From Bette Davis to Katharine Hepburn, Here Are 12 Iconic Beauties Who Defined the 1930s Style

At the start of the decade, following the fallout from the Great Depression in America, 1930s fashion as well as all other aspects of normality were profoundly changed.

Almost overnight the vivaciousness of the 1920s fashion flapper disappeared, with a sophisticated and more conservative style becoming de rigueur. Moving into the latter half of the decade, 1930s fashion was heavily influenced by Hollywood’s glamour while day-wear took a turn for the practical with women like Katharine Hepburn embracing sportswear looks; a trend that influenced 1940s fashion and is still loved by dozens of designers today.

These are the women who ruled the day...

1. Bette Davis

2. Marlene Dietrich

3. Wallis Simpson

4. Vivien Leigh

5. Katharine Hepburn

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20 Strange & Unusual Pics From the Early 20th Century That You May No Longer See Today

Postman with a mailed baby, man riding on a pig, or zebra power on streets..., these strange and unusual pics from the early 20th century that you may no longer see today.

Zebra power, circa 1905

Bicyclist, circa 1900

Drag king & queen, circa 1900

Fallen over, circa 1900s

Tree house, circa 1900s

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45 Glamorous Photos of Young Betty Grable in the 1930s

Born 1916 in St. Louis, Missouri, American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, and singer Betty Grable began her film career in 1929 at age 12. She had contracts with RKO and Paramount Pictures during the 1930s, and appeared in a string of B movies. Grable came to prominence in the Broadway musical DuBarry Was a Lady (1939), which brought her to the attention of 20th Century-Fox.

Grable replaced Alice Faye in Down Argentine Way (1940), her first major Hollywood film, and became Fox's biggest film star throughout the remaining decade.

In 1943, Grable was the number-one box-office draw in the world and, in 1947, she was the highest-paid entertainer in the United States. Two of her biggest film successes were the musical Mother Wore Tights (1947) and the comedy How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), one of her last films.

Grable retired from screen acting in 1955 after she withdrew from her Fox contract, although she continued to perform on the stage and on television.

Throughout her career, Grable was a celebrated sex symbol. Grable's legs were famously insured by her studio for $1 million as a publicity stunt. Describing her film career, Grable said, "I became a star for two reasons, and I'm standing on them."

Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million, and Grable set a record of 12 consecutive years in the top 10 of box office stars. The U.S. Treasury Department in 1946 and 1947 listed her as the highest-salaried American woman; she earned more than $3 million during her career.

Take a look at these glamorous photos to see the beauty of very young Betty Grable in the 1930s.

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15 Amazing Vintage Photographs That Prove Joan Crawford Was Devoted to Her Fans

Though many stars paid assistants to correspond with fans, Crawford wasn't one of them. Throughout her career, she personally responded to her fan mail, typing letters herself and signing them in her own hand. In fact, Crawford wrote so many of these letters and signed so many photos through the years that her signature is considered extremely common —and therefore not valuable to memorabilia collectors.

“Sometimes people question why I love my public so,” she said. “It’s because the studio didn’t make me a star. They gave me the chance to be one. It’s the audiences that made me a star. I never forget them or what I owe them.”

Joan’s relationship with her fans was one of her most valued. She replied to millions of fan letters from 1925-1977. She always referred to her fans as “friends” and did become close friends with many of them. One such example would be Betty Barker; a fan turned friend whom Joan decided to take in as her personal secretary. She knew Joan for 40 years. Joan showed great honesty, kindness, and generosity towards her fans. They were the ones who made her a star and she wanted to repay them. Her long lasting correspondence with many of her fans was due to her obvious trust in them. She opened up to them possibly more than people in her personal life. An excerpt from a letter to a fan dated 1927 is one of the earliest examples of how real and honest she could be:

“...I’m home now. Home where I can run away from everyone and hide till I want to come out of my shell. Home where I’m able to relax. Home where the bear walls know my every secret. Well, after all Dan, don’t you understand? It’s just my home, the only place where I am able to hide, the only place in all the world I can run to and as I walk in my front gate and close it it seems as if I’m closing the gate to all activities, all human beings and deeds. I’m in my world, to do as I will. Now do you know? My walls do not expect me to act, to be a woman or to be a lady. They expect only the child, who plays with her toys, or they expect my tears.”

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Controversial Backstage Photos of Queen and Diego Maradona in Argentina During “The Game Tour”

The Game Tour was a concert tour by Queen to support their successful 1980 album The Game – which includes the hits like “Another One Bites the Dust” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” – and their short trek has become the stuff of myths and legends. This tour saw the band being the first to play in South American stadiums in early 1981.

The tour began on February 28, with two consecutive nights at Estadio Velez Sarsfield in Buenos Aires, where the band drew a crowd of 300,000 people –the largest single concert crowd in Argentine history as of 1982.

Freddie Mercury first met Diego Maradona at a party in Castelar outside Buenos Aires, and invited him to appear on stage during Queen’s final Buenos Aires show. Maradona accepted readily.

“Freddie hadn’t really known who he was, as he was not what you could call a football fan,” laughed Peter Freestone. “Footballers’ thighs, maybe. Rugby players’ thighs, even better!”

Still, Freddie could not help but be amused by the young soccer star. To some extent, he could identify with him: they shared modest stature and an unquenchable thirst for success. Maradona duly appeared to ecstatic applause, whereupon the footballer peeled off his Number 10 team shirt, and swapped it for the rock star’s T-shirt. He then introduced “Another One Bites the Dust”, and retreated, as Queen tore in to one of Argentina’s all-time favorite rock numbers.

These photos were taken on March 8, 1981 backstage at the Buenos Aires stadium Estadio José Amalfitani. Maradona is wearing the British Union Jack shirt of Brian Ma, while Freddie Mercury is wearing a Diego Maradona #10 jersey from the Argentina national team.

When these photos surfaced, Maradona was heavily criticized by the Argentine people for wearing The British Union Jack considering The Falklands War “La Guerra de las Malvinas” between The United Kingdom and Argentina. He defended himself by saying that the photos were taken one full month before the conflict began and one full year before the war had even started.

Here is a photo of Maradona on stage introducing Queen after their encore and before the song “Another One Bites the Dust”. (Notice Brian May in the background wearing the controversial shirt)

Perhaps the Palo journalist was not so stupid when he quizzed Freddie at the asado. He put it to Freddie that the shirt-exchange moment with the nation’s greatest sporting idol had been a ‘demagogic act’. Freddie, incensed by the implication, denounced the suggestion as ‘ridiculous’. He declared it to have been a friendly gesture, nothing more.

“If the audience thinks it’s OK to do such a thing, and appreciates it for what it is, I don’t give a damn what the press might think,” he retorted. “I’m going to do what I like, regardless of whether the press label it ‘demagogic’ or wrong.”

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Fascinating Photos Capture Street Scenes of Leipzig in the Early 1980s

Leipzig is the most populous city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany. It is Germany's tenth most populous city and located about 160 kilometres (99 mi) southwest of Berlin at the confluence of the White Elster, Pleiße and Parthe rivers at the southern end of the North German Plain.

Leipzig has been a trade city since at least the time of the Holy Roman Empire. The city sits at the intersection of the Via Regia and the Via Imperii, two important medieval trade routes. Leipzig was once one of the major European centers of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing.

Leipzig in the early 1980s

Leipzig became a major urban center within the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) after the Second World War, but its cultural and economic importance declined. It has long been a major center for music, both classical as well as modern "dark alternative music" or darkwave genres. The Oper Leipzig is one of the most prominent opera houses in Germany, the third oldest opera venue in Europe after La Fenice (Venice, Italy) and the Hamburg State Opera (Hamburg, Germany)

Since the reunification of Germany, Leipzig has undergone significant change with the restoration of some historical buildings, the demolition of others, and the development of a modern transport infrastructure.

These fascinating photos were taken by Erhard K. that show street scenes of Leipzig from 1981 to 1984.

Johanna Park, 1981

Augustusplatz (previously Karl-Marx-Platz), 1982

Augustusplatz (previously Karl-Marx-Platz), 1982

Augustusplatz (previously Karl-Marx-Platz), 1982

Augustusplatz (previously Karl-Marx-Platz), 1982

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30 Cool Pics That Capture Naughty Ladies of the 1950s

A cool photo collection that shows what naughty ladies looked like in the 1950s. They were probably funny but rebellious.

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