Vintage Photos Show What Kids Wore in the 1970s

If you grew up in the 1970s, chances are you had a rockin' sense of style. Adults were donning leisure suits and bell bottoms, and stores adapted those trends to fit their littlest costumers, too.

At that time, it was impossible not to look good. But looking back, some of the best styles seem a bit ridiculous. Who could forget some of these funky styles? Take a look at these vintage photos to see what kids looked like from the 1970s.

See more»

30 Studio Portraits of Bruce Springsteen Taken by Lynn Goldsmith in 1978

Bruce Springsteen is more popular than ever; his most recent performances have been among the hottest selling shows of all time. Going back to the roots of his career, these amazing photographs were taken by his ex-girlfriend Lynn Goldsmith in 1978 when Springsteen became the unstoppable savior of rock ‘n’ roll.

Back in a New York studio in 1978, as photographer Lynn Goldsmith made her boyfriend Bruce put on different outfits and let her take his picture, to his decreasing amusement.

“That’s my jacket! Bruce hated that f*cking jacket but I took it off and told him to wear it!” This is an absolutely true quote, from an interview with Lynn at American Songwriter, and explains a whole hell of a lot about, perhaps, those trousers too.

Lynn Goldsmith (born 1948) is an American recording artist, a film director, a celebrity portrait photographer, and one of the first female rock and roll photographers. Lynn’s photographs have appeared on the covers and in publications in many countries for the past 50 years. She has done over 100 album covers. In addition to her editorial work, Goldsmith has also focused on fine art photography with conceptual images. Her photographs are in the collections of The Smithsonian among other museums and her 3D videos created in 1982 are in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

See more»

Surgical Mask Made From Transparent Material, 1938

Invented by a well known doctor in 1938, a new type of surgical mask is constructed from transparent material and, due to its flexible metal frame, can be instantly adjusted to fit the contour of the face.

By permitting lip reading, the transparent mask enables doctors and nurses to converse more conveniently during an operation. An opening in the bottom of the mask permits air to circulate.

28 Vintage Color Snapshots of London in the 1960s

Some of these photographs were taken when the photographer was just 13 years old, with a Halina PET camera and Ektachrome film. He lived in Byfleet, a village lies around 20 miles from the center of London. From 1971 to 1987, he frequently visited the capital city by train.

Most of these pictures were captured using Ektachrome film. Initially developed in the early 1940s, it allowed professionals and amateurs alike to process their own films. Ektachrome has a distinctive look that became familiar to many readers of National Geographic, which used it extensively for color photographs for decades in settings where Kodachrome was too slow.

Take a look at these gorgeous Ektachrome snapshots of London in the sixties. For more fascinating vintage pictures, check out the photographer’s Flickr site.

Piccadilly Circus, North side, 1962

Piccadilly Circus, West side, 1962

Piccadilly Circus at night, 1962

Victoria Embankment from Westminster Bridge, 1962

Big Ben across Westminster Bridge, 1962

See more»

38 Beautiful Photos of Switzerland in the 1950s

For a long period after World War II, the undamaged Swiss economy experienced very little unemployment, and it grew approximately 5 percent per year in the 1950s and ’60s. During this period, foreign policy was virtually reduced to negotiating bilateral trade agreements.

Because Switzerland avoided multilateral ties that could affect its sovereignty, it resisted European integration efforts. Thus, it did not join the European Economic Community (later succeeded by the European Union [EU]); instead it was a founding member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1960.

Switzerland’s economic growth rapidly changed the landscape and the living standard, helping to perpetuate the image of the country as a special case (Sonderfall). It renounced bilateralism only slowly and gradually within “apolitical” international bodies, including the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (1966), the International Monetary Fund and World Bank (1992), and the World Trade Organization (1995).

In 1971, the World Economic Forum was established in Davos as a gathering for the discussion of policy, economics, and social issues. By the early 21st century, the name Davos had become synonymous with globalization and the international decision makers who regularly attended the meeting.

These beautiful color photos were taken by gbfernie5 that show what Switzerland looked like in the 1950s.

Basel. Basler Halle (Today this is the location of the Congress Center, Basel), Switzerland, early 1950s

Basel. Papyrus Shop, Freie Strasse 43 4001, Switzerland, 1956

Aarburg. Aarburg Reformed Church and Fortress Aarburg viewed from the corner of Färbeweg and Landhausstrasse, Switzerland, 1950s

Appenzell. North Easterly view of Hauptgasse from the corner of Hirschengasse & Hauptgasse, Switzerland, 1950s

Bern. Corner of Postgasse and Postgasshalde, Switzerland, 1950s

See more»

33 Vintage Photos of Japanese Women Dressing in Kimono in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

The kimono is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a T-shaped, wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right. The kimono is traditionally worn with a broad sash, called an obi, and is commonly worn with accessories such as zōri sandals and tabi socks.

Kimono life in old Japan

Kimono have a set method of construction and are typically made from a long, narrow bolt of cloth known as a tanmono, though Western-style fabric bolts are also sometimes used.

There are different types of kimono for men, women and children, varying based on the occasion, the season, the wearer’s age, and - less commonly in the modern day - the wearer’s marital status. Despite perception of the kimono as a formal and difficult to wear garment, there are types of kimono suitable for every formality, including informal occasions. The way a person wears their kimono is known as kitsuke.

In the present day, the kimono is not typically worn as everyday dress, and has steadily fallen out of fashion as the most common garment for a Japanese person to own and wear. Kimono are now most frequently seen at summer festivals, where people frequently wear the yukata, the most informal type of kimono; however, more formal types of kimono are also worn to funerals, weddings, graduations, and other formal events. Other people who commonly wear kimono include geisha and maiko, who are required to wear it as part of their profession, and rikishi, or sumo wrestlers, who must wear kimono at all times in public.

Despite the low numbers of people who wear kimono commonly and the garment's reputation as a complicated article of clothing, the kimono has experienced a number of revivals in previous decades, and is still worn today as fashionable clothing within Japan.

A set of colorized photos from Okinawa Soba (Rob) that shows what kimono life in old Japan looked like in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

A couple of dancing girls taken in a 19th century Yokohama studio

Adapting a hallway carpet to human bondage for the sake of fashion

Adjusting the ties of the bride's kimono

An obi mechanic replacing a rusty bolt

Dying kimono fabrics. Textile art for geisha and maiko

See more»

Photographs of Teenage Joan Jett Practicing Baseball Batting in Los Angeles, 1977

We already knew that rocker Joan Jett is a big fan of Major League Baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles.; in 2012, she wrote the team a fan letter, informing them that she’d even snuck peeks at scores while on stage.

According to an interview with Billboard in 2014, Jett has been a self-described “Orioles freak” since the late 1960s. “We used to live in Maryland and my dad took us to see the Baltimore Orioles several times,” she said.

In 1977 photographer Brad Elterman had a chance to take some photographs of Joan Jett practicing her batting in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles.

“One day when Joan and I were both in our teens, I borrowed my parents green Plymouth Duster and left the coolness of West Hollywood and headed over the hill to the San Fernando Valley. I had this idea of taking photos of Joan hitting baseballs at this hot dog joint called Flookies on Ventura Blvd. We scarfed down a bunch of hot dogs with all the trimmings and then she went to work hitting the balls. I was the lucky kid taking all of the photos of a rock and roll legend!”

(Photos by © Brad Elterman)