Photographs from the past

I always enjoy a good rummage in dusty old boxes in junk/antique shops to see what I can unearth. I had a good look a few weeks ago in my local antique shop and I found these beauties. I spent quite some time deciding which to have. I couldn't afford to buy them all and I do find abandoned photos touching. I don't like to think that no one cares about the people photographed any longer and I always think that I need to rescue them. That is coupled with the fact that I love seeing fashions worn by real people in the past. So here are the choices I made:

Edith Dolan 1940's

One fantastic thing about these photos is that most of them had names written on the back and I do like to be able to put a name to a face. Many of them also had date stamps which is so very useful, especially for the starts and ends of decades where the fashions of one are merging into the new fashions the next and clothes alone aren't always enough to go on.

Isn't she just perfect?! Amazing hair, the arches on her eyebrows, glimmering pearl studs, puff sleeved jumper. I think the jumper is a hand knit and it looks to have dark thin stripes knitted in from the bust down. I think I have a similar pattern. I would love to know more about her.

Winnie Gibson and Douglas 1940's

Winnie's hat stopped me in my tracks and she went into the 'must keep' pile straight away. It is pretty amazing and so very big! Her dress is worth a good look too with those big round buttons on the shoulders and the diagonal stripes that cross at the bust. I wish I could see the rest of it. Douglas looks rather jolly and very smart in his uniform. I hope they came through the war unscathed and were happy together.

Ethel Booth 1920's

Ethel Booth 1920's

I couldn't leave Ethel behind for two reasons. One is that I found two photos of her and I wanted to keep them together. The other is her gorgeous 1920's day wear. I particularly like the first dress, the second is very pretty but a bit floaty for me. The first however, is one that I can imagine wearing. It appears to be a leaf print with a central white bib in the front and a long, pointed collar. Lovely shoes too.

I think Ethel is older in the second photo. Her face has slightly changed shape, her eyes are more defined like she may have some make up on and she has waved her hair. Her floral print dress has pointy, plain cuffs and collar. The floral fabric appears to be see through with a slip underneath, I think the slip is lace trimmed. Great shoes again. I can't quite see what she is holding but I think it is a beaded purse and so that is what it shall be.

Elsie Godard 26th October 1930

Bob and Elsie Godard 6th April 1931

I think Elsie Godard is such a glamorous beauty and I was so pleased to find two photos of her. I just love the top one; the casually knotted pearls, the big fur collar, the sparkle from the ring, the waved hair and that beret. It looks to be tweed, possibly with a bow at the back. I want it.

It is a bonus to get to see whole of her coat in the second photo; I'm sure it is the same one. I would like to know why they are in their outdoor clothes. Are they pretending that they lived in or visited the thatched cottage on the painted backdrop? Elsie looks more set for town than country to me though. Elsie still has her pearls on and I'm wondering if that is a dress clip on her cloche? Her shoes are marvellous too, with white edged bow shaped cut outs on the front.

Bob appears to be in a rather nice three piece wool suit, I can just about see his waistcoat. I like his big turn ups on his trousers. Nice tartan scarf too. I would like to know more about them.

Hilda and I 1920's

On the back of this photo it looks like the writer (I), on the left,  has written that they were 15 and a half and that Hilda is 17. I found out who was who as the next few photos are clearly labelled as Hilda. I think from their positioning that this is Hilda with her sister and I will come back to this in a couple of photos time.

I do like these dresses. You can clearly see the dropped waist of the one on the left, it is marked by several rows of small pleats. From the waist down the skirt are decorations which look rather like rosebuds. These appear to go all the way around the skirt. Hilda's dress has printed flowers and leaves which seem to reach just above waist level. There is a lace insert in the V neck. They both have lovely pearl necklaces and Hilda is spotting some very pretty, glittery star slides in her hair.

Hilda Price 11th April 1931

I would like to know what Hilda is thinking here; she has an interesting expression. I like her smartly belted coat with the big buckle and the thick fur collar with the corsage pinned on. I think her hat is woven fabric though it is hard to tell.

Florrie and Hilda Price 1930's

This was taken on 1st November but I can't read the year of the date stamp sadly. I think it is safe to assume that they are sisters. I am certain that Florrie is the I in the first photo with Hilda.  I have studied them a lot to make the connections. I like the matching huge bead necklaces and the carefully set hair. Hilda could well be wearing the same coat as in the previous photo.

Hilda 7th My 1939

Another interesting expression. What were you pondering Hilda? This photo really has something about it. Here she is a few years older, still liking a big pearl like necklace and a fur collared coat and a star shaped hair clip.

Hilda and hubby 1930's

I loved finding this and realising that I had photos of Hilda from her teenage years to her wedding. The back of the photo just said hubby, so sadly we don't know his name. I'm surprised that the writer didn't say having been so good at writing the names in the first place.

It is a perfect vintage wedding photo. Floor length veil, gigantic bouquet, beautiful full length, long sleeved dress and the groom is carrying his white gloves. I hope they were very happy.

Hilda Price and hubby

I nearly left this one when I first found it as it isn't my kind of thing and as I said I couldn't buy them all. But then I realised it was Hilda and it kind of finished her story off for me. I want this to be a honeymoon memento and I really think it could be. It was taken in a studio that has two branches, one in London and one in Blackpool. I'm so sure that Blackpool is where this was taken, it just feels right!

I think that these photos all came from one person's collection. I wish we knew the links between them all.

Vintage wedding photographs part five

It is an exciting time as my sister gets married on Saturday. It seems to have been a while in the planning and is now suddenly here. Her dress is made, the cakes are iced, my niece and I have sparkly bridesmaid's shoes to wear, bunting is being put together, paper flowers are being fashioned and crochet floral table centrepiece production is a go go. It is all set to be a wonderful day.

All this wedding preparation made me think it was about time to feature some more vintage wedding photos here. You can find more in my previous posts on this subject here, here, here, here  here and here.

I really like this 1920's photograph as you can see a fair bit of detail of the bride's cap and veil. Look at the lovely lace on the corner of the veil that is hanging over the chair. Her cap is either beaded or she has some kind of tiara on. It is a shame that her massive bouquet hides her dress but this is common in wedding photos of this era.

I think this is a 1920's wedding because of the bride's hat, hair and dropped waist dress. On the back of the photo it says Mother and Dad. I wish we had their names! I like the fact that this bride's bouquet almost touches the floor! The groom is very dapper.

I think that this is also a 1920's wedding, although it could be early 1930's. Massive bouquets, floor length veil, pearls, bridal cap. I am particularly interested in the bridesmaid's dresses as it looks like they have some sort of open, full length coat that goes over their dresses. Their hats are also interesting, the look like they have an inner cap that fits close to the head and then the outer part has the brim. You can see the hat pin on the bridesmaid on the left.

I like these two smiley, happy bridesmaids. I like the jaunty angled brims on their hats too. The sleeves and length of their gowns make me think this is a 1930's photo.

I think this is an early 1940's photograph judging by the hair and the woman on the right's dress and hat. We can't see much of the bride but close up it is possible to distinguish two layers to her dress, the top layer is see through and looks to have a lattice pattern. The bridesmaid's dresses look a little more 1930's with their puffed sleeves. On the bridesmaid on the left you can see some kind of detailing near the bottom of the dress, I think it could be an appliqué bow? The little girl has nice shoes that I would wear now and a great, sticking out dress!

This photo is not in great condition but I wanted to include it as the bride is in the middle of laughing at something and looks so very happy. I can't tell if the bride's dress is a printed fabric, some kind of damask or has a lace overlay. Her sleeves look slightly puffed but then tight from the elbow down. You can just catch a glimpse of her floor length veil behind the groom's leg. I like his pin striped suit. I think this is a 1940's wedding.

This is a lovely picture of a wartime wedding. I hope that they had a long and happy life together. The bride and bridesmaid have suits on or possibly the bride has a long coat and a dress on. Impressive hats too.

Very helpfully there is lots of information on the back of this picture. The wedding of Mary and Alan took place on 4th November 1948. The best man is Brian Temperley and the bridesmaid is May Lyons, the bride worked with her at the Regal Cinema. I love being able to find out this kind of information. The bride is in a lovely shaped suit, it looks like the skirt may button down the middle, or it has some kind of central decoration. May's dress has some very pretty pleats and looks to have some embroidery at the collar. She has a very far away look!

This bride is wearing a lovely suit, it is probably a wartime wedding. The star piece of her ensemble is her hat. It  has masses of veiling and some bird's feathers/wings/half a bird on it. Quite impressive. They look happy couple.

I think that this could be a 1940's wedding too. The top of her dress has such beautiful details on it, beaded flowers and a sequined ribbon. I think that her hat is made of feathers, I like the ones that curl around her ears. This is a lovely, happy picture.

This is such a fabulous picture of these three bridesmaids all smiling away. The have lovely floor length floral dresses with a slight sweetheart neckline finished off with pearls. They all have elbow length white gloves and cute half hats. I think this is from a 1950's wedding.

I'm looking forward to Saturday!

My photo shoot with Millinery by Jen

Handmade silk flower

A couple of weekends ago I had the most fun day playing photographer on a photo shoot. It was the first photo shoot that I have ever done, as in one where it would be beneficial to get some decent, usable pictures by the end of it! I was using a much fancier camera than I normally use and when I got over being scared of breaking it I enjoyed playing the part of a paparazzo.

Handmade bead and sequin star band

 For those who know me it may come as a surprise that it didn't come naturally to direct the lovely model, I felt like I was being a right bossy pants. However, after a while, I got over that and was full of 'turn', 'twirl', 'look down', 'tilt head', 'smile', 'don't smile' etc! It was really interesting to me to find out ways for the camera, the model and the photographer to bring out the best in the glorious items which were being snapped. I really wanted to try and do them justice but I think that they speak for themselves.

Feathers

Have you guessed what I was taking pictures of? There have been lots of clues!

Royal blue beret with bow trim

Yep! Hats!! Lots and lots of glorious handmade hats. I think this beret should be snapped up by Kate Middleton.

Red, white and blue

A patriotic number! Perfect for Jubilees, high days and holidays.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

The most fabulous shape. The missing piece to complete your New Look, assuming you already have a Dior Bar suit.

Navy cloche with flower

Super stylish and time period appropriate for this season of Downton Abbey. I love that programme. It is a shame that I hadn't been told before this photo shoot that I must go upstairs to take off my hat as Lady Mary does.

Felt leaves and a fabric covered button.

So. I bet you want to know why I was taking these pictures, and more importantly, who has made all these gorgeous hats?

Red flower with spotty button

Here she is! The very talented Jen! If you are in a hat styling fix you need to call her. Seriously. She knows how to arrange it on your head just so, so that both you and the hat look great. Much better than my general plonk it on and hope for the best approach.

My auntie and I dancing at my wedding

I got married nearly two years ago and my lovely friend Jen offered to make me a wedding hat. I was really touched and snapped up the offer and I received the most beautiful hat for my wedding day. It is made from pleated purple velvet and it has 3 vintage pearl buttons nestled in the pleats. There are three white feathers in a knot of braid and the same purple and gold braid trims the hat. I absolutely love it. Jen put it on a comb for me so that I could ram it into my hair (told you I wasn't gifted in hat styling) and it stayed put throughout the service, the reception and some mighty strenuous ceilidh dancing. My shoes couldn't hack it and had to come off but that wonderful hat had no such problems.

My wedding hat and bag

Here it is in close up and next to it is a bag that was a surprise gift. Jen kindly made me a vintage style bag using the same fabric and trim which was the perfect size and went beautifully with my dress.

Green tweed with a purple velvet bow

After four years studying millinery and having a life long love of hats Jen has decided to let her hats out into the world. Hooray! Our photo shoot provided images for her Etsy shop. Feel free to head over and check it out.

Navy heart pill box with felt bird

This heart shape is so cute and is a more unusual take on the traditional pill box shape.

Navy braid swirl.

A really pretty, classic look.

Purple beret

I love the shape and the colour of this purple beret. It even looks good from the back!

Red roses

Handmade ribbon roses. I think this hat would suit all manner of occasions.

I think I took over 300 photos, made Jen do lots of posing, drank several cups of tea, ate some tasty cake and it really was a fun day. I enjoyed getting to look at all the hats up close and looking at the shapes, trims and decorations in detail. If you want to keep up with Jen's adventures in hat making you can find her here.

More vintage wedding photographs part three

Recently I was lucky enough to find a few more vintage wedding photographs. I snapped them up; I enjoy looking at them so much. I always wonder about the stories that they are telling: how did the bride and groom meet?, how long had they been together? did they marry for love? who is everyone? how are they related? did the bride make her dress? what did the bridesmaids think of theirs? I wish it was possible to know some of  the answers. The most pertinent question is were they happy? I hope that they did all live happily ever after.

I was really pleased to spot this large group photograph, 4 bridesmaids, a flower girl and a page boy is good going. I think this dates from the late 1920's or early 1930's. The bridesmaids all have shawl collared dresses, the collars are edged with frills as are the bottom of the dresses. I think it is very interesting to see that they are all wearing the same hat but have styled them quite differently, like a bit of their personalities peeking through. I think I like the one on the far right best.

It is very hard to see much detail of the bride's dress. There seems to be quite a lot going on with the bodice and she possibly has a belt on. What amazes me is her tiara/headpiece. It is huge, really like a full on crown. I wonder if it was heavy? The glimpse of lace in her floor length veil looks gorgeous and very intricate.

The groom and the two men on the right are clearly related, they have the same nose and mouth shape. All the men have three piece suits on with differently patterned ties and in one case a bow tie. I wonder if he insisted on being different?!

The woman on the left interests me for a couple of reasons. Her dress is more 1920's in style than the others. It could just be an old one? If you can see her expression she actually looks quite cross! Was she? Or did she just not like having her picture taken?

This is only a tiny little snap that is a bit creased and wrinkled. I very much like it because it is such a candid shot. I like how it captures the bride and groom just as they exit the church, having a little chat or a joke before heading off to be congratulated and to pose for photos. I think this is from the 1930's although it is hard to tell with so little detail of the outfits visible.

This is a lovely picture, everyone looks happy, even the girl on the left who isn't beaming but does have a little smile going on. I think this is from the late 1930's/the early 1940's. Both men have very dapper double breasted pin striped suits on and very well stuck down hair!

The two older bridesmaids are in the same dresses, puff sleeves, centre button bodices and what look like large collars with small ruffles that tie with a bow. I think that it is interesting that they have tiaras similar to the brides and which have small veils at the back. The other two bridesmaids have floral headpieces and no veils. The bridesmaid with glasses has a Peter Pan collar dress and the youngest bridesmaid has lots of ruffles. I am wondering if the dresses are different by design or if it was because it was wartime and you had to take what you could get.

I think the bride is very pretty and looks radiant. Sadly we can't see many details of her dress because of the enormous bouquet and the lucky horseshoe. Her mid length veil seems to be made of a stunning piece of lace.

Oh. Did I mention the bridesmaids shoes? No? Take a look at their shoes!

I was very pleased to find these two pictures as I am always happy to find more than one photograph from the same wedding. It makes me feel like I am getting to see more of the story. The first picture contains the bride and groom's parents, the second just the bridesmaids and best man. I think that these date from the 1940s.

The bride's dress appears to be quilted on the yoke and shoulders and also appears to have amazing big 1940's shoulder heads on the sleeves. The dress has a collar and maybe has a pattern down the centre of the bodice but that is all the detail that it is possible to see, again, due to the enormous bouquet. This contains a lucky horseshoe or two and also a lucky black cat. Her veil is almost floor length and has floral motifs around it's edges. She looks very beautiful.

All of the bridesmaids are in different style dresses which makes me think it is wartime. I didn't see that at first, somehow my eye merged them all into something similar until I took a closer look.  Maybe the fact that they all have gathered muffs with flowers in the centre helped bring it all together. These are quite amazingly poofy! The bridesmaids have two different headpieces - a floral garland and some sort of wire work tiara. Look at the expressions of the bridesmaids on the left in the second photo!

I do like the groom's happy expression and the fact that you can see his and the best man's jumpers sticking out of the tops of their jackets. Maybe it was a cold day and the gathered muffs were not just for decoration.

I have really enjoyed looking at these photographs. I hope that I find some more soon.

More vintage wedding photographs part two.

A few weeks ago I made a great find, all thanks to a friend. She had seen a couple of large vintage photographs on a market stall which I had missed and had to have when I went to look at them. Whilst paying I was in conversation with the seller who pointed me in the direction of the stall behind him. When I asked the seller there about vintage photographs she opened a trunk! That is right, a trunk! I had a very happy time going through the piles in that trunk, and had a hard time choosing my final selection, many of which will feature on here at some point. All today's photos are from that trunk. Thanks to my friend who kindly waited for me to finish despite the freezing weather and who held my dog's lead for a bit so I could have two free hands for treasure hunting!

Here is today's first lovely bride. This is Joy, married September the 4th 1937. I love it when the photos have details written on their backs. If you look closely you can see that her dress has pretty lace inserts in the skirt. It is a very demure dress with the high neck, long sleeves and floor length skirt. I think the hat sets it off perfectly. I like the simplicity against the massive bouquet.



I am glad that we can see Joy's face a little more clearly here. We also get a good view of her lucky horseshoe. The bridesmaid's dresses appear to be lace with cute little collars and a row of tiny buttons down their centres. I like their posies, they appear to have large central flowers surrounded by a shaped paper cuff. Lovely hairstyles and headpieces too. The groom is very dapper, he is holding his white gloves in his free hand.

I was very pleased to find these two as both the bride and groom are wearing glasses! Read more about my favourite brides in glasses in this post. I think this dates from the 1940s. The bride is wearing a beautiful, long sleeved lace dress with a ruffle at the neck. Her veil is a stunning floor length one with an embroidered border. Her hair piece appears to be made from the same fabric as the dress. The groom as lovely striped trousers and a stripy tie. His shoes have a fantastic shine!

This looks to me like a mother and daughter waiting outside their front door with the bride's bouquet. I was hoping to match it to one of the brides in this set of photos but it is not quite right for any of them. Sadly, there is no way of knowing what was going on but I really like the photo. I think it is from the early 1940s. I love the daughter's dress, especially the trim around the border and the neckline. It looks like it may be embroidered. I think it is the pair of jaunty hats which really draw the eye in this photo.

Look at this lovely couple getting married in wartime. Also, another bride in glasses! The third thing that pleased me was that I found four of this couple's wedding photographs, it is so nice to have a set to look through. Obviously the groom is in uniform, with his cap tucked under his lapel?, and the bride is wearing what is probably her best suit. The two black patches look like applique in an inverted rain drop shape. Each nestles between two spirals of fabric decoration. Possibly they may be fur as may be her hat, making them all match together nicely.

Here they are with their tiny flower girl and one set of parents. The flower girl is wearing a dress trimmed at the cuffs and collar with either fur or something like angora. Look at the massive bow in her hair! The parents are very smart in their suits. The mothers has fur patches at the hips and the collar ties with beautiful fur pom poms. I have taken quite a liking to her handbag. I love ones with a top clasp opening, probably as I have happy memories of my grandma clicking hers open in the car to hand around sweets!

I love this group one. I think there are two sets of grandparents in here too. Everyone looks so smart and happy. I think it is a lovely photo. I wish I knew the names of this couple.

I have saved the best one of this group for last! This tinted photo is still in it's paper presentation mount so I had the joy of opening it up and finding this beauty. Assuming the colours are reasonably accurate gives a real feel for what they really looked like. I keep looking at it, I think it is gorgeous.

Moving into the 1950's for the next two couples. This is such a super photo, how very traditional wedding! Look at the groom's topper and waistcoat and slicked back hair. I can't begin to imagine how much net is in that bride's big dress but it looks amazing all stood out. The top two thirds is lace and it looks like she has a long sleeved bolero on. You can just see the string of pearls around her neck. Here it is obvious how fashions have changed from the previous decades, much shorter veil, much smaller bouquet, much bigger dress.

Isn't she a lovely bride in a gorgeous dress?! This picture was also inside a paper presentation mount so I was very excited as I looked inside. It is nice to see a side view to see more details of the dress, including how wide it is at the bottom. From here it is obvious that she does have a bolero on. I wish we knew what the bodice looked like underneath.

This next photograph is the last one from this set. All the rest of the pictures from the trunk are of things other than weddings so I will come back to them at a later date. I am not going to say much about this picture as I think it speaks for itself. I think the photographer has done a great job at capturing this couple's joy on their wedding day.