(Not My) Family Photos, Featuring Freida

Hello again, hello again! I've been too busy alternately watching the tv show "Hoarders" and excavating portions of my two costume closets in a resultant state of abject shame to blog lately-- lots and lots of apologies, but at least the good work is being done!

I thought I'd share with you some photos I found the other day while dipping into the many-hour commitment that becomes "looking at other people's family photos online" when you google "Mom 19__". On Thursday, during a particularly slow period at the Nonfiction desk, I tried "Mom 1956" and came up with about a dozen photos of this guy's mom, Freida, from 1956-1959. I wish to goodness I'd saved the url when I was downloading the photos, so you could see all his (very photogenic) family, but I bet if you did the same sort of search you might be able to come across them again.



Does she not look like something out of a movie? I love the strong expression and imprint you get from her in every one of these pictures. To the left, looking fierce in a field somewhere. To the right, far outshining her friend's Village of the Damned perfectly straight coiffure. The loose wave of her hair and glasses like an Oldsmobile's hood ornament really make this photo. THOSE are the kind of glasses I eventually want to replace my Buddy Holly-ish backup frames with... glasses that allow you to spot me a mile away. See the alternating pattern of solid stripes and polka dot stripes in her dress and the lace at the neckline. I love it!



Why so many apples? Pie festival? Chuckwagon business? Note her continually perfect hair and the solid composition of this photo. Reminds me of Fried Green Tomatoes.



I just bought a plaid skirt like this at an estate sale the other day for seventy cents. You don't get much more teenage fashion, late 40's/early 50's than a knife pleated plaid full length skirt. This is the kind of skirt in which I would go on a date with Mickey Rooney--the height difference alone would make for a subplot (and I am a sucker for over the top, showboating cuties, ask the one I'm engaged to). See the split rail fence, and the boy at right who didn't know a picture was being taken. And the car....?



Here, the same dress from the very top of this entry at a closer angle. The fit alone is great, but I like the matched fabric belt and the whimsy little ties at the sleeve's edge. And again with the car at the right... wonder if it was new? New-to-them? Important enough of an outing to take two separate photographs, so it must've been something!



Far ruder things than "closed" have probably been written on this soaped storefront window (in the fine print). The gal in plaid is Grace Kelly thin... if her waist was any smaller, it would probably be concave. I like Freida's bolero necklace and "so what" posture.



Two more great outfits and grim expressions... I wonder what color the gingham in the left's dress was... the prim little collar and ivory buttons are a selling point for me. At right, I wish I had a smaller head so I could pull off a jaunty, back of head beret without looking like an egghead. I also like her tough little leather jacket. I must make an investment on one of those one of these days.




A friend of mine had a collar necklace very similar to this in early high school... just a black choker encrusted in glitter, instead of three strands of rhinestones, but a very similar look. I remember seeing a photo of her in it from the late 90's and thinking how late 90's it looked to me, and then I saw this photo! Guess the collar was more timeless than I'd judged it. At right, Freida's put on a pair of glasses and picked up a cat since the first time you saw her, but is still looking effortlessly cool.



The last photo I saw in the collection of our girl was from the early sixties... look how she'd grown! And a baby to boot! Probably the predecessor of whoever posted these photos. I applaud her couch selection, as lipstick red is an almost unavoidable choice in a lot of my decorating decisions, and see how it goes with the strange, grey patterned carpet. Want. Did you spot the Santas painted on the window? I do love it.

I wish there was more of Freida to share, but again, the photo-logging stopped there. But I'm glad I was able to see them at all! Strangers family photos. Isn't the internet and google image search wonderful? I got such a kick last week out of going over her outfits and backgrounds, hope you did, too. Are you a secret other-people's-family-photo-gawker yourself? Or do you confine yourself to your own relatives?

Til next time!