1930s

A decade of Hollywood-inspired sophistication and grown-up glamour sandwiched in between the roaring 20s and the austerity of the 1940s.

Waist Training: a Visual History of Corsetry

Waist Training: a Visual History of Corsetry

I found myself wondering the other day about waist training and just how corsets and girdles have shaped women and fashions over the last century. The fashion for different body types has definitely changed with the decades, but what underwear was needed to help women achieve this? I hope we’re getting to an age where(…)

1930s actress Marilyn Miller

1930s actress Marilyn Miller

1930s actress and dancer Marilyn Miller photographed as a ballerina in 1932. Source and copyright: This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

3 Beautiful 1930s Hairstyles

3 Beautiful 1930s Hairstyles

Need some inspiration for a 1930s-inspired hairstyle? That’s what I thought! So here’s my gallery of 30s hair dos – which is your favourite? I like the Tallulah Bankhead’s hairstyle myself… [3 photos] Above: Delores Del Rio in I Live for Love, 1935.

1930s skiing fashions

1930s skiing fashions

1930s skiing fashions from the cover of McCalls Homemaking magazine, 1938. Jinx Falkenberg in California, photographed by Nickolas Muray. Source and copyright: George Eastman House Collection: No known copyright restrictions Edited with BlogPad Pro

McCalls magazine 1937

McCalls magazine 1937

1930s colour fashion photo of a woman wearing a flower hat and holding a makeup compact from McCalls Magazine, 1937. Source and copyright: George Eastman House Collection No known copyright restrictions Edited with BlogPad Pro

1930s fashion

1930s fashion

1930s movie star Paulette Goddard in a beautiful dress on the cover of Cinegraf Magazine. Source and copyright: This image is in the public domain because the copyright of this photograph, registered in Argentina, has expired.

1930s Lucky Strike advert

1930s Lucky Strike advert

1930s advert for Lucky Strike from 1936: ‘Lucky Strike, Girl with Snowshoes’. Photo by Nickolas Muray. Source and copyright: George Eastman House Collection: No known copyright restrictions  

1930s photo of Dena Evelyn Shapiro

1930s photo of Dena Evelyn Shapiro

I think this photo must be from the early 1930s – she’s just lovely. There is something about her face which reminds me of Rachel Weisz from the movie The Mummy. The photo is of Dena Evelyn Shapiro [Joseph] who received a Master’s in sociology from the University of Chicago in 1929. This photo describes(…)

1930s magazine cover: woman wearing a headscarf

1930s magazine cover: woman wearing a headscarf

1930s cover for McCall’s Magazine: woman wearing scarf and looking rather defiantly at the camera! The magazine was from July 1938 Source and copyright: George Eastman House Collection: No known copyright restrictions  

Hoisting the Elephant

Hoisting the Elephant

They are photos taken by an unknown photographer of a circus in the early 1930s. Thanks to the Tyne & Wear Museum. You can see the rest of these photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/twm_news/sets/72157627692102509/ Source and copyright: No known copyright restrictions

Lion Tamer: 1930s

Lion Tamer: 1930s

They are photos taken by an unknown photographer of a circus in the early 1930s. Thanks to the Tyne & Wear Museum. You can see the rest of these photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/twm_news/sets/72157627692102509/ Source and copyright: No known copyright restrictions

Fred & Ginger: They All Laughed

Fred & Ginger: They All Laughed

I just love this beautiful dress! Clip from Shall We Dance. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing to “They All Laughed.”