought a new car with her settlement money. Perhaps she was marking a successful year at … Continue reading
A Horde of Hats, 1900s
My friend Sally, a source for many wonderful photos on this blog, found this treasure at a recent photo conference she attended. It’s a post card that was never sent, but luckily there’s some writing on the back: “Grandma Snowdon, … Continue reading
A California Christmas Party with Santa, 1966
The Women’s Sunday Morning Breakfast Club was an important institution in the African American community of Los Angeles. Like many women’s clubs, its members were well off with the time and money to work for charity. We can see this … Continue reading
Posted in 1960s
Tagged African American, California, fur, hats/headcoverings, women's organizations
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At the Overlook, Late 1910s
Tourist photos interest me because they can show a kind of transitional clothing. Most likely people do not dress in their best clothes, since travel brings challenges. However, they are also often heading out into public and do not pick … Continue reading
Fur and the Older Woman in the 1920s
As I learned during a winter in Moscow with a borrowed muskrat coat, the primary reason to wear fur is to keep warm. But in advice literature aimed at older women, fur was said to possess additional magic features. Its … Continue reading