1915 New York City Flower Show on Flickr

These photos of women with flower baskets are perfect for bringing a little sunshine to a rainy spring day! They look so suited for the season with their wide-brimmed hats trimmed with ribbon, their light and long cotton dresses, and their baskets filled with flowers they've collected.

 

I wonder about the story behind these shots. Are the flowers grown by the women themselves, ready to be judged at the show, or are the women the judges collecting their favorites from the stalls? Maybe they're selling the flowers as souvenirs to visitors.

At any rate, these photos might finally get me to spring for a straw hat with ribbons dangling down the back for pairing with colorful, vintage-inspired spring dresses and days at the beach.

Click on the photos to view them larger on Flickr!

Edwardian-era Fashion

For whatever reason, this old Edwardian-era mail order catalog has been been passed down through the family. I'm fascinated by the descriptions, prices, and fashions - it's like a time capsule of the Edwardian-era

Downton Abbey is enthralling viewers right now so this catalog is also a great way to discover more styles that Lady Mary and company might have worn during the first season of the show.

To give some perspective, servants only made about 50 dollars a year, and a dollar back then would be equivalent to over twenty dollars today. So this catalog was probably for the fairly well-to-do! (Unfortunately, my family's fortune dissolved quite some time ago...)

Furs were all the rage, and a must-have for the fashionable lady. I wonder if the equivalent of PETA existed back then.

The catalog had fashions for men and boys as well. You can see the "Sample Russian Blouses" they advertise. This look was very popular as it was the same one sported by Tsarevitch Alexei, son of Czar Nicholas II.

I think I'll be on the look-out for the jewelry equivalent of this catalog in the future. Then I'll be able to see which accessories pair with these styles!

See more Edwardian styles I scanned from the catalog and cleaned-up here.