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Month: May 2017


May
2017

Collection of Vintage Pinterest Pins-Spring Edition

categories: vintage images, Vintage Items

It’s been awhile since I have done my “Favorite Pins on Pinterest” post, but that just means that I have so many new editions of fun images, advertisements, clothes and whatever else that has caught my eye to showcase. Lets take a look!

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay, are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

Collection of Vintage Images, Advertisements, Fashons and more as seen on Pinterest

Yummy Seven-Up! This ad is colourful and fun and truly ridiculous enough to make me actually want to buy a bottle.

Further Reading: Vintage Advertising 1920s – 1960s (Archived Blog Post)

1950's vintage Sevenup ad featuring a scuba diver with cute fish.
Source: Pinterest

I’m a sucker for a good Canadian Advertisement and this one is awesome! While I did not receive Canada Savings bonds in the 1050’s (more the 80’s) they were an item that was a popular gift to kids from loving family members (or whomever). Sadly this year the government has decided to discontinue the program but we will always have the ads.

1955 Canada Savings Bond vintage ad
Source: Pinterest

“Help your winter ration coupons go further”. 1940’s Wartime Hints from B.C. (British Columbia) Electric-1944. Another great look into Canadian history.

Canadian WWII wartime hints for rationing and perserving vintage BC Electric Ad -1944
Source: Pinterest

1945’s University of Chicago archery class (or school club).

1940s Vintage Photo of 1945's University of Chicago women's archery class. Cute 1940s Sportswear!
Source: Pinterest

1950’s Hawaiian party at the University of Chicago.

University of Chicago Archives-Hawaiian Shirts 1950's vintage photo.
Source: Pinterest

Giant Flamingos and Giant Orange..Kitschy to the max! What a fun 1950s vintage photo.

1950s vintage image of flamingo orange and a woman in 1950s fashion in Florida.
Source: Pinterest

As a swing dancer, I’m a sucker for a good circle skirt that spins out just at the right time. This 1950’s cheerleader has accomplished this task (and I love the saddle shoes!).

1950s Vintage Photo of a cheerleader wearing her cheerleading uniform and saddle shoes.
Source: Pinterest

Stunning 1951 vacation image of a woman near the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Looks like it belongs in a magazine (and maybe it was at one point).

1951 Vintage Italy Image of Leaning Tower of Pisa -1950s vintage image
Source: Pinterest

I stumbled upon a fantastic article that was appeared in my Pinterest feed on ‘Margaine-Lacroix and the dresses that shocked Paris‘. It was such an interesting read about a designer who achieved so much for fashion but has never received the recognition she deserved.

Margaine-Lacroix and the dresses that shocked Paris
Source: Pinterest

I’m a Lindy Hopper (the dance of the 1930’s & 40’s) and so I’m always drawn to amazing images and art that reflects that time period. This poster was taken from a famous 1943 Life Magazine image, seen HERE.

Further Reading: A Lindy Hopping I will go-My Favorite Vintage Lindy Hop Videos

Lindy hop Illustration-Vintage Lindy Hop
Source: Pinterest

Are you in the market for a one of kind 1950’s Paris themed tie? Well if you are then you are in luck as it’s currently for sale on ETSY and it’s fantastic!

1950s vintage tie with a paris theme
Source: Pinterest

My Vintage Style: This board is dedicated to my dream closet.

1940’s Evening Gown-with Brass Studded Floral Design.

1940s Evening Gown with Brass Studded Floral Design Vintage Womens -1940s Fashion
Source: Pinterest

Vintage 1930s Dress – Rare Curve Hugging Late 1930s Peggy Hunt Jean Carol Label Evening Gown with Ruffled Accents

Vintage 1930s Dress - Rare Curve Hugging Late 1930s Peggy Hunt Jean Carol Label Evening Gown with Ruffled Accents
Source: Pinterest

1947 Vintage Evening Gown with an image of the owner wearing it! These are always amazing finds.

1940s vintage evening gown with vintage image of owner -1940s Fashion
Source: Pinterest

That is all the pins for today! I hope friends you enjoyed browsing some of my favorite Pinterest Pins from the last month. I always have a fun time on this website and I love when I can share my finds with all of you.

Have a good weekend!

Further Reading:

Liz


May
2017

Prom in the 1940s and 1950s

categories: 1940s, 1950's, Vintage Dance, Vintage Fashion, vintage images

I love prom theme parties, they are so fun and allow me to get my hair and dress right (as opposed to all the fashion mistakes I made as a teen in the 1990s.). I’m very lucky that in Toronto there are lots of themed parties to attend, with many of them having a 1950s theme.

For my blog today I wanted to give an overview of the history of prom, check out some images from the 1940s and 1950s of proms (and formal dances) and do a little bit of online vintage shopping (or be inspired by what is out there).

Lets begin shall we?!

Note: Looking for a vintage prom dress? Visit my updated monthly Etsy Collection HERE to shop!

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. 

Prom in the 1940s and 1950s

History of the Prom Dance

1950s Highschool Prom vintage image featuring 1950s prom dresses

While high school yearbooks did not start covering proms and including prom pictures until the 1930s and 1940s, historians, including Meghan Bretz, believe proms may have existed at colleges as early as the late 1800s. The journal of a male student at Amherst College in 1894 recounts an invitation and trip to an early prom at neighboring Smith College for women. The word prom at that time may just have been a fancy description for an ordinary junior or senior class dance, but prom soon took on larger-than-life meaning for high school students.

Proms worked their way down incrementally from college gatherings to high school extravaganzas. In the early 1900s, prom was a simple tea dance where high school seniors wore their Sunday best. In the 1920s and 1930s, prom expanded into an annual class banquet where students wore party clothes and danced afterward. As Americans gained more money and leisure time in the 1950s, proms became more extravagant and elaborate, bearing similarity to today’s proms. The high school gym may have been an acceptable setting for sophomore dances (soph hop), but junior prom and senior balls gradually moved to hotel ballrooms and country clubs. Competition blossomed, as teens strove to have the best dress, the best mode of transportation, and the best looking date. Competition for the prom court also intensified, as the designation of “prom queen” became an important distinction of popularity. In a way, prom became the pinnacle event of a high school student’s life, the ultimate dress rehearsal for a wedding.

Today, prom continues to be a notable event in the social climate of high schools. Popular movies and novels attest to the importance of prom themes, prom dates, and prom queens. In some areas, the traditions of prom are not as rigid as they used to be, with some areas allowing individuals or groups to attend instead of couples. These days limousine becomes compulsory for the prom event (Source: Wikipedia).

1940s vintage dance image, featuring a young couple. The young woman is wearing a beautiful 1940s evening gown and the young man a tux.
1940s Couple. Source: Flickr-Duke University Archives

Prom Dresses from the 1930s, 1940s & 1950s

Of course a big deal for prom is the clothes, I think more for the ladies then the men. I mean the men during the 1930-1950s did not have much to choose from, Suit or Tuxedo. BUT for the ladies ohhhh the possibilities were endless!

1940s Formal Vintage Gowns Ad -1940s Fashion / 1940s Fashion Illustration
Source: Flickr-Classic Film

1930s (quick look into this time period):


Proms were starting to gain popularity with the middle classes, who adopted them as their version of the wealthy colleges’ debutante balls. Sleek, floor-length, demure dresses in light colours echoed the debutante style.

1930s vintage photo of a young woman in a 1930s Prom dress worn by a young woman
Source: Etsy-NiepceGallery

I love the wonderful sheer overlay of the below gowns seen in this vintage 1930s sewing pattern. Did you notice the dance card the one girl is holding in the image? Fantastic!

FURTHER READING: Vintage Dance Cards

1930s vintage gown dress sewing pattern illlustration - 1930s Fashion.
Source: Pinterest

1940s Prom Dresses


As the prom started featuring more in the High School yearbook, the debutante-influenced full skirt was still popular but more feminine. Structured lines were evolving around the upper body to emphasize the hourglass figure that so epitomized the decade’s style.

1949 Prom or Formal Dance. 1940s vintage image featuring a group of young men and women in 1940s evening gowns and tuxes lined up at the prom.
Source-Flickr: Proctor Archives

1940s Photo: Make way for the newest King and Queen of Prom! Beautiful 1940s evening fashions on display in this stylish prom moment.

1940s photo of a young Black Couple being crowned King and Queen of Prom

Source: Black Southern Belle

The first dress is my favorite as it appears to be velvet on the top and I just love the beautiful (very large) corsage she is sporting. Farewell Seniors!

1940s Prom gowns on display as seen in a 1940s vintage photo of a 1940s prom / dance. 1940s Fashion / 1940s Vintage Image
Source: Getty Images

1950s Prom Dresses


Bring on the taffeta: this is the decade that gave us the quintessential prom dress. Tiny waists and skirts so full they could stand-up on their own.

1950s vintage photo of a couple in 1950s prom outfits dancing together at prom.
Source: Pinterest

1950s photo of a packed dance floor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania high school prom in 1958. 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania high school prom in 1958. 1950s Photo of Black students at their p;rom in 1950s dresses and suits.

(Credit: Charles ‘Teenie’ Harris/Carnegie Museum of Art/Getty Images)

The Seersucker dress on the right looks similar in style (on the bottom) to a 1940s dress I recently purchased.

1950s vintage photo of a High school prom or high school dance featuring 1950s prom dresses and 1950s prom outfits.
Source: Weston History

You have to have those Prom photos in the booth! 1950s portrait of a Black couple at Lincoln High School senior prom, 1956 (Looking good!).

Portrait of African American couple at Lincoln High School senior prom 1950s Photo

Source: Picyrl

Now of course no prom can be without the King and Queen of Prom and their Court.

1950s Prom Court vintage photo. Featuring 1950s Dresses / 1950s prom dresses.
Source: Weston History

What an interesting crown the Queen is wearing.

1950s Prom Court vintage photo. The image features early 1950s evening gowns.
Source: Flickr-Jeff Miller

Long Live the Prom Queen!

I want every single dress in this image…everyone. Wrap it up please vintage dress gods (This is actually a 1940s photo).

1940s Prom Queen and prom dresses. 1940s Fashions on display as well as 1940s hairstyles as seen in this 1940s vintage photo.

Here are some more wonderful real life photos of young ladies and men enjoying their prom

1940s vintage photo of a group (men & women) all dressed up in their 1940s dresses posing for photos.
1940s Prom. Source: Pattern Patter

Lovely young woman getting a picture taken before her prom in the early 1950s. Her bouquet is simply stunning.

1950s young women going to prom vintage photo. Featuring a pretty 1950s dress and cute 1950s hairstyle.
Source: Mezev.info

What a cute 1950s couple posing for this prom photo.

1953 Prom Couple photo booth image. Featuring a 1950s evening gown on our lovely lady.
Source: Pinterest

1950s photo of another stylish young man and woman posing for a photo before they head off to the prom. LOVE her prom dress and her shawl! And purse and corsage and shoes..Love it all!

1950s Vintage Photo of a very stylish young man and woman posing for a photo before they head off to the prom. LOVE her prom dress and her shawl! And purse and corsage and shoes..Love it all!

Source: Etsy

Adorable couples alert! Especially the two on the right. -1950s photo.

1950s couples going to prom featuring 1950s hairstyles and 1950s Prom dresses / 1950s Evening Gowns.
Source: Pinterest

1959 Prom. I think the girl to the left is from the prom court (too small of a crown for a Queen).

1950s vintage photo of a prom dance / 1950s formal dance featuring 1950s prom dresses and 1950s hairstyles.
Source: Rose Tinted Vintage

Sayonara is right, Prom does signify the end of high-school for every single person who attends. 1959 Photo.

1959 prom couple photo booth image. Pretty 1950s prom dress on display in this vintage image.
Source: Flickr User Northridge Alumni Bear Facts

AND…Here is a super fun video from the 1940s about the “Do’s and Don’ts at Prom”. ENJOY!

Dear Readers: Did you attend your prom? Or attend a vintage/retro prom like I’m going to? How was it if you did go?

Are you shopping for a Vintage Prom Dress (like the stunning 1950s dress below)? Then make sure you take a look at my updated monthly Etsy Collection HERE.

1950s Fashion: 1950s Vintage Prom Dress | 50's Strapless Gown | 1950's Cupcake Dress

Source: Etsy – TheStarletsStylist

Further Reading:

Liz 🙂