MAY CONTAIN NUTS
HOME
 
JUMP TO PAGE   100  >  200  >  300  >  400  >  500  >  600
VINTAGRAPH • WPA • WWII • YOU MEAN A WOMAN CAN OPEN IT?

Fashionista: 1912

From the collection of film and 4x5 glass negatives I recently purchased that seem to have been taken in upstate New York about 1912. This is from a film negative that has been bent, hence the flare on the right side.  The lady's dress is spectacular, and she is coordinated with gloves and white shoes.  I don't think this was an inexpensive outfit. View full size.

From the collection of film and 4x5 glass negatives I recently purchased that seem to have been taken in upstate New York about 1912. This is from a film negative that has been bent, hence the flare on the right side. The lady's dress is spectacular, and she is coordinated with gloves and white shoes. I don't think this was an inexpensive outfit. View full size.

On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5

Dress comments

My wife and I have done historical costuming for years. The fabric of this dress is almost certainly worsted wool. It's surface smoothness looks like worsted and the folds and drapes are too full to be even heavy linen. The dress she's wearing in the first photo posted (the eyelet lace dress) is either linen or cotton or possibly even a blend of the two.

As to colors, that's harder to determine than you might think. Early black and white films didn't respond to colors in quite the way we expect nowadays. Silver halide is most responsive to the blue end of the spectrum. Colors from the other end often wound up overly dark. With glass plate negatives, special dies and filters could be used to produce a more accurate tonal map of the colors, but those didn't work with film at this time.

It wouldn't surprise me if the dress was actually bright blue with bright yellow collar and cuffs or something like that. Wool takes die especially well and so was often very brightly colored (particularly after the invention of aniline dyes in the 1850s).

Mohonk Mountain House?

When I saw the first photo of the lady sitting in the rocking chair, it sparked a thought in my mind but I let it pass for the moment.

Now seeing the second photo of the lady sitting on a rough-hewn bench, I am even more suspicious.

There is a resort in New Paltz, NY called the Mohionk Mountain House. Like me, anyone who has ever visited there is familiar with all the rocking chairs on the porches, and the rough-hewn benches and gazebos along the walking paths.

I wonder if this is where these photos were taken?

Going to the website for the hotel will produce an abundance of photos with the rocking chairs and benches I have alluded to....

Smile, dammit, smile

I know nobody cares what I think and I know many people who would never allow themselves to crack a smile in their posed pictures because it may not be "cool" or sophisticated, but this elegant lady would look a million times better, younger and healthier if only she would have smiled or at least put on a pleasant face. Instead she has a dour expression in both of the photos we've seen that makes her look gloomy and judgmental, with a superior attitude. Even Mona Lisa looks more approachable. Perhaps we will see a happy picture of her in the future. (That's my story and I'm stickin' to it).

[Try this one. -tterrace]

Fabric

My guess would be that the dress is linen, which was a common fabric for "day dresses" like this one. Linen is pretty comfortable/breathable in hot weather, even in a fairly heavy weave. It's also very prone to wrinkling, so this lady's perfectly pressed dress may also be well-starched.

Yes, but what is the fabric

What is the fabric the dress is made from? Very thick and stiff but pliable - and warm?

A Lady, Indeed

Carriage, bearing, clothing...everything about her says she's had the best all her life, including education. And in 8 more years she'll be able to vote. How much talent in America was wasted while living in men's shadows?

Lady in Red

Natural beauty. Does not appear to be wearing any makeup or lipstick. For color, I'm guessing dark red or maroon cuffs with gold braid. Hat is red, dress is off white.

Was this same lady...

... in the rocking chair a few photos earlier?

[Yes. - tterrace]

Colors?

Seeing this vision of sartorial splendor, I wonder what she looked like in color. Gloves are obviously white; dress is off white, probably a light cream color. The cuffs and collar make the dress. I'm thinking gold braid over a deep midnight blue. Stunning indeed.

Sunday Best Maybe?

Could this be a Sunday best outfit? Maybe visiting the in-laws? Either way, beautiful. The camera definitely loves this lady, bend or no bend in the negative.

Saranac Lake?

The background looks a bit too bucolic for Saratoga. And the bench looks a bit rough-hewn for Chautauqua. Saranac Lake was a summer destination for wealthy New Yorkers; possibly this series was taken there.

A lady

with style and determination, judging by the look on her face.

Syndicate content  Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.