Actress and movie star Tallulah Bankhead photographed in the late 1930s or early 1940s.
Tallulah Bankhead
1930s
A decade of Hollywood-inspired sophistication and grown-up glamour sandwiched in between the roaring 20s and the austerity of the 1940s.
Al Capone’s mug shot
A mug shot of American gangster Al Capone taken in June 1931. He spent 11 years in Alcatraz for tax evasion, which I imagine was one of his lesser crimes!
1930s acrobats on the beach
I’m not the most coordinated and flexible of people, so I have a natural awe of acrobats (and dancers) and the amazing things they can do with their bodies! These 1930s acrobats were photographed on the beach in Sydney. They make this look so easy don’t they?!
Josephine Baker in costume (well, some feathers & rhinestones)
French actress and dancer Josephine Baker in an amazing stage costume which seems to be made of just rhinestones, feathers and confidence! I’ve known about and admired Josephine Baker for years, but I didn’t realise until recently that she was quite such a remarkable woman outside her stage and cinema career. She was an important(…)
Stylish 1930s swimwear
A beautiful 1930s bathing suit from around 1930. Isn’t it stylish? Do you think the photo is of two different models, or using some clever manipulation to show the same model from the front and back? I couldn’t decide!
1930s gangster chic for girls
Oh how I love this outfit! It’s so chic and Garbo-esque! I love the tilt of the hat, the sharp masculine tailoring, the bold pinstripes, it’s gorgeous! The girl is actress and movie star Lilli Palmer from a promo photo in 1936. Doesn’t she look amazing? I only wish we could see the rest of(…)
1930s French advert: bareback riding in a Casino…?
Isn’t this just the prettiest advert? It dates from 1931 and is an advert for Casino de Paris. I assumed (because of the name) that this was a Casino but couldn’t understand why they’d be advertising with a showgirl riding bareback on horses. I looked into it and it turns out Casino de Paris was(…)
The gruesome truth behind Hollywood’s most famous smiles
It’s no secret that A-list celebrities frequently turn to cosmetic dentistry to straighten, fix and brighten their teeth to achieve the megawatt smiles we’re used to seeing. During the golden age of Hollywood, however, many stars went further than a little tooth-whitening to maintain their icon status. Some of the stars were hiding painful secrets(…)
Underwater fashion show, 1930s
An underwater fashion show from 1939 which seems to have taken place in a dolphin tank! This seems to have been a very ambitious idea for a fashion show… Oh, and riding giant seahorses (how could I forget that?!)
10 things you didn’t know about Clara Bow (including the truth about those scandals)
Clara Bow was the quintessential ‘it’ girl and a flapper icon. She was one of the few silent movie stars who made it successfully into ‘talkies’ with her thick Brooklyn accent in tact. Bow was notorious for her loose living and scandalous lifestyle, so you’ve probably heard the rumours and gossip but here are 10 facts(…)
Vintage 1930s dress
Woman wearing a pleated dress and fur coat, early 1930s.
Vintage brides: 1930s wedding dress gallery
There’s something about photos of real brides on their wedding day which I find fascinating. These brides are all from the 1930s and there are some really unusual outfits. I particularly like the lady with the halo headdress and also the poor woman who accessorised her wedding dress with crutches (presumably out of necessity)! Which(…)
Vintage living: creating a vintage 1920s and ’30s look in your home
For several years, now, whenever people think of vintage or retro décor, chances are they’re thinking 1950s, ’60s and ‘70s. Typically, these are the styles – from ’50s polka dots and jukeboxes to ’70s chintz – that have been best catered for by both contemporary designers and shops and markets selling vintage furniture, but all(…)
A striking portrait of Wallis Simpson, 1930s
Wallis Simpson, later the Duchess of Windsor, photographed in the 1930s. She obviously liked wearing striking jewellery even then…
A risqué photo of Carole Lombard, 1929
A rather risqué publicity photo of Carole Lombard showing rather a lot of side-boob, 1929.
1930s purple hair
This model won First Prize at the Hairdressing Fashion Exhibition in London 1935. The trend to shorter hair had progressed showing the neck and ears. The colour effect was achieved by incorporating pigments in the setting lotion – so it wouldn’t have been permanent colour. I wonder whether any ‘real’ people had hair colour like(…)
This is my look book inspired by the Jean Harlow outfit I designed yesterday – I’m not good enough at sketching to get the textures through in the design, so you can see the fabrics I would have used here. One thing I will say is that I was shocked to see the amount of(…)
1930s little girl with her pet tiger cub
Isn’t this a delightful photo? I know that opinions have changed enormously about having exotic animals as pets and you just wouldn’t see this anymore, but my 6 year old is obsessed with bit cats and would like a pet tiger more than anything else so I can only imagine how delighted this little girl(…)