Photo Friday: How to Stand Out in a Crowd Edition

Good morning, readers!!

It's FRIIIIIIDAAAAAY. And I just woke up! How is that possible?! We had some pretty dang fun people over to dinner last night and raised Cain drinking lemon drop martinis and talkin' trash until around 10:30, after which Matthew and I stayed up an additional hour or so just putting the house to rights and playing WiiU and reading, respectively. I fell asleep around midnight, after having a sixteen hour day in total, and had a bunch of weird dreams (I'm trying to drive a mint green Chevy Nova but can't figure out the manual transmission! I can't remember whether or not I paid the check at a diner but get lost in the Nova trying to get back to the restaurant! et. al) before waking up around 11 am. I feel like Rip van Babby!

At any rate, we're running over to Matthew's mom's for a belated birthday lunch so this will have be a lighting fast post on a gaggle of delightful children's photos from this flickr user's photostream. Let's quit the yakkin' and cut right to the chase!

How to stand out in a crowd, via these vintage children:

1) Have a contemporary "Oh my GOODNESS" expression on your tiny vintage face.

Yes, this is the photo your parents are going to pay the professional studio photographer for, you sly little turn of the century child minx. Look at your tiny boots, your sweet hair ribbon, and your expression like "I'm supposed to do whaaaat?" for the guy standing behind the box beseeching you to smile and look at the birdie. "Ain't no birdie in here!" your defiant, round-eyed gaze and open mouth seems to say. Go on with your bad self, 1900's baby.

2) Filch a full size fur stole from your stylish aunt's closet.

Two thought about this photo-- one, the guy on the left looks like a very young Ian McKellan; two, check out the sassy little girl in the front of the picture out glamouring her glamourous (sister? aunt?) in a full on mink stole. Can you imagine the conversation that preceded the shutter being snapped? "Oh, let her wear it," a mother figure is saying off camera while whosoever owns it is probably yelling, "If she gets ONE spot of dirt on it, Mamma, just ONE SPOT, I swear..." The blonde woman's coat and neat little peep toe shoes are nothing to sniff at, I personally want this entire ensemble including set-hair, BUT your eye is drawn to the sweet little fashionista at the front of the group.

3) Join the service (or at least dress like you have).

I have a marked weakness for children in  child-sized version of adult clothes, and this little pepper in the center of the photo takes the cake for having a full military style uniform and not yet having reached his sixth birthday. Look at the little service cap! The button up shirt and tie! He's waiting in the wings of an Alan Ladd movie to see if the star needs a stand in for the Army officer he's portraying! I wonder if this is a "look at what we got for Christmas" photo, owing to the large baby dolls in either girls's arms and the little guy in his suit/ Bonus points to the insulated puffypants on both girls and the t-strap mary janes on the girl to the right, but overall, the boy in his olive drab service togs takes the cake in this picture.

4) Be conspiciously tall and/or wear a marching uniform.

While it's a close one to call in this photo, I feel like the ultra tall gal to the left of the photo is a little more noticeable than her shorter, fellow photo subject in his marching band uniform (or possibly some kind of JROTC? I can't tell uniforms apart, it's not my fault). I shot up to my full 5'11'' and three quarters height in I think 5th grade, so I can comiserate with this gal's grim expression. I bet someone just asked her "How's the weather up there?" or "Do you play basketball?". Isn't her grave face pretty for its deepset eyes and combed back hair? Sorry, shorty-- you should have donned a uniform and worn STILTS if you wanted to stand out in this photograph.

I gotta head for the hills, but let's talk-- which of these do you like the best? What are some wacky details you've noticed in vintage photographs either in your family or that you've collected? What would YOU do to stand out in a photo at a young age? I'd love to hear from you!

As said, that's all for this week, but I will see you first thing Monday with some weekend finds (I hope!) and vintage ramblings (those are just par for the course). Have a great weekend! Til then.