Earlier this month, New York City’s catwalks were filled with the latest creations from the world of fashion during the biannual ritual of Fashion Week. At the same time, I was searching in the George Grantham Bain Collection while answering a reference question and came across this stylish photograph. How could I resist stopping to check out this outfit?

A peek at fashion of one hundred years ago, this striped suit comes from a group of photographs dating between 1900 and 1918, described as examples of Paris fashion. I love the pose of the model here, the disaffected expression, the foot peeking out from her skirt to show off the shoes. Dress her in different clothes, and it could have been taken yesterday.
Enjoy a few more examples of the newest in fashion from a bygone era. Given the choice, would you wear one of these outfits or something off the 2012 runway?


Learn More:
- Check out the other photographs of Paris fashions featured in this post, all from LOT 7177.
- Enjoy 1910s color illustrations from the pages of Puck magazine, where commentary on fashion of the day went hand in hand with depicting current trends.
- Try a simple keyword search for ‘fashion’ in the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog and explore hundreds of images from all time periods. Subject searches by terms such as fashion photographs and clothing & dress offer further insight into what was worn both on the runway and on the street.
Comments (3)
My sincere thanks for this collection. As a silent film buff of both early Hollywood and of early European films, this is a most useful adjunct to what I see pictured in those films.
In both my studies of early film and my interest in the Civil War, the LOC collections have proven to be very useful references. Useful? No, rather indispensable is a better word.
Best regards.
Edward Day
I saw a young womens fashion clothing yesterday wearing cerise leggings with boots and a black and white striped baggy top.
The image of the woman sitting on the edge of the chair holding her hat is 1916-18