1955 trends

Both the pictures in this post portray my mum’s aunts Maria and Ernesta, affectionately known in my family as Marietta and Ernestina.

I already mentioned Ernesta in a previous post, so if you have been following this blog, you may already know she moved to the States from Italy when she was quite young. Maria joined her later on, but then she decided to go back to her home country.

The two pictures can be considered not only as pieces of my family history, but also of fashion history.

The first photograph was taken in July 1955 and I find interesting how, without meaning it, the two women created a contrast, one by wearing a square neckline dress with yoke, the other opting for a round collar.

I’m particularly intrigued by a detail on Ernesta’s dress, the flat white rope used to decorate the collar and one hip that forms a swirling motif and turns into a sort of 3D curtain tassel-like detail. Maria wrote on the back of this picture "Atlantic City, 23rd July 1955 – Here's me with my sister Ernesta. I can't believe it, it's just like a dream come true. I was sick crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Paper is very expensive, $1 per sheet, so it's difficult to keep in touch by letter. Kisses, Ernesta and Maria."

In the other picture the sisters are portrayed sporting some feathery headdresses. I find Maria's (check out the feather horizontally perched on her head) even more extravagant than Ernesta's.

Maria turned into an unlikely fashion reporter as she wrote on the back of the photograph (addressing her message to her sister Anna, my grandmother, living in Italy): "Baltimore, 1st September 1955 – It has been raining heavily for a week now. Dear sister Anna, Here fashion trends are all about feathers, veils and voluminous petticoats and even crinolines. Even little girls look like brides! Feathers make me think about a tale my parents told me: One day Jesus told Saint Peter: 'Peter, make a hole in the sky and see what people are doing down there.' Peter did as Jesus told him and when he came back he said, 'My Lord, they all go around with feathers in their hats!' So I have to wear feathers on my hat as well, but yesterday I bought a hat with no feathers and I told myself, no more feathers! I think it's a very nice hat and fits me well. Lots of kisses from Ernesta and Maria; say hello to everyone who asks about me. This is a sweet American word: 'Love!' It means 'Amore', Mary."

Guess Maria would have liked to know that her short letter turned 54 years later into a brief note on fashion and style.

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