40 Charming Portrait Photos of Victorian Ladies Wearing Jewelry

Within the Victorian period, jewelry consisted of a diverse variety of styles and fashions. These periods can be categorized into three distinct timeframes: The Romantic period, the Grand period and the Aesthetic period.

The first period in Victorian jewelry is known as the Romantic period or early Victorian period (1837-1861). During this period, inspiration derived from the Renaissance, Middle Ages and the natural world. This period saw a rise in the use of gold material, which contributed to the construction of jewelry.

The second period in Victorian jewelry is known as the Grand period or the mid-Victorian period (1861- 1885). This period saw a sharp change in design from delicate to bold which paralleled the changing social roles and representation of women at the time. During this period, imitations of jewelry were prominent and costume jewelry originated. This period witnessed the emergence of women in business and politics and saw women demanding to study at university, the right to vote and to earn their own money.

The third period in Victorian jewelry is known as the Aesthetic period or the late Victorian period (1885-1901). During this period, there was a distinct change in how women wore jewelry. This period encouraged the agency of women in society, with women’s rise to power with the creation of their own political organizations. This change encouraged freedom of thought and less of a desire to be seen as feminine. Due to this, significantly less jewelry was purchased with women only choosing to wear jewelry on special occasions, and little jewelry being worn casually throughout the day.

Here below is a set of charming photos that shows portraits of Victorian ladies wearing jewelry.

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Studio Portrait Photos Defined Fashion Styles of ’20s Young Ladies

Western fashion in the 1920s underwent a modernization. For women, fashion had continued to change away from the extravagant and restrictive styles of the Victorian and Edwardian periods, and towards looser clothing which revealed more of the arms and legs, that had begun at least a decade prior with the rising of hemlines to the ankle and the movement from the S-bend corset to the columnar silhouette of the 1910s.

The 1920s are characterized by two distinct periods of fashion: in the early part of the decade, change was slower, and there was more reluctance to wear the new, revealing popular styles. From 1925, the public more passionately embraced the styles now typically associated with the Roaring Twenties.

These styles continued to characterize fashion until the worldwide depression worsened in 1931. These amazing photos from EastMarple1 were possibly taken in the studio of William Smale Cater of Launceston, Cornwall that show portraits of young ladies in the 1920s.

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Happy Holidays From Darlene!

Darlene wants to wish you a very merry Christmas, and who am I to say no?

(Photos via The Square America Archive)

Beautiful Photos of Ladies in Hula Dance Outfits in the Mid-20th Century

Hula is a Polynesian dance form accompanied by chant (Oli) or song (Mele, which is a cognate of “meke” from the Fijian language). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Polynesians who originally settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli or mele in a visual dance form.

There are many sub-styles of hula, with the main two categories being Hula ʻAuana and Hula Kahiko. Ancient hula, as performed before Western encounters with Hawaiʻi, is called kahiko. It is accompanied by chant and traditional instruments. Hula, as it evolved under Western influence in the 19th and 20th centuries, is called ʻauana (a word that means “to wander” or “drift”). It is accompanied by song and Western-influenced musical instruments such as the guitar, the ʻukulele, and the double bass.

Terminology for two main additional categories is beginning to enter the hula lexicon: “Monarchy” includes any hula which were composed and choreographed during the 19th century. During that time the influx of Western culture created significant changes in the formal Hawaiian arts, including hula. “Ai Kahiko”, meaning “in the ancient style” are those hula written in the 20th and 21st centuries that follow the stylistic protocols of the ancient hula kahiko.

There are also two main positions of a hula dance: either sitting (noho dance) or standing (luna dance). Some dances utilize both forms. These beautiful color photos captured portraits of ladies in hula dance outfits in the 1940s and 1950s.

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Five in 1: Hairstyle Variations by Pauline Starke From the 1920s

Pauline Starke’s variation on one simple hair-cut. Try these before your mirror.

The Coquette. For that flirtatious feeling. Part it from ear to ear and pompadour the hair straight back. The bangs are curled flat to the forehead.

The Ritzette. Just the thing to go with orchids and limousine. Looks well under an imported hat. Hair parted to the side and swept across one eyebrow. Wear this and write your own check.

The Frizette. Ideal for that Greenwich Village romp. Or that Montmartre mob. A tumble of tiny curls that stray in wild confusion. Popular for Wednesday and Saturday nights.

The Surfette. Ready for a dip into the ocean. Right for any sport. Coiffure sleek and smooth. Parted to the right with hair slicked back over the ears and plastered to the head.

The Demurette. Guaranteed to attract the minister’s son. Neat but not naughty. The kind of hair-dress father approved of. Parted in the center, it is waved over the ears. Wear it to the strawberry festival.

17 Amazing Vintage Festive Hairdos for Christmas From the 1950s and 1960s

Christmas coifs are catching the season’s sparkle. Make your repertoire merrier with sleight-of-hairpiece magic to create different looks for the big events ahead.

You can add to your own locks, or hide them completely. Softness is the key to the season’s hairstyles. Hair may be upswept or left to fall — but always softly.

Have a Christmas ball with little colored ornaments meant for the tree-but such perfect decorations for you. Tiny ornaments may accent a curl, form a headband or dangle from clips as homemade earrings. Below are some amazing festive hairdos from the mid-century for your Christmas inspiration.

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A Secret Meeting of the Grandmas

“This old picture of my great-grandmother, far left, makes it look like the cameraman just stumbled into a secret meeting of the grandmas...” – (via reddit/iwhisn)

The Story of Famous Geisha Teruha (aka Chishō Takaoka) and Her Lesbian Love Affair in the USA

Her real name was Tatsuko Takaoka. She was born in Osaka in 1896. It is unclear how, or under what circumstances she made her way to Tokyo but at the age of 13, after a brief training period, she became a Shimbashi Tokyo Geisha, and took the name Teruha [shining leaf].

In 1920, after years of several teenage love affairs, and being a Geisha mistress to at least one of her patrons for 5 years, Teruha got sick of the dead-end road she felt was ruining her youth, and jumped at the chance to marry a stock broker. Thus ended Teruha’s days as a Geisha, at least for a while.

In the spring of 1920, they went to the United States where she ended up making friends with Hollywood actor Sessue Hayakawa. Teruha and her husband traveled all over the country, and it was an exciting time for her. However, the un-exciting part was that her new husband dumped her at whatever hotel they were staying in, and spent his nights out on the town with his buddies –– getting drunk, and chasing women. At least once, he didn’t even come back to the hotel for several days.

But it was Teruha’s fame, and not her husband’s, that preceded her all the way to the ‘Big Apple’. When she arrived in New York City, the people there had prepared a big welcome party for her in a cabaret. Broadway choreographer Michiro Ito hosted the party for Teruha. After the party, 24-year-old Teruha got tired of living at her New York City hotel with a husband who just wanted to go out drinking and womanizing while she was left alone.

Having been a self-educated woman since becoming a Maiko, she decided to take advantage of her stay in America. She left her carousing husband to his wine and women, and headed off on her own, eventually landing at a “Domestic Science School” somewhere out in the suburbs of New York. Teruha stayed in the school dorms while taking courses (and probably learning a lot of English). She also met a very nice girl, and took up something else –– becoming a lesbian. Her lover’s name was Hildegard, and for most of the nine months that Teruha studied, lived, and loved in America on this first trip, it was the love of a woman –– and not a man –– that sustained her.

Portrait of Chishō Takaoka (a geisha and, later Buddhist nun) with her lover Hildegard in New York City, ca. 1920.

Teruha would eventually return to Japan with her husband who didn’t care about her lesbian affair. However, Teruha soon found a man to cheat with to get back at her own cheating husband. She did so with revenge in her heart for all of the womanizing and affairs he was constantly involved in.

However, as all Japanese men know, married men can have all the women they want, but their wives can have nobody but them. That is to say, when he found out about Teruha’s affair with another man, he made life a living hell for her, leading to at least two failed suicide attempts to escape life altogether.

The still married Teruha went back to the USA. From there, she went to London where she once again met up with her old friend, the popular movie star Sessue Hayakawa –– who just “happened to be there.”

What happened between them is not written in words, but Hayakawa told her that she should go and live in Paris. She took his advice, and went to France, where she gave birth to an little girl. Suffice it to say, her husband was not the father. Teruha was now 28 years old.

Beautiful Fashion Photography in the 1950s and ’60s by Sante Forlano

Sante Forlano, a fashion photographer whose work was well known in national women’s magazines, died of a heart attack at his home in 1973. His age was 49.

Fashion photography in the 1950s and ’60s by Sante Forlano

Forlano worked with Christian Dior in Paris and Rome from 1946 to 1954, when he returned to the United States to open his own studio here. He had worked for Giamour, Vogue, Seventeen and Red Book magazines.

These beautiful photos are part of his work that Sante Forlano took portraits of classic beauties in the 1950s and 1960s.

Lucinda Hollingsworth wearing a green and black floral print dress with matching jacket by Donald Brooks for Danbury, December 1956

Model is wearing a crimson coat with a high waist buttoned-on cape by Young Couture, fox hat by Emme, purse by Koret, 1956

Model wearing a night gown and peignoir by Vanity Fair, 1956

Jan Rylander wearing Charles of the Ritz makeup, a wool tweed suit and rayon blouse by Jeanne Campbell for Sportwhirl, Emmé beanie, Chesterfield pin, and Aris gloves, 1957

Model is wearing a skirt of white chiffon with bodice of white cotton lace by Jonny Herbert and with a pink satin stole by Emily Wetherby, October 1957

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Found Photos Show Fashion Styles of ’80s Young Women

Fashion of the 1980s placed heavy emphasis on cheap clothes and fashion accessories and very big poofy hair. Apparel tended to be very bright and vivid in appearance. Punk fashion began as a reaction against both the hippie movement of the past decades and the materialist values of the current decade.

The first half of the decade was relatively tame in comparison to the second half, which is when the iconic 1980s color scheme had come into popularity.

Hair in the 1980s was typically big, curly, bouffant and heavily styled. Television shows such as Dynasty helped popularize the high volume bouffant and glamorous image associated with it.

Women in the 1980s wore bright, heavy makeup. Everyday fashion in the 1980s consisted of light-colored lips, dark and thick eyelashes, and pink or red rouge (otherwise known as blush).

These vintage photos were found by Steven Martin that show what fashion styles of young women looked like in the 1980s.

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Photographs of a Woman’s Dream of Becoming America’s First Police Woman, 1909

Vintage photographs of a suffragette posed to illustrate woman police concept in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1909.

In 1854, the first police matrons were hired by New York City to search and guard female prisoners, but they were civilians with no law enforcement powers. From this beginning, women became encouraged to apply for similar positions in various parts of the United States.

In 1910, the Los Angeles Police Department appointed the first regularly rated policewomen, Mrs. Alice Stebbins Wells. Her appointment refuted the popular notion of matrons as being masculine and not very bright, because she was a college graduate, a social worker, and had deliberately sought the position of police officer.

Mrs. Wells soon became a pioneer in the national movement to have police departments hire women as officers. However, from the inception of this movement, women were hired by quotas and encountered discrimination, silent contempt, and double standards. Several court cases are discussed to illustrate the hurdles women had to fight to reach equality of employment in police agencies.

Today policewomen are involved in all aspects of police work. Cases in which policewomen have been prominent in various police departments are enumerated.

Many people could not even imagine what a female police officer would look like so this Ohio suffragette demonstrated what a policewoman would look like making an arrest.

(Photos: Library of Congress)