snapshot fashion
Note:I’m taking a break this week from the Guide to Sewing series. Be back next Monday with the third installment!
I like doing a post every few months showing some of the vintage snapshots that have been accumulating in my Flickr favorites (a.k.a. my “virtual inspiration file”). High fashion is all good and I find it intensely inspiring, but sometimes it’s fun to see what average people were wearing way back when! I love seeing how they interpreted trends and silhouettes of the period–I tend to look at these photos as the forerunners of our modern “street style” images!

tracing vintage patterns »24 lovely thoughts to “snapshot fashion”
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Anna says:
Wow! These are gorgeous!
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Peter says:
People looked so good back then. Not only did they dress better, they actually look healthier — and they probably were since fewer people owned cars (so they got more exercise) or ate junk food.
Those pics are great. I see things like that at my local flea market but I rarely pick them up. Inspiring!
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Sarah says:
I love snapshots of everyday life, likewise for their simplicity. Not everyone wore Adrian 24/7, lol. Sometimes, though, you’ll find a trendy one in the bunch and see some unique styles people wore. I would kill for the glasses in 3-3, I think they’re so rad. Very inspirational!
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Laryssa @ Beautifully Feminine says:
What lovely gals!
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Sally Jane says:
Aww… These photos are wonderful. I was looking at all the lovely ladies then thought… hey, she looks familiar! That’s my grandmother (far right) and her friends on spring break posing along the beach. They all became friends in elementary school and formed a club that still meets today!
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Quincy says:
these are perfectly wonderful!
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Holly S. says:
I want that outfit in the very top-right. It looks like a tie back halter and full, long skirt. Cute! But doesn’t the girl with the hatchet in the very bottom-right look a little deranged? lol
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Darla says:
I just adore the first four and the last four sets of photographs. Whenever I am lacking inspiration I love to browse past post in my favorite blogs. Especially yours Casey!
♥Darla
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Victoria says:
they are so fun to look at!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing them.
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Makenzie says:
Lovely pictures. The beach girls just remind me how badly I want to have one of those midriff-bearing summer outfits! And by midriff, of course I mean the tiny peek of skin shown by those high-waisted shorts! Sooo much cuter than the midriffs I see around here in the summer.
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Sydney says:
Absolutely agreed! These kind of snapshots are always the most inspiring for me too!
So beautiful!
XO~Syd
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Hana says:
such a lovely little post! thank you for sharing these pictures! i think the one of the girl with the axe in bottom right hand corner of the last set of snapshots is my favorite – rather random and absolutely adorable!
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Bunny says:
These are great, Casey. Very inspiring! I love these photos…the women look fantastic! Thanks for sharing. (This is my first time posting on your blog, but I have been following for quite some time *hehe*)
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Marianne says:
Gorgeous, I love these! Especially the very bottom left, the dress and wedges… perfection
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kat says:
how fabulous! great finds, thanks for sharing them!
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Andi B. Goode says:
Casey, I think you’ve killed me – this gave me a huge cute attack! Haha. I love it. =D
-Andi x -
Andi B. Goode says:
Oh! And Yay for my photo of the girl with the cute plaits. Hehe. I just noticed that.
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Erika says:
Wonderful photos! I love everyday-photos, often I find everyday fashion (or at least fashion intended for ordinary people) more inspiring than high fashion. My favorite books to browse through are re-prints of the Sears catalogs. Have you heard of them? Not very expensive, and so much inspiration!
For example: http://www.amazon.com/Fashionable-Clothing-Sears-Catalogs-Collectors/dp/0764324853/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268124097&sr=8-4
or: http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Fashions-Forties-Pictured-Catalogs/dp/0486269183/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268124181&sr=1-1
Of course there’s always the internet, but it’s something so relaxing about sitting down with a cup of tea and a book full of beautiful pictures =)
Naturally snap shots of people in real situations gives something else entirely than catalogs, though. So thank you for sharing these cute photos! -
Stephanie says:
Oh my! what a beautiful collection of photos! I’ve had a hankering for a sweater vest lately and have been looking for some good 40′s inspired looks. That one of the bottom right is PERFECT! Thanks again for another lovely post:)
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Celia Rose says:
I love them! It’s great to get inspiration for everyday/casual looks. And to see that ordinary people wore such fab clothes. I especially love the one with the sunglasses and the puppy!
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Karen says:
Those are just great! The picture of the girls all in a row in shorts looks just like one of my Mom and her sister, so must be from that era…they look so much like that it gave me a funny feeling, like it WAS them! My mom was born in 1926:)
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Peldyn says:
Love the pictures! In fact they have inspired me to take digital pictures of my grandmother’s photo album so that it can be preserved. It is in too fragile of a state to attempt to scan so I am going to set my camera to macro and see if it works. I wish I could afford to send it to a professional for archival restoration, but that would possibly set me back a few hundred. Once I am done, I may take the museum up on it’s offer to buy it from me. They could take care of it better than me.
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Paige says:
This spread made me think of Louis Vuitton’s new ready-to-wear line. I’m loving all of it–too bad it’s all 9 zillion dollars.
http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/2010/fall/main/europe/womenrunway/louisvuitton/
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angie.a says:
Oh wow, that gingham blouse in the 2nd set of pics…LOVE.

























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