Heritage et AL

In an earlier blog post , we explored the 'taxonomy of fashion', which can be used to date photographs. This was based on a blog post by Walter Cook  from The National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga O Aotearoa , which focused on photographs of middle class women from 1850s to 1920s. Apart from clothes, other the 'tricks of the trade' which let you play photo detective, include paying close attention to hairstyles. Women's hair can be a defining feature, marking their own personal sense of style. Some points in history have celebrated more elaborate 'dos' more so than others. The images below are drawn from 1909/1910 and were taken by Herman John Schmidt (1872-1959) , an Auckland photographer based at a studio in the Edson Building, 270 Queen Street. This photographs are from the collections held at the Sir George Grey Special Collections at the Central City Library and you can find out more about Schmidt here . Walter Scott notes that the pile...

It is said that accessories make an outfit, well that is just as true for men as it is for a woman. Have a wander through the accessories that people used to wear in the photos below, drawn from the heritage collections at Auckland Libraries. Some things like bow ties and belts don't look much different from today but you don't see many people wearing bows that large in their hair, as sported by the ladies and children in the first decade of the 20th century! Bow ties: Ref: 601-192B, the Masters McLauchlin, c. 1924, Sir George Grey Special Collections Ref: 31-66350, the Lyric Quartette, 1911, Sir George Grey Special Collections Ref: 31-66166, McDougal group, 1911, Sir George Grey Special Collections

What did children in the past wear? What clothing nightmares did they have to endure?! Well look no further and take a trip back into the clothing faux pas of the early nineteenth and twentieth centuries. You won't find anything like these garments in Pumpkin Patch! Outfits were sometimes stiff and starchy mini versions of adult clothing: Ref: B0150, Grainger family portrait, c. 1890s, North Auckland Research Centre At other points in time, it was all bows, lace and puff sleeves.....: Ref: 31-WP18, portrait of the Archdale-Taylor family, c.1914, Sir George Grey Special Collections Ref: 31-55861, Misses Halls, 1909, Sir George Grey Special Collection s