40 Amazing Photos of Women Posing With Their Automobiles in the 1920s

From 1919 to 1929, primarily North America and parts of Europe experienced the rise of the Roaring Twenties. Social and economic circumstances underwent dramatic changes. The economic power and high employment of the United States allowed Americans to spend more extravagantly on entertainment. War veterans returned home seeking relaxation and comfort instead of returning to their factory or agricultural duties.

Watching movies and listening to the newly invented radio became increasingly popular during this period, which further encouraged the desires of people for Hollywood style lives of indulgence and ease. This extravagance was ignited by the introduction of Henry Ford’s Model T, a car affectionately known as the “Tin Lizzie.”

Cars became a major source of freedom and adventure as well as travel, and cars greatly altered the standard of living, the social patterns of the day, and urban planning; and cars differentiated suburban and urban living purposes. In addition, the rise of cars led to the creation of new leisure activities and businesses.

The car became the center of middle and working class life until the start of World War II. These amazing vintage photos from Vintage Cars & People that captured portraits of women posing with their automobiles from the 1920s.

A cheerful young lady posing with an Opel 4/12 PS in a yard or depot on a bleak winter's day. She is wearing a checkered dress. The car is registered in the city of Lübeck, circa 1925

A fashionable lady dressed in a white coat, cloche hat, gloves, and silk stockings posing with a Mercedes 15/70/100 PS in the countryside. The right-hand-drive car is registered in the city of Stuttgart, circa 1925

Two young ladies posing with an open tourer with a fabric-covered body in the countryside, circa 1925

A young lady wearing a female suit, cloche hat, and a fox fur neckpiece posing with an Opel 4/16 PS Cabriolet in the countryside. The car is registered in the city of Leipzig, circa 1926

A cheerful young lady posing in the driver's seat of a 1927 Durant Star Coupe, August 1927

A lady in a white fur-collared coat and her terrier posing with an Adler 6/25 PS. The print is marked "Wiesbaden, April 1927" on reverse

A stylish lady posing with a mud-splattered Steyr XII on a dirt road in wintertime. She is wearing a fur-collared coat, silk stockings, circa 1927

A cheerful young lady posing on the roof of a Hanomag 2/10 PS on a bleak winter's day. These tiny light-weight cars were popularly known as Kommissbrot, after flat-sided loaves of bread used by the military, circa 1928

A fashionable lady in a fur coat posing on the roof of an NSU 6/30 PS on a sunny winter's day. The car is registered in the city of Stuttgart, circa 1928

A fashionable lady in a white summer dress posing with a Wanderer 8/40 PS in the countryside. The car is registered in the German state of Thuringia, circa 1928

A fashionable lady in an elaborate fur coat posing with an NSU 6/30 PS in the countryside. The car is registered in the city of Stuttgart, circa 1928

A fashionable lady posing with a 1926 Hupmobile Eight Coach in the countryside. She is dressed in a white summer dress with matching shoes and a cloche hat, circa 1928

A fashionable lady wearing a cloche hat and a fur-collared coat posing with a Fiat 509 Berlina. The Fiat is registered in the French département of Dordogne, circa 1928

A fashionable lady wearing a fur-collared coat, cloche hat, silk stockings, and gloves posing with an NSU 7/35 PS. The car is registered in the city of Nuremberg, circa 1928

A fashionable young lady posing on the bonnet of an open tourer in the countryside. She is dressed in a fur-trimmed coat, an embroidered dress, silk stockings and pumps. The car is registered in the city of Berlin, circa 1928

A fashionable young lady seductively posing on the running board of a Brennabor 6/25 PS Typ R Limousine in the countryside. A second lady can be seen sitting in the driver's seat of the black two-door saloon, circa 1928

A fashionable young lady with a permanent wave posing in front of an ancient automobile, circa 1928

A lady in evening dress posing with an Opel 4/16 PS in front of a railway embankment in the countryside, circa 1928

A young lady posing in the driver's seat of a 1926 Buick Sedan, circa 1928

A young lady posing on the bonnet of a light truck in a farmyard. She is wearing a dark-colored female suit, a white beret, silk stockings. The car is registered in the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau, circa 1928

A young lady wearing a white summer dress and two-tone shoes posing with a Chrysler "58" Club Coupe in the countryside, circa 1928

An elegant lady posing with a Berliet saloon in a cobbled residential street. She is wearing a dark-colored dress, fringed stole, silk stockings and pumps, circa 1928

An elegant young lady posing with a Fiat 503 Torpedo on the side of a country road in summertime. The car is registered in the city of Hamburg, circa 1928

Three fashionable ladies posing with a Ford Model A Tudor Sedan on a country road in wintertime. The car appears to be of American manufacture, most likely registered with German licence plates, circa 1928

Two fashionable ladies posing with an Opel 4/16 PS Limousine in a cobbled farmyard, circa 1928

Two young ladies – dressed in identical white female suits – posing with a Cyklon 9/40 PS in the graveled drive of a prestigious home. The car is registered in the city of Stuttgart, circa 1928

Two young ladies posing with a Lancia Lambda Berlina in an unpaved urban street. The car is registered in the city of Turin and equipped with a pennant in the Italian national colors, circa 1928

A bashful young lady posing with an Opel 4/20 PS Limousine in wintertime. She is wearing a fur-collared coat and a cloche hat, circa 1929

A cheerful couple posing with a Fiat 503 Torpedo in the countryside, July 1929

A cheerful lady posing with a 1927 Erskine Six in summertime. The car is registered in the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau, 1929

A cheerful young lady posing on the bonnet of a Citroën Type B14 Berline in a forest. She is wearing a patterned dress with a matching jacket and silk stockings. The car is registered in the Prussian province of Brandenburg, circa 1929

A fashionable lady in a fur-trimmed coat posing with a Dixi 3/15 PS Tourer in the countryside. The car was in fact an Austin Seven, built under license in Germany. It is registered in the formerly Bavarian Palatinate, circa 1929

A fashionable lady posing on the roof of a 1929 Whippet on a gravel road in the countryside. She is wearing a cloche hat, a checkered summer coat, a pleated skirt, silk stockings. The car is registered in the state of Baden, circa 1929

A fashionable lady posing with a 1928 Auburn 8-115 Phaeton Sedan at a petrol station in summertime. A sign reading "Mobiloel – Deutsche Vacuum Oel Aktiengesellschaft" reveals that this photo was actually taken in Germany, circa 1929

A fashionable young lady in an ankle-length dress posing with a Brennabor Typ AFK 12/55 PS Cabriolet-Limousine in the countryside, circa 1929

A lady in a fur-collared coat posing with a Lancia Lambda in front of an overgrown garden on a hazy autumn's day, circa 1929

A stylish brunette lady wearing a checkered dress and a Basque-style beret posing on the bumper of a convertible car – possibly an Opel 8/40 PS Roadster, circa 1929

A tall blonde lady in a fashionable coat posing on the bonnet of an Opel 4/20 PS Cabriolet on a country road. The car is registered in the Prussian province of Westphalia, May 1929

A young lady dressed in a fur-collared coat, cloche hat, and silk stockings posing with an Opel 4/20 PS on a snowy winter's day. The car is registered in the German state of Thuringia, March 10, 1929

Three fashionable ladies posing with an open-top 1929 Essex Six Roadster automobile in autumntime, circa 1929