Smile for the Camera: Maternity Clothes in 1929
The word prompt for the 10th Edition of Smile For The Camera is Costume? No, not as in Halloween. Costume as in dress in general; especially the distinctive style of dress of a people, class, or period.
The George Charley Cooper and Sarah “Sally” Duvall Cooper family
outside of Lubbock, Lubbock County, Texas
1929
The quality of this family snapshot is not good enough to enlarge much. But you can see bobbed hair and general styles of dress that date this photo. I love that all 3 men in this informal family photo are all wearing suits. The women have white stockings and high-cut shoes. What really dates this photo, though, is that my grandmother, the first female standing on the right, is obviously pregnant. When I checked the others in the picture (two of these siblings died in 1931 and Dec 1929), I determined that it was my dad that she was carrying. He was born in September 1929. He was my grandmother’s 7th child, so she’d mastered maternity clothes, I’m sure, and I’m also sure she made the outfit she’s wearing. It looks like a long coat over a 2 piece outfit. I’m so glad my great-aunt Margaret Cooper Crabtree shared the photo with me.
I’m a fan of Lubbock, Texas. I went there many times with my grandparents in the 40s to visit my grandpa Doc’s sister, Nell. I love your picture of all these ancestors of yours who are so dressed up. Reckon they had been to church or to a funeral or maybe a wedding? Love that you show a typical maternity outfit for that period in time.