Contact me
To contribute to this collective history project, send pictures and stories about the older women in your life to americanagefashion@gmail.com. The more information you can include (date, place, etc.), the better.-
-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Bob Moeller on Florida Retirement Hotels in the 1970s
- Bob Moeller on Native Daughters of the Golden West
- Bob Moeller on Fashioning San Francisco
- Marianne on Grannies on the Red Carpet, 2024
- Nann on Duchess of Windsor Patterns
Categories
Tags
- About Me
- advertising
- advice literature
- African American
- Asian American
- book review
- California
- Chicana Latina
- coats
- colors
- comparative
- designers
- Florida
- fur
- generations
- glasses
- hair
- half sizes
- hats/headcoverings
- Illinois
- jewelry
- lace
- Mrs. Exeter
- New Look
- New York
- pants
- pantsuits
- photographer
- popular culture
- power dressing
- sewing
- sheath dress
- shirtwaist
- shoes
- sizes
- special occasion
- sportswear
- Texas
- textile patterns
- textile prints
- textiles
- Washington DC
- women's organizations
- World War One
- World War Two
Meta
Reference Links
Tag Archives: women’s organizations
Native Daughters of the Golden West
I am always amazed by the number of women’s organizations that I have never heard of. While looking through Calisphere, I discovered this photo of a 1948 meeting of the Native Daughters of the Golden West, a group that celebrates … Continue reading
Posted in 1940s, 2010s
Tagged California, Chicana Latina, colors, pants, women's organizations
1 Comment
Oldsters at the Pride Parade
If you associate gay pride events with young men in colorful costumes, then you are probably overlooking the older women who are also part of the parade. The lesbians who took part in the Gay Rights’ movement of the 1960s … Continue reading
Hope Skillman Fabrics
I’ve been wanting to write about textile designer and manufacturer Hope Skillman (1908-1981) for a long time, but pictures of her—especially with any sense of what she wore—are hard to find. This Vogue advertisement, featuring her fabric on a dress … Continue reading
Posted in 1940s, 1950s, 1960s
Tagged designers, sewing, textiles, women's organizations
Leave a comment
The Red Hat Society Lives On
Any commentary about older women and fashion in America must address the Red Hat Society, a loosely knit organization of women over fifty. Moreover, the founder of the group, Sue Ellen Cooper, hails from my neck of the woods in … Continue reading
Posted in 2020s
Tagged African American, colors, hats/headcoverings, West Virginia, women's organizations
3 Comments
Ukrainian American Women, 1938
According to the caption, this photo documents a political meeting of Ukrainian American women in 1938. What was it about? Politics in their homeland? It was before the start of the Second World War, but after the Great Famine of … Continue reading
Dots and Dashes, 1935
Well, this much we know about Mrs. A. T. Hermann—she liked jewelry. I count one choker, two necklaces, and one pin. She must have dressed up for the photo. I imagine that the trim on her exuberant bow is made … Continue reading
The Flapper’s Mother…and Grandmother
I have always thought there was something sad about flapper-style clothing on older women. The dresses were designed to fall in an unbroken line from the shoulders, but that only worked if there weren’t a lot of curves below. To … Continue reading
Easter Bonnet Luncheon, 1961
This photo comes from a very large archive of work by Charles “Teenie” Harris, housed at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburg. Harris was a staff photographer for the Pittsburgh Courier, a major African American newspaper in the mid … Continue reading
Posted in 1960s
Tagged African American, hats/headcoverings, holidays, Pennsylvania, women's organizations
2 Comments
Mary B. Talbert, Feminist Icon
Why isn’t Mary B. Talbert (1866-1923) better known? I discovered her through a feature on black women suffragists at the Digital Public Library of America. However, suffrage was just one of her causes. She was involved in the anti lynching … Continue reading
Posted in 1910s, 1920s
Tagged African American, lace, New York, shoes, women's organizations
1 Comment
Ida B. Wells–A Giant among Women
Here is a short list of Ida B. Wells’s accomplishments: school teacher, journalist, newspaper owner, anti-lynching crusader, mother of four, civil rights leader, and black women’s suffrage advocate. She filled her life (1862-1931) with more achievements than tens of other … Continue reading