Fashion - a glimpse of the past

Fashion - a glimpse of the past

I have been reading a few fashion blogs lately - ya know, the ones with the pretty pictures - in particular, The Sartorialist. Like most women, I care about what I put on, but until recent times I have never been particularly interested in "farshion" as we call it in my house. To be an utter bore, I will bring up that Daniel Pink book yet again. I am wondering whether my increased interest in aesthetics has something to do with my right brain looking for a bit of action. A new found desire for good design also has implications for our house renovation. We are spending enough on it now to warrant moving into a home in a better area. But we love the idea of a well thought out home, designed with our family in mind. So we stays put.

Getting back to farshion, I marvel at all the beautiful young things on these blogs (another interesting one is Face Hunter). An Aunt recently had a photo posted on facebook of her with her ex in the 60s. She looked like a beauty queen. She commented that all young people seem beautiful through the filter of age. It makes me think of myself 15 years ago. I was 17 and embarrassed at being small and thin. Being a uni student in the days of grunge meant I could cover up with baggy jeans, work boots and vintage men's shirts and (cringe) pyjama tops picked up from the op shop. I curse myself for not embracing my youth when I could have been more adventurous with clothing.

Anways, the point of this blog was post a few more family photos (many from my father's cousin's mother's side - no blood relation to me, but they were the best dressed in the pile!). I love how years ago dress was so much more formal. Impractical, but lovely to look at.

Once upon a time, dressing up didn't mean wearing a dress, or jacket - you did that anyway. Dressing up meant donning your furs:


When one picnicked, one slouched around in vests, bowties, and jackets:


When one dressed as a hobo, one simply wore one's suit askew:


How embarrassing! One has been photographed in one's bathers!


I love how dapper the man on the left looks:



I think these ladies are playing at dress-ups with the vintage wear of the day - the point gets lost through time however!


My grandparents were factory workers. Granny had to make most of her own clothes. Here she is, 20 or 21, pregnant and two kids in tow. What an effort it must have been to turn herself out so well (being so young must have helped):


I included this because my father (left) looks like he could have flown home using those protrusions on his head - bless his little knitted jumper: