Found Vintage Photos | Week 21

I was listening to an older "This American Life" podcast entitled Americans in Paris and there was a short snippet towards the end that I absolutely adored by Janet McDonald, author of "Project Girl" (a book I am going to pick up and add to my summer reading list) and her description of how the French viewed our American ways. Like how work is just not a big deal and there isn't this huge pressure to be at the top or striving to be number one. I like that. Why can't we just be? The photos I found this week and wanted to share evoke this feeling and being I really want and am learning to adopt.

Vintage Photos: Summer Pastimes + Memories as captured by LIFE magazine

The weather has been so absolutely gorgeous here in southern California. I have seen other vintage sellers bemoan about the very late arrival of Spring and well, my island roots just shivers at the though of snow in April!

It's been warm but not warm enough to forego a sweater. I just moved to a beach city so I'm really looking forward to summer when I can don a pair of these vintage inspired high waist shorts and a loose lacey top with my vintage bikini underneath and daydream for hours under the golden California sun.

I absolutely love all of these vintage summertime photos from LIFE MAGAZINE!












I absolutely love all of these vintage summertime photos from LIFE MAGAZINE! What are you looking forward to the most about summer?

French Antique Photos in Color | Autochrome

At first glance I thought these antique and vintage photographs were doctored up in photoshop with modern technology, but after a quick reading over at Wikipedia, autochrome lumiere was the first color photography processing technique patented by the Lumiere brothers in 1903.

I love vintage and antique photos so much, but seeing these in color is even more magical and dear to me. They are even more alive and timeless, like memories and scenes from someone's life flashing up on a big screen.

So thrilled to share these beautiful moments captured in time and in color with you!



These next set of French antique autochrome photographs are images captured by the sea and the French coast. So absolutely beautiful!



And these antique autochromes are just beautiful French landscapes and scenes. Just beautiful, no?



All images are originally from this wonderful website: BM-Lyon (French)

Found Vintage Photos: Mary Jane Elston in the 1930s

Oh the wonders of the internet! Whilst perusing Pinterest I happened upon a vintage photograph of 3 women impeccably dressed dating from the 1930s. LUCKILY this pinned photo provided the source (thank you for that!) and I was able to see even more photos of these women! I think this year is going to be a 1930s meets 1970s year as far as style inspiration goes for me (mixed with Edwardian, because I can't ever say goodbye to long skirts and lacey things)

Here are a few others of a lovely dressed lady named Mary Jane Elston and her two friends named Esther and Peggy.


These vintage photos are from Elston: Family Archive Photos and were snapped by Walter Elston, Mary-Jane's husband and scanned/shared by their grandson Chuck. I also love this vintage photo of Walter (the cameraman of these photos) tinkering with a camera.

Aren't these photos just so great?! I come across so many old photographs at flea markets and always wonder about the stories and lives of the people in the photos! The way these photos are framed makes me think that the photographer would have made a great cinematographer, don't you think? I especially love the duo shot of Esther and Peggy, looks like a movie still.



source:// Elston: Family Archive Photos. first saw here: retrorita: 30s

Vintage Photos: 1920s Wedding Photos & The Bridal Party

These vintage wedding photos from the 1920s are so lovely to look at! I just adore the vintage wedding veils with the little wax flowers, the silhouette of the 1920s dresses, and gigantic bouquets they would carry. When I walk down that aisle again more than likely (like 90% chance) my wedding will be very 1920s inspired (lace veil, lots of flowers, simple flowing gowns, but hold the gigantic bouquets!)


I adore this wedding photo! Look how big those bouquets are! Also, isn't it adorable how all the women are standing, look at how their feet are posed, so ladylike!


This vintage wedding photo is actually from 1917, but the style was so similar to the other 1920s wedding photos I had to share it, and besides this photo is just fantastic!


More lace, gorgeous hair accessories, and giant bouquets! I adore the flower girl, look how HUGE her basket is! I bet the poor little thing struggled to walk up the aisle with that!


I LOVE LOVE LOVE this wedding photo. So elegant, simple, sweet, so vintage but looks completely modern. This is a photo of British prime minister Harold MacMillan with his wife Dorothy Cavendish on their wedding day.


I put these two together because it's so rare to see wedding photos of the bride and groom like the photo on the left. Usually they look rather glum on the happiest day of their lives! I still adore both photos though.


Oh goodness, these garden hats I just adore so much! This is probably a photo late in the 1920s (hemlines are a lot shorter and these types of hats weren't the normal until the late 20s early 30s). Oh my gosh the bridesmaid dresses, SWOON. I so wish I had a time machine so I could just be a spectator at this wedding (and then stolen a dress, not ALL of them, just one!)

Vintage Miss America Photos from 1945

I just love these photos of the Miss America Pageant from 1945 held in Atlantic City in New Jersey. The winner of the 1945 Mis America beauty pageant was Bess Myerson, the first Jewish woman to win the Miss America Pageant. She later became involved in politics (she was New York City's first Commissioner of Consumer Affairs) and public relations.

These were originally unpublished photos from the LIFE magazine archives so I'm really happy they post photos like these online.



I adore this photo of Bess Myerson getting into a cab and getting her photograph taken. She looks very elegant and beautiful even with a kerchief in her hair!