Friday, April 13, 2012

Photo Friday: Gorgeous Girls Edition


 We made it through another week, people! Here we are again on Photo Friday and I thought this glamorous set of ladies would be the perfect way to celebrate the end of the working week and maybe even inspire a "natural beauty" weekend for we tired workaday girls. Because putting on war paint is hard! Why not take it easy like this 1920's-and-earlier-gals? Above, a Scarlett Johanssen lookalike in all white poses in a photo-studio set-up garden bower. With years of trying to fit into impossibly tiny vintage clothing both behind and in front of me, my eye is always drawn to the a wasp waist in looking at antique pictures of women in their Sunday best, and oh how tiny this woman's midsection must be! I wonder if the ensemble was pulled together for a wedding or Easter services, or if it was a uniform of some kind. At any rate, she looks radiant. Below, I've scanned the back of the card, which gives us the girl's name (Dorothy McGuian) and the address of the "Electric Post Card Studio" in Fort Worth, Texas. What a great name for a business! Photo #4 on this person's family photos website was taken in the same studio, as was this, and this, and THIS, but I couldn't find an exact year on the studio's years of operation to date the photo in any of those cases. Dommage. Guessing 1910's? Thereabouts? Maybe earlier!

 I chose this photo out of a batch half because of its pretty subject, and half because of its shape. This is the only round, printed-type cabinet card I have, and what a winner! See the girl's smocked, round-necked blouse and poufy bangs, and the gentle tinting the studio's done for her hair and face. I think of the illustrated section of Victorian biographies where you see professional photos of the subject as a teenager, just before marriage, and think this must be that sort of portrait.Weren't young people so grown-up looking them!

 And finally, a little flapper doodle gal from the late 1920's/early 1930's. I love everything about this picture, from the gorgeous Art Deco mat to the girl's perfect spit-curls, early Joan Crawford style outfit, and adorable, girl-writer looking profile, so Edna St. Vincent Millay. High school graduation photo, maybe? Definitely a stunner in any case. I'm not pleased with my scanning job on this one, but I think you can see what I like about the picture in any case.

 Which photo is your favorite? Do you have any relative or non-relative knockouts in your vintage photograph collection, goading you on in your pursuit of the glamor of an era gone by? Remind me to tell you some time about the enormous photographic portrait I have of a woman in the 50's. I got it at Goodwill a dog's age ago, and a grander picture you've never seen. But we'll leave that for another day. :) Well, folks, that's all I've got for you at the moment. I'm going to struggle through the rest of the morning here at work with my sleepy self and then try to hit some estate sales in the afternoon before meeting Bab's mom for dinner. All in all, not a bad Friday to look forward to! I hope you have a great weekend, let me know on Monday about the spoils of sales you round up! Til next time.

2 comments:

  1. Yes young people were very grown up back then. Its something kind of hard for us to picture sometimes, but after all, if a gal normally married at 19 then it makes sense to have her working right alongside her mother and reciving training from her at a very young age right? thanks lisa i always enjoy your Photo Fridays!

    ReplyDelete