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Tag Archives: textile patterns
Checkered Past, 1982
Native New Yorker Helen Levitt (1913-2009) made her reputation by capturing candid moments on the streets of her city. Today she is regarded as one of the forerunners of modern street photography. Take a look at the large collection of … Continue reading
Dorothy Liebes—Celebrity Weaver
It isn’t often that the terms “celebrity” and “weaver” are combined these days, but in mid-century America Dorothy Wright Liebes achieved this status. A 1947 Life magazine feature called her “one of the most all-pervasive but least known influences in … Continue reading
Posted in 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, General
Tagged designers, textile patterns, textiles
4 Comments
Bowling Banquet, 1962
Although Vogue editor Diana Vreeland didn’t invent the term “youth quake” until 1965, clothing styles had begun changing in favor of the young and slim already by the turn of the decade. What would the not-so-young and not-so-slim woman wear … Continue reading
Dots and Flowers, 1930s
When I bought this photo from a favorite ebay dealer, I thought that I would be sharing yet another example of older women’s love of polka dots in the 1930s. But on more careful inspection I discovered that these are … Continue reading
Older Women in Prints, 1939
This evocative photo of the Finnish War Orphans Sewing Circle of Cleveland, Ohio features mainly older women. For the most part, they are dressed quite conservatively in dark dresses with brooches or lace collars at their necks. Some sport a … Continue reading
“We Three in our Muumuus”
“We three in our Muumuus. My side yard and my bedroom door in the background.” This seventies era photo cries out for a story, doesn’t it? I suspect that one of these women had retired to Hawaii and invited old … Continue reading
On the Road, ca. 1942
In my rag tag photo collection, I have many snap shots of older women posing in front of cars. Often they radiate the pride of possession, but these two don’t. They also don’t give the impression of living in the … Continue reading
The Fashion Lag in Plaid, ca. 1963
Older women often don’t follow the latest styles, a phenomenon fashion historian Joan Severa calls the “fashion lag.” Doubtless there are many explanations—older people get comfortable in a certain style and don’t want to change, or they are reluctant to … Continue reading
Posing for the Photographer–American Indians, 1940
Photographer Alexander Alland was something of an anthropologist. An immigrant himself, he began to take photographs of “hyphenated” Americans in the late 1930s and early 1940s, at first as part of an assignment for the New York World’s Fair of … Continue reading
A Granny in a Granny Dress
Do you remember the long dresses of the late 1960s and early 1970s, brought to us courtesy of the hippies? In my circle, they were called granny dresses, especially if they involved any kind of frills or lace. Despite the … Continue reading