Stunning Fashion Photography in the 1950s by Roger Prigent

A student of Richard Avedon, Roger Prigent first came to the United States from France shortly after the Second World War to visit his sister, who’d spent the war as a pharmaceutical researcher in Washington. On his return to France, he became a photo-reporter for newsmagazines like Paris Match and during his extended holiday in New York, he met Lilian Bassman, the former art director of Harper’s Bazaar who’d become a Bazaar photographer.

1950s fashion photography by Roger Prigent

Bassman needed an assistant, and so Prigent stayed put. At the time, her studio was filled with friends like Richard Avedon, whose simple photographic style appealed to him. “When I met him,” Prigent said of Avedon, “it was like meeting the Pope.” When he was asked to shoot the lines of a fledgling designer as a one-time side job, he emulated Avedon, and it caught the attention of Vogue.

Coupled with his French accent and charming demeanor, it gave him a ticket into the fashion jet set. Prigent was soon sent to Paris to shoot couture for French Vogue and ended up casting his photographs at the home of a famous decorator, Gérard Mille, who lived with his brother Hervé, a media heavyweight, in an apartment decorated with 1930s-style pieces. “It was a beautiful apartment. I didn’t even know that people could live that way,” Prigent remembered. “There was this woman in black who sat there with them while I took my pictures and kept on saying, ‘But these look like maid’s dresses! These are like maid’s dresses! Who’s this Dior?’” That evening, he learned it was Coco Chanel. The Mille apartment was like a send-off for Prigent, and as his career as a photographer took off.

These stunning fashion photos are part of his work that Roger Prigent took from the 1950s.

Model wearing a yellow lace creamy satin gown by Harvey Berin and Karen Stark, 1952

Shoes, 1952

Model is wearing a pale blue chiffon nightgown by Carter's, 1952

Barbara Mullen wearing an outfit by Claire McCardell, Vogue, September 1952

Maria Reachi wearing her hair swept back in a flowered-garlanded chignon. Her lipstick is 'Pink Geranium' by Charles of the Ritz, Vogue, June 1952

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35 Charming Photos of ’50s Ladies in Dresses

During the 1950s, women wore dresses like we wear t-shirts and jeans today. A 1950s dress was a closet staple and came in a wide variety of colors and two primary silhouettes. Shoulders were narrow and soft. The waist had to be tiny and pulled in — a “wasp” waist. A tight bodice came to the natural waist or slightly higher, where the skirt took over.

The skirt is where the two silhouettes of the 1950s emerged. The full swing skirt and the tight pencil skirt. They were complete opposites but both were worn equally by women in the 1950s.

1950s dress fabrics were endless and made a dress more casual or elegant depending on where it was worn. Cotton was used for leisure wear. Wool and linen were popular for day, as were the new synthetics rayon and polyester. Tweed, like wool and acetate blends, was in vogue for fall in the mid-1950s. Silk shantung could be used to make a dress a little bit more dressy for dinners out.

Colors went from light and girly to bold. Pastels were very popular in all clothing, and dresses were also done in jewel tones like royal purple, ruby red, navy, and emerald green.

These charming photos captured portraits of beautiful ladies wearing dresses in the 1950s.

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Stunning Portrait of a Young Woman Smiling, ca. 1880

Photographed by Carlos Relvas (1838–1894), a pioneer of amateur photography in Portugal.

Carlos Relvas was born in the Outeiro Palace, in Golegã, a small village in the rural province of Ribatejo in Portugal. His father, José Farinha Relvas de Campos was one of the wealthiest landowners in Ribatejo. He was educated by private tutors in science and foreign languages, namely French.

Of an artistic disposition, he soon turned to photography. In 1876, he had an opulent atelier built in one of his properties in Golegã, and bought several of the most modern photographic apparatuses from all over Europe. His photographic works became very well known and highly valued in Portugal: it did not take long until Carlos Relvas was considered the finest amateur photographer in the country. He became a member of the Société française de photographie, and many of his photographs were showcased in several exhibitions, both national and abroad, and won many prizes.

Awkward Vintage Photos of 30 Classic Hollywood Stars Posing With Turkeys

Ready for Thanksgiving? Get in the spirit with Hollywood stars and turkeys!

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States, and Thanksgiving 2021 occurs on Thursday, November 25. In many American households, the Thanksgiving celebration has lost much of its original religious significance; instead, it now centers on cooking and sharing a bountiful meal with family and friends. Turkey, a Thanksgiving staple so ubiquitous it has become all but synonymous with the holiday, may or may not have been on offer when the Pilgrims hosted the inaugural feast in 1621. 

Today, however, nearly 90 percent of Americans eat the bird—whether roasted, baked or deep-fried—on Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey Federation. Other traditional foods include stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Volunteering is a common Thanksgiving Day activity, and communities often hold food drives and host free dinners for the less fortunate.

Lois Lindsay

Dusty Anderson

Leila Hyams

Virginia Gibson

Angela Greene

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Beautiful Portrait Photos of an American Bride in the Mid-1970s

The 1970s were a unique and eclectic time to get all dressed up. On one hand, there was a clear continuation of popular ’60s trends. The 1970s wedding dress continued where the 1960s finished; with long, floaty gowns and wide romantic sleeves. Dresses were designed with layers of polyester chiffon, creating large capes and handkerchief edged details.

They were generally high necked with front bibs, covering the bride’s modesty to contrast with the sometimes sheer skirts and sleeves. Many chose to cover up completely choosing historical looks such as the Tudor maid.

These beautiful photos from buddymedbery captured portraits of a bride named Karen (Crown) Medbery from Columbia, South Carolina in 1975.

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A Travel Female Urinal From the 18th Century

An 18th century travel female urinal with an eye portrait and the inscription “Ha je te vois petit coquin,” which roughly translates to “Ha! I see you, little rascal.”

Veronica Lake Demonstrating How Her Peek-a-Boo Hairdo Could Get Caught in Machinery for LIFE Magazine, 1943

During World War II, Veronica Lake (1919–1973) changed her trademark peek-a-boo hairstyle at the urging of the Government to encourage women working in war industry factories to adopt more practical, safer hairstyles. Although the change helped to decrease accidents involving women getting their hair caught in machinery, doing so may have damaged Lake’s career. She also became a popular pin-up girl for soldiers during World War II and traveled throughout the United States to raise money for war bonds.

Actress Veronica Lake with her hair twisted in a drill press, demonstrating potential dangers to women in factories during World War II. November, 1943.

In 1941, Veronica Lake caught her break and rocketed to stardom with her role in I Wanted Wings. LIFE captured her appearance in minute 49 for posterity thus: It was the moment when [she] walked into camera range and waggled a head of long blonde hair at a suddenly enchanted public. The article then devoted two pages to discussing the actress’ distinctive hairdo and that lock dropping over one of her eyes. It detailed the number of hairs, their diameter and their length. Every beauty parlor in the United States advertised that haircut and women flocked in. Veronica Lake became “the girl with the Peek-a-boo bang.”

The US was at war nine months later. The Government encouraged women to work en masse in factories making weapons. Some of them, however, had accidents because their hair styled after the star’s got caught in the machines.

In 1943, the War Manpower Commission, asked Veronica Lake to change her hairdo for the remainder of the armed conflict. She was flattered that she could do something for the war effort and willingly obliged. The Office of War Information, the Government’s propaganda agency at the time, filmed the scene and broadcast it extensively.

Veronica Lake’s hairstyle change.

The star was all the happier since she only sported her hairdo on sets. Moreover, well-known humorists mocked it. In Stage Door Canteen by Frank Borzage (1943), Ray Bolger sang, “She has hair that she wears like Veronica Lake, so that 50% of her is blind.” Her decline after the war probably partly explains why the peek-a-boo style faded shortly thereafter.

(via Brune Blonde)

Charming Vintage Photos of ’50s Shoe Styles

Fashion in the 1950s brought the world out of the conservative war years and into the dazzling ’50s. Dresses were bigger, accessories richer, hairstyles taller, and shoes.…well, plainer. With so much new emphasis on the rest of women’s fashion, 1950s shoe styles became understated accessories. Instead of bold patterns and piles of fancy adornments, shoes were basic classy single color pumps, flats, wedgies, and loafers.

1950s shoe styles

Black and brown were the main choices for day wear, while brighter colors were acceptable for summer sportswear or house slippers. Shoes also coordinated perfectly with an outfit’s accessories by matching purses, gloves, belts, and even jewelry perfectly.

The 1950s shoe styles were varied, but almost all came down to fitting into one of these popular silhouettes.

Model's legs are showing Paradise shoes, NoMend stockings, and a Juilliard tweed skirt, 1950

Pink velvet pump by Rayne, 1950

Shoes by Roger Vivier for Christian Dior, 1950

Vogue, May 1951

1952

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Group Portraits of Women’s Ice Hockey Teams From the Early 20th Century

Ice hockey is believed to have evolved from simple stick and ball games played in the 18th and 19th centuries in the United Kingdom, Ireland and elsewhere, primarily bandy, hurling, shinty and lacrosse. Arguably the games most influential to the early design of ice hockey were early forms of an organized sport today known as bandy, a sport distinctly separate from ice hockey. These games were brought to North America and several similar winter games using informal rules developed, such as shinny and ice polo, but would later be absorbed into a new organized game with codified rules which today is ice hockey.

Women’s hockey teams started forming early in the 20th century, though there wouldn’t be a professional league for a long time. Women still played casually hockey for fun, and so before long, they started getting organized.

The first formal women’s match happened in Ontario in 1891; however, women’s teams didn’t really get going until the 1910s and 1920s when college teams started to form in the US and especially in Canada. Below are some vintage photos of women’s ice hockey teams from between the 1900s and 1920s:

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Séeberger Brothers: The Fathers of Street Style Photography

The fathers of fashion street style photography: The Séeberger Brothers, Jules (1872-1932), Louis (1874-1946) and Henri (1876-1956) who with their cameras at the beginning of the 20th century were snapping pictures from the wealthy people in the streets of Paris and selling their shoots to magazines.

As impromptu portraits of beautiful women in inimitable finery at racecourses, resorts, and cafes began to appear in magazines, designers such as Chanel, Hermes, and Madeleine Vionnet rushed to send their models to posh watering holes to be photographed with the beau monde.

While not so famous at the time they were taking their photos, nowadays they are back to the fashion limelight giving inspiration to designers and stylists. The Séeberger Brothers have left a precious archive for the fashion industry. Brothers Jean (1910-1979) and Albert (1914-1999) sons of Louis and only descendants of the family, together form the “second generation”.

These elegant photos were taken by the Séeberger Brothers that show street styles in the 1920s and 1930s.

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Millicent, Duchess of Sutherland and Her Daughter at the First Meeting of the Ladies Automobile Club, 1903

The Ladies’ Automobile Club was Great Britain’s first dedicated motor club for women. It was not exclusively a motorsport association, but it was one of the first bodies to organize motor races for women in the UK.

Talk of a women’s motor club began in 1899. Newspapers described the actress Lily Langtry as one of its first members, and Viscountess Haberton as the founder. Little else was heard for three or four years. In 1903, it starts to be mentioned in the papers again, with Lady Cecil Scott Montagu was its first acknowledged leader.

Between 1903 and 1904, the original club seems to have collapsed. Contemporary reports claim this was due to disagreements about membership criteria. Only ladies in “society” were intended to join. Most of the early members were from the titled classes.

Millicent Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland, with her daughter Lady Rosemary Millicent Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, at the first meeting of the Ladies Automobile Club, 1903.

Millicent, the Duchess of Sutherland, became its first president in 1904. She oversaw the first Club event in June, a meeting and group drive from Carlton Terrace in central London to the Ranelagh Club in Barnes, via Pall Mall and the park. Fifty-six cars were involved. Many of the ladies drove themselves, although some relied on their chauffeurs. This fact was did not go un-noticed by observers. Among the observers on the day was Queen Alexandra, who watched the parade from the window at Buckingham Palace.

The club’s first annual general meeting was the following month. Rooms were acquired at Claridges Hotel for the use of members, as well as a garage.

Most of the LAC’s activities were social in nature. Typically, one member would hold a meeting at her house. This was followed by a drive out, often to the Ranelagh or Hurlingham clubs, for tea. In 1904, an engineer was booked to give a series of talks on the workings of the internal combustion engine. From time to time, other talks were given, sometimes by members themselves, on aspects of motoring, or their own four-wheeled adventures.

(via Speedqueens)