Today’s Vintage Photo Tuesday (collection of vintage image blog posts) is a look back at life at Wellesley College from the 1920s-1960s.

Why Wellesley? Well they had a wonderful online digital archive that I have recently been spending hours browsing and thought that my readers would enjoy some of the gems I stumbled across.

1940s vintage photo of the Grounds Committee at Wellesley College featuring a group of young woman in 1940s winter jackets and 1940s hairstyles posing together by signs.

1948 Ground Committee. Source: sscommons.org

I am also going to turn this into a a regular series since there are so many archives with content that is Vintage Inn approved!

So without further adieu, lets begin!

Student Life at Wellesley College

Vintage Photos 1920s-1950s

About Wellesley:

Wellesley College is a private women’s liberal arts college located west of Boston in the town of Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges (Source).

The below image is from 1938 of a young woman modelling late 1930s fashions in front of the building pictured above.

1930s vintage photo at Wellesley College in1938 Fashionable young woman in front of school in 1930s fashion

Source: photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt in 1938 via Vintag.es

1925 Hoop Rolling-Seniors at the starting line.

Source: sscommons.org

“Hoop Rolling”:

Hoop-rolling began as an activity once held on May Day. May Day was a day of frivolity and child’s play to escape from real-world worries. Students celebrated by dressing up in children’s clothing and playing games on Severance Green. One of the most popular was the hoop rolling race.

Hoop-rolling has become a Wellesley institution in itself and is now held independently in late April.

Traditional Schedule of Events:

Little Sisters (underclasswomen) camp out the night before the event to hold a spot for their Big Sisters (upperclasswomen) on Tupelo Lane.

Hoops are passed down to seniors or provided by Cafe Hoop—and then are decorated.

Come morning, the seniors arrive—dressed for success in their Commencement gowns and class colors.

At a signal, the seniors race down the lane, pushing their hoops with a wooden stick.

Back in the day, it was proclaimed that whoever won the Hoop Roll would be the first to get married. In the status-seeking 1980s, she was the first to be CEO. Now we just say that the winner will be the first to achieve happiness and success, whatever that means to her.

The winner is carried away by her Wellesley Sisters

……and has the honor of being thrown into Lake Waban
(Source)

1941 Hoop Rolling friends.

Love the Saddle Shoes!

Hoop Rolling 1941 at Wellesley College. 1940s Vintage Photo of 2 women with hoops in saddles shoes in graduation gowns

Source: sscommons.org

One more photo from this tradition, this time from 1945.

1945 Hoop Rolling Tradition at Wellesley College. 1940s Vintage Photo of 2 women in graduation gowns posing with a hoop.

Source: sscommons.org

1925 Golf Club. Stunning 1920’s Womens Sportswear fashions.

1925 Womens Golf Club and Golf Outfit at Wellesley College. A 1920s Vintage Photo

Source: sscommons.org

The Photo before the big dance. Circa 1950s. OMG THOSE EVENING DRESSES!!!!

1950s vintage photo of Wellesley Students in 1950s Evening Gown Dresses before a special event

Source: www.sscommons.org

Fun at the 1950s Dance.

1950s Dance with Wellesley College Students in 1950s dress and 1950s menswear for evening. Super 1950s vintage photo.

Source: www.sscommons.org

Painting Class at Wellesley College 1958.

Painting Class 1958 Wellesley College. 1950s Vintage Photo of women college students in class

Source: sscommons.org

1927-1928 New York State Presidents. Super 1920s hairstyles on display.

Wellesley College 1927 1928 New York Presidents. 1920s Vintage Photo of three 1920s college student with 1920s hairstyles and 1920s fashions.

Source: sscommons.org

Doris Miller being crowned Tree Day Mistress of 1928. What a fantastic photo!

Doris Miller in 1928 being crowned Tree Day Mistress at Wellesley College in this 1920s Vintage Photo

Source: sscommons.org

1958 Tree Day Mistress and her Court.

Tree Day Mistress and her Court 1958 Wellesley College. 1950s Vintage Photo of a school pageant.

Source: sscommons.org

Beauty Shop 1935.

1935 Beauty Shop at Wellesley College. 1930s Vintage Photo of a beauty salon featuring 1930s hairstyles.

Source: sscommons.org

Dorm Life-1942. So many wonderful things to look at in this photo. Love this insight into student life.

1942 Dorm Room at Wellesley College featuring young woman in 1940s fashions hanging out together. 1940s Vintage Photo of Student Life

Source: sscommons.org

1938 Fashion on campus. That is one outstanding 1930s hat!

1930s vintage photo of 1938 Women's fashion. Stunning 1930s hat, 1930s skirt and 1930s blouse plus 1930s hairstyle for hats.

Source: photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt in 1938 via Vintag.es

Cool School Fact:

Wellesley founder Henry Durant believed in the importance of physical exercise for women, a radical notion in the late 19th century. He outfitted the College Hall gymnasium with dumbbells, chest weights, and flying rings (Source).

Hope you enjoyed the photos friends! What was your favourite? Please shre in the comment section below.

Further Reading:

Vintage School Posts (Archived Blog Posts)
Vintage Photos 1920s-1960s (Archived Blog Posts)

Liz

1950s Back to School Image of 2 boys with backpacks image via Getty Images

First up sorry for the radio silence lately, my husband and I purchased a house (a rental property to be exact) and we have been super busy working away on getting it ready for rental. This meant I had ZERO time for things on the internet (like my little old blog). BUT I’m back and I’m kicking off the first blog post of September with a roundup of all things to do with school, of course with my regular vintage spin.

Lets begin!

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.

Back To School We Go! Roundup of All Things “School”

1940s, 1950’s and 1960s

1940s Vintage Advertisement: 1947 Fresh Up with Seven Up Ad - 1940s Teenagers, Football Hero, Cheerleaders - Retro 7up Ad — 1947 7up Ad. Source: Etsy

1940s Vintage Photo of two men and 1 women in 1940s fashions posing together for a photo at Harris College, May 1943.

Further Reading: Vintage Student Life Photo 1920s-1950s

Rah Rah Go Happy! Adorable 1960’s Vintage Cheerleading Uniform from “Happy High School located in Happy, Texas – Home of the Cowboys”.

While Researching this post I stumbled upon a most amazing resource! North Carolina has a website where they have a collection of yearbooks from schools all over their state. Um COOL!!!

The collection was started because yearbooks provide a window into student life in North Carolina from the 1890s to the present. From sports teams to clubs, fashions to hairstyles, these volumes document the changing attitudes and culture of students year by year.

Here are some of the amazing photos that you can see on their site (stay tuned for a future “Vintage Photo Tuesday” Post).

Photo # 1: Home Economics Class, Durham High School, 1947.

Further Reading: Vintage Yearbooks (archived blog posts)

1940s Vintage Photo: Home Economics Class, Durham High School, 1947 — Source: North Carolina Digital Heritage Centre

Photo # 2: Cheerleaders, E.E. Smith Senior High School, 1948.

Further Reading: Vintage Photos of Cheerleaders

1940s Vintage Photo: Cheerleaders, E.E. Smith Senior High School, 1948 Vintage Yearbook photos — Source: North Carolina Digital Heritage Centre

1950’s “Kids Back to School Fashion” being showcased at the Zoo.

Retro 1950’s Style School Girl Paper Doll Printable. You can buy this right now on Etsy and it’s just too cute!!!

Retro 1950's Style School Black Girl Paper Doll Printable

Source: Etsy

Prom Queen, date night and life in Highschool in the 1950s. Cool collection of photos of teenage life.

Vintage Photos of Teenage Life in the 1950s Backt to school Photos — Source: Etsy

Zayre Commercial “Before you go back to school” circa 1960s.

September 14, 1953. This black, white and red ad features “Little Lulu” comic strip characters touting the qualities of Kleenex. The ad has a head shot of Arthur Godfrey, host of a CBS daytime radio and TV program, with a quote bubble around the tagline: “It’s ‘Kleenex Tissue Time’ with school days here again!” (Via Etsy)

Vintage Kleenex Tissues Ad, It's Kleenex Tissue Time, Little Lulu by Marge Comics, Back to School, Original Advertising, 1953

Flair Magazine 1950 College Review Issue.

About the College Review (Via Etsy Seller ‘Betsyoldandnew‘).

The Flair Magazine August 1950 College Review Issue was one of only eleven issues of the magazine ever published as its lavish productions costs proved too great for it to continue. Editor Fleur Cowles, wife of publisher Gardener Cowles, was allowed to spare no expense in putting out her dream magazine, that was totally unique for its time, in which she would highlight her feature stories having considered “If a feature would be better in dimension than on flat pages, why not fold half-pages inside double-page spreads? If a feature was significant enough, why not bind it as ‘a little book’… giving it a special focus? If a feature was better ‘translated’ on textured paper, why use shiny paper? If a hand-set offset printing or hand-fed gravure suited a photographic essay better than letterpress, why not use it?”

Vintage Howdy Doody Time Teacher, 1950s Teaching Aid.

1969 Kids Vintage Fashion Ad Back to School Clothes at Montgomery Wards.

Hope you enjoyed a trip down back to school lane, have a wonderful week everyone!

Question time: What is your favourite memory from school? Share in the comments below.

Further Reading:

Vintage Advertising 1920s – 1960s (archived blog post)
Vintage Back to School posts

Liz

Category: Back to School

Vintage Photos of Student Life at Wellesley College 1920s-1950s

Student Life at Wellesley College

Vintage Photos 1920s-1950s

About Wellesley:

Back To School We Go! Roundup of All Things “School” from the 1940s, 1950’s and 1960s

Back To School We Go! Roundup of All Things “School”

1940s, 1950’s and 1960s