>Beach Pajamas on the Ranch, Early 1930s, and a delayed intro

>In starting this new little series I forgot to do an intro!  “What Real People Wore” is just what it says- the clothes of everyday people doing everyday things.  These people can be movie stars, big wigs, farm folk, family, or just the average Joe, but in doing this I want to bring fashion off the magazine page and the movie screen and into the realm of reality.  The goal in this is to provide glimpses of attainable fashion- what folks wore when they didn’t have stylists waiting off camera to brush away stray hairs.  I’m hoping to pair this, occasionally, with shots of higher fashion or prepared advertisements for styles so you can see the way the fashion was intended and the way it transitioned to everyday people.  I love high fashion as much as the next gal, but I think in studying this period it’s absolutely fascinating to see what people in my walk of life would have worn.  Since the advent of photography we have been lucky to have more research materials about the clothing of our ancestors.  When the box camera took photography to the average person we see much more clearly what everyday life was like and not through the eye of a painter who often, though not always, romanticized life and interpreted clothing and looks.  A friend mentioned that what she likes about old photographs is the curiosity behind what happened the moment the shot was snapped- and I often think of that myself.  It lends a sort of life to these beyond just the image.  Seeing people enjoying life is thrilling and seeing when they’re made up in their best is inspirational- just as much as seeing men push a car to start it or gals running about fields of flowers, or children all dressed up on Easter Sunday, or a family on a camping trip.  I hope you get as big of a kick out of this study as I do!

And so on to our next gal…
I was fortunate enough to stumble on a large box of photos from the same family and seeing their transition in life from the 1920s to the 1950s was inspiration in itself.  Although I didn’t pick up all the photos I did commandeer quite a few and this smiling lady in her beach pajamas warms my heart.  There were quite a few of a family out on a farm from the 1920s and early 1930s and she is one of those ladies.