Sepia Saturday 225: 26 April 2014

-


Alan from Sepia Saturday says:

 Ah, I remember it well. Get out your smart threads, polish up your brogues, stand around that imposing jukebox and spin those old favourites : "Summer Holiday", "V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N", or maybe "Viva Espana". Yes, it can only mean one thing : I am about to go on holiday again. But, worry not, who is looking after things whilst I am away but my fellow administrator - Marilyn. And the theme image Marilyn has chosen for Sepia Saturday 225 (post your posts on or around Saturday 26 April 2014) shows a group of smart young things stood around a jukebox. If you are theming this week there are endless possibilities - jukeboxes, music, the 1950s are just a few suggestions. All you have to do is to post your post, link your link, and visit your sepia friends. Easy-peasy ...... itsy-bitsy, yellow polka-dot bikini (control yourself, Alan)

 I'm finding it very hard to stay on theme this week from my own collection.  All I have are awful debutante photos from my mother's collection which I know the girls would not want me to share they all look so unutterably miserable and the gowns are too frightful.

 I have a photo of my uncle with the short back and sides I suppose.  But he died before 1950 so that's no good.
Ted Conner d. 1948

 Then I have this funny slide of a group of my father's student friends all on a field trip checking out places - this one is of Canberra....they all have short back and sides too I suppose...
The view from Red Hill Canberra 1956

 A view can be a kind of a juke-box can't it?  No, not really.

 So I had to turn to Flickr and got these....







For some reason they leave me feeling kind of sad...no-one looks really happy to me....they all look miserable.

Beautiful, but wishing for something that isn't there.  Or am I just projecting....?  What do you think?  

 It's those wretched streamers, that's what it is....they remind me of people leaving on cruise ships, going away to have a fabulous time...

Passenger Cruise Ship Terminal Sydney c1960


 Don't say goodbye to the 1950s just yet...check out other interpretations here.


Comments

Anonymous said…
I was interested to see the Andover Prom 1950 with the lass front and centre with a large collared dress. Were they called shawl collars ? Any way Australia must have been leading the fashion field as I had a similar dress in 1948, a bridesmaid's dress, in gold lame with an oval brooch in the centre. The skirt was gathered but didn;t have the peplums at the sides. A circlet of red roses in my hair . Unfortunately I didn't fill out the dress so nicely the way this lass does !
April 26, 2014 at 12:05 PM
La Nightingail said…
I don't think the dancers were unhappy necessarily - maybe a little uncomfortable is all. A lot of guys didn't really know how to dance - just kind of shuffled around. Meanwhile the girls tried hard not to step on their toes while they did all that shuffling.
April 26, 2014 at 2:38 PM
Alex Daw said…
Isn't it just the most beautiful dress? Yes I think it's a shawl collar - very flattering. I do like a good frock.
April 26, 2014 at 2:56 PM
Sharon said…
That first Flickr photo made me smile. I remember going to school "socials" and everyone sitting around the outside. Everyone wanted to dance but no one wanted to be first up!

April 26, 2014 at 4:23 PM
Jackie McGuinness said…
Great photos, I love the dresses! My parents would get dressed up like this before they were married.
April 26, 2014 at 10:38 PM
Alex Daw said…
I like your thoughts La Nightingail....unsure of themselves probably hits the nail on the head.
April 28, 2014 at 6:58 AM
Alex Daw said…
I'm so pleased you remembered the word "social". I say that and people say "A what?"...."social" must have been an Australian term.
April 28, 2014 at 6:59 AM
Alex Daw said…
I like the dress in the last photo...very pretty.
April 28, 2014 at 6:59 AM
Wendy said…
Maybe the people at the dance were too busy counting the steps to smile. They surely looked spiffy in their gowns and tuxedos though.
April 28, 2014 at 9:24 PM
diane b said…
I remember the streamers and farewelling the ships going back to the old country.
April 28, 2014 at 9:41 PM
Anonymous said…
Love the beanies on the group at Red Hill Lookout. The dancers certainly all look very serious.
April 29, 2014 at 9:32 PM
North County Film Club said…
Today's fashion designers could take a lesson from these dresses. They still look good today. Well, maybe they don't to today's teens!
Barbara
May 2, 2014 at 2:52 AM
Brett Payne said…
All the dressing up is not my cup of tea, but nice to see the photos.
May 4, 2014 at 8:06 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Family Lore

-
Image
Image by hurk from Pixabay Amy Johnson Crow challenges us to write about our Family History again in 2024 using her 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge.  The theme for Week 1 is "Family Lore." Many of us have heard stories from our grandparents about incredible feats our ancestors did or a famous person we're related to. What's a tale that has been passed down in your family? Did it end up being true or did it turn out to just be a good story? You can join the challenge too her e. The most famous/shocking story handed down in our family was that my father's great-grandfather was meant to have shot himself.  Lo and behold it wasn't the entire truth (he lived to tell the tale) but there was certainly a large kernel of truth in the story handed down by my grandmother.  You can read the story of Edward Conner's life here . Of course there's always more to be done isn't there?  I ordered his death certificate years ago but it was lost in transit so...
Read more

52 Ancestors in 52 weeks - Week 3 - Favourite Photo

-
Image
      The theme for Week 3 is "Favorite Photo." Amy Johnson Crow has devised these prompts and you can participate too by signing up here. Tell the story of a favorite photo: Who is in it, when and where it was taken, and why it was taken. (That last part is often left out!)   Barbara Conner hanging up washing in Edinburgh     This is a photo of my mother hanging up the washing when we were living in Edinburgh in the 60s. I think my father took it to record what ordinary life was like at the time and to send back to the folks at home in Australia.  I'm sure my mother was not pleased but I am so grateful because you can see so much in this photo.  They had a kettle, something like a Sunbeam electric frypan.  I think I can spot a toaster and a radio up on the top shelf.  You can see that the glass came in milk bottles in those days and that the twin tub washing machine was in the kitchen.  There are canisters for things like tea and c...
Read more

Barley Sugar

-
Image
  Photo by Alex Daw Barley Sugar It's been a while since I've blogged and boy do I miss it. Have you received an email from Ancestry lately suggesting you check out new traits?  DNA doesn't lie, so they say, but I beg to differ.   This will probably be an intensely boring post for those of you who don't really know me but I feel compelled to record my responses to the alleged traits for the amusement or interest of posterity and my family. 16 new traits have been identified for me.  There are 56 identified traits altogether. Let's tackle the new traits first: Competitiveness - likely to be competitive - influenced by my maternal side apparently.  Yes I agree but not with the side of the family.  If you'd asked me I would have said the paternal side.  My paternal grandmother was I believe intensely competitive - witness the articles I have written about her swimming prowess.  I'm struggling to recall any competitiveness displayed by my mother ...
Read more