As a lover of both history and fashion, I feel incredibly lucky to be able to indulge those passions by simply dipping into the treasure trove of vintage family photographs that have been passed on to me. Each and every photograph tells a style story of a particular era. The giant silk bows adorning the hair of my grandmother and her friends were commonplace in the early 1900s and certainly jump out at you on first glance.

But, there’s so much more to this photograph than giant bows. Just look at all of the subtle style nuances here—lace collars, pleats, bracelets, starched white cuffs, and various button styles—not to mention the pose itself. I love that my grandmother (seated in the middle) in a kind of ladylike repose, is so gracefully holding the hand of the girl on the right and draping her arm around the girl on the left. Exquisite details. Priceless image.

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