Carole Lombard is one of my favorite actresses from the 1930s. She was captivatingly beautiful and thanks to stunts like this where costume designer Travis Banton simply draped her in gold lame fabric, she was quite the vixen of the times. The photo above is re-colored oh-so-beautifully with a color story that screams classic elegance. I included the original black and white below as well. Not sure of the photo credit – if anyone knows, I will gladly update!
This photograph by the infamous John Rawlings captures the prettiest summer color palette. Although it appears as if it could have been taken yesterday, it was photographed for House and Garden in 1952. Timeless imagery is the mark of a genius photographer. My favorite fact in researching Mr. Rawlings? He shot 68 Vogue Magazine covers. That’s a lot of fashion!
Color stories hit me with one photograph. This is Jean Simmons, a British actress and trained dancer who was best known for a dozen or so films in the 1950s. I adore the aqua pool, the full circle skirt dress, her white dog looking straight into the camera and brown house and stone surrounding the pool. Possibly my favorite touches of color are her sepia toned lips which pick up a few flowers of the same tone in the distance.
Photo by Baron circa 1953. Found via a scan on Sophia’s Flickr stream.
Pretty Little Inspiration