This is a very good video from the Prelinger Archives showing style fashions and hats in the immediate pre war period (at least from the point of view of the USA). It has the 1930s romantic feel that seemed to disappear after the horrors of the War – a kind of loss of innocence?
This Southwestern U.S. travelogue shows flying around in then modern 1930s airplanes, stopping off at Albuquerque and an Arizona dude ranch, all the time focusing on fashions worn by its cargo of aspiring Paramount starlets. Hats are well in evidence. The clothing seems a bit heavy for the climate. Then in olden days people did seem to “over dress” compared with our tendency for under-dressing today.Excellent pre-World War II fashion footage in Kodachrome, plus documentation of affluent tourist destinations. Produced and directed by Harry D. Donahue. With Mary Martin. Really an infomercial without the oohs an aaahs – the aim is entertainment with style! You would not know this is an airline commercial!
A delightful journey into the past – twenty minutes of escapism into a time when hat wearing was a matter of style. Soak up the ambiance and enjoy!
Let me know your favorite part – “it’s a fairy land” (it was a different world OK).
Prelinger Archives was founded in 1983 by Rick Prelinger in New York City. Over the next twenty years, it grew into a collection of over 60,000 “ephemeral” (advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur) films. In 2002, the film collection was acquired by the Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division. Prelinger Archives remains in existence, holding approximately 4,000 titles on videotape and a smaller collection of film materials acquired subsequent to the Library of Congress transaction. Its goal remains to collect, preserve, and facilitate access to films of historic significance that haven’t been collected elsewhere. Included are films produced by and for many hundreds of important US corporations, nonprofit organizations, trade associations, community and interest groups, and educational institutions.
(This is a re post from the Hat Nostalgia site from August. Key posts will be transferred from that blog as part of the transition plan to this blog)
Thank you for your patience. My earlier attempt to post this blew up. I got smart and have edited the html – ooh so scary!
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