Framed or unframed, desk size to sofa size, printed by us in Arizona and Alabama since 2007. Explore now.
Shorpy is funded by you. Patreon contributors get an ad-free experience.
Learn more.
Washington, D.C., circa 1910. "Theta Pi girls." A couple more pix and then it's off to Daytona Beach! Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.
They just can't wait to get to wild Daytona Beach and get in on the Hottest Ankle contest.
Back row, far left. Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about! She has that look that only wish the wife could do when I came in the door after work.
I could go on about these dresses all day. The elaborate trims and ruffles of the past are still present, but the silhouette and structure are moving to a more natural form, allowing girls greater physical activity. These gowns are the heirs of the Gibson Girl confections, and the precursors to the practical tailoring of the WWI days.
Amazing how feminine beauty transcends time, despite the differences in dress, style, and convention. Never mind the fact that all of these women are now dust, for this moment frozen in time in the full bloom of their youth, they still project many aspects of personality and life force, and obviously stir some basic emotions as evidenced by some of the other comments. And yes, the blonde is quite attractive, and the woman in the middle has a Mona Lisa smile that hints of many things.
That gargoyle in the middle of the picture is completely creeping me out. It's leering directly at the girl with the slightly frizzy hair in front of it in a manner that suggests, "Beware my dear, for today might be your last."
High school grads? College? Or, very probably, Finishing School. Some seem too young for college and others too old for high school.
[Theta Pi was a sorority at Eastern High School. - Dave]
Today's version of Right Rear Gal at 30: Jogs w/stroller, shops at Trader Joe's, drives Volvo XC90, has personal Pilates instructor, buys her two-and-that's-enough offspring only those toys made from sustainably harvested Scandinavian birch. And she's gorgeous enough to make other women curse.
Thanks to the middle girl, middle row, for leaning right so she would fit into my window without me having to scroll. Quite the forward thinking one.
I doubt a picture of a sorority now would show so many similarities. I wonder if the girl on the second row with the square neckline and the pearls was considered greatly daring for stepping out from the high-necked collars?
I wouldn't say that they "wasted" their education by getting married. These are the mothers of the people who came of age in the Great Depression and fought World War II. A lot bigger accomplishment than any lawyer/ad executive/magazine editor who didn't "waste" her education today.
I wonder of the frat boys ever referred to these lovelies as "the girls from Pet-a Thigh."
Just once I would love to see a posting from someone having traced their ancestors and found that they were 'lusting' after their own Great Grandmother!!
But for the long haul, I'll take the one standing behind her on the left. Kind of a Mona Lisa smile, and looks like she'd be good fun.
Did they have to tie up Miss Angry Face sitting on the far left, or is she mad because she didn't get to hold the sacred bowl?
Who got married and wasted their education and who didn't?
Then I thought who got married (or didn't) and was able to use their education that they worked so hard to get?
Beautiful girls in a natural state which makes me wonder when did cosmetics enter the picture? I bet these girls would have had fun with a kit full of makeup!
[These girls were no strangers to makeup. Even in 1910, cosmetics was big business. - Dave]
If she is already taken and you give me a few beers I'll make do with Miss Chesty on the middle row.
A professional portrait: Everyone in their best white dress. The sorority's prized treasures, the cup and the banner. A patterned carpet easy to set a scene on. A painted backdrop, patched in places. Benches to be arranged on. A cheesy comment from the picture man trying to get the girls to smile. Some like it, some didn't, and others ignored it.
group of incredible lovelies. Keep 'em coming Dave, and thank you.
Would be used as part of a ritual. In our sorority back in the 1940s we had a big china cup we'd fill with coke (or wine, if we were feeling adventurous) and pass around during initiation. Everyone would take a sip and we'd sing a song.
Yet another fine Shorpy example of natural beauty, no makeup or artificial enhancements needed here. Although the girl seated on the left could use a couple of pounds of makeup.
As entrancing as this photograph is, it's one of those scenes I wish I could see in its original natural color — for the variety in the ladies' hair, their skin tone, their eyes and maybe even their dresses (although most appear to be basically white).
and they'll all have bobbed hair and wear short, straight dresses. And their figures will magically disappear.
But where are the UGG boots, black tights and oversize Hanes tees?
pearl necklaces, tiny brooches, crisp white dresses, and upswept hair a little frizzy (no hairspray, y'know). Your grandpa, hunky stud that he was, could've mowed a wide swath through this garden of good girls, Dave.
[Something tells me you're thinking of Tony W's grandpa. Who was born long after this photo was taken. - Dave]
What is that bowl for? Certainly not alms!
Be still my beating heart. Oh for the day I could've met her ... sigh
On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5