Ladies Lounge

Posted in: General, Ladies Lounge Will Indy’s First Female Architect Please Stand Up?

“Our profession, as an entirety is not fitted for women,” an anonymous male architect proclaimed in an August 1900 Indianapolis article. The same anonymous architect expounded further on the topic of architecture + women: “A...

Posted in: General, Ladies Lounge Phyllis Wheatley Y. W. C. A.

Every successful person in life has had help. Whether family, friends, teachers, community members– no one is completely self-made. What a noble endeavor to provide a leg up to those whose circumstances are challenging. Providing...

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Posted in: General, Ladies Lounge A Local Place for Young Women: Y. W. C. A.

Christian women, that is. And white. At least in the beginning. It was getting close to 1900 and many young ladies were making their way to the big city of Indianapolis in search of employment....

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Posted in: Ladies Lounge En Vogue When Gatsby Hit Shelves

All fashion talk of late is centered around the release of the new Baz Luhrmann version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. The book was released on April 10, 1925, so why not take a...

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Posted in: Ladies Lounge Ladies Lounge: 1942 Suit, HP Wasson

Evidently, the second floor of Wasson’s was abuzz with these suits less than a year after the United States entered into WWII. This, from October 1942 says: “All along the fashion front- the word is...

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Posted in: Ladies Lounge Ladies Lounge: Glamour For an Indy Woman, Born 1913

Does the sight of a baby ever prompt you to wonder what the world will look like for that child when he or she is decades older? Or maybe when they are your age? Think...

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Posted in: Ladies Lounge Road Trip: Vintage Fashion in Pattern

“Want to write about fashion from a historical perspective…?” Pattern Editor-in-Chief, Polina Osherov queried this past fall. If you weren’t aware, Indy has an emerging interest in fashion and Pattern is an organization dedicated to “Uniting...

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Posted in: Ladies Lounge Ladies Lounge: The Evolution of Block’s Branding

Does your heart skip a beat when you chance upon an old hometown brand while out vintage shopping–especially when it’s a long-time favorite like Block’s or Ayres? With a beloved company such as Block’s that...

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Posted in: Ladies Lounge Ladies Lounge: 200 years of Walking Indianapolis

It’s not something we contemplate often, but people have been walking through Indianapolis land since before there was an Indianapolis. The first to make tracks through our geographic coordinates were native Americans, presumably wearing moccasins...

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Posted in: Ladies Lounge That Ayres Look 1960

In the cool temperatures of January, who isn’t looking for the perfect coat? If you love this full one, you just have to travel back to L. S. Ayres, 1960. Or start frequenting more vintage...

Posted in: Ladies Lounge Ladies Lounge: That Ayres Look, 1948

It was the Fall of 1948 and you and your new husband had just settled into his family’s home on North Meridian Street in the 5000’s. He’d fallen in love with you as much for...

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Posted in: Ladies Lounge Indy Halloween 1917, What Did Ladies Wear?

Ever pondered what the gals of yesteryear Indianapolis donned for Halloween? Guaranteed she wouldn’t have been an overt strumpet like the vast majority of 21st century costume-clad characters, but let’s look at the creative dressing-up...

Posted in: Ladies Lounge Ladies Lounge: 4 Femmes for a Historic Halloween

How is it October already? However it happened, it is…and I can’t be the only one behind on this year’s Halloween costume planning. Let’s look towards picking something historic, eh? We can leave it to...

Posted in: Ladies Lounge Ladies Lounge: Warm Colors of Autumn

I don’t know about you, but this is the most eagerly anticipated autumn I can recall. Ever. And with it, the colors of fall will soon be moved back into my wardrobe’s repertoire. You could...

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Posted in: Ladies Lounge Ladies Lounge: Indy’s Remote Connection to Vogue Magazine

Imagine you are from Indy (not too hard, right?) and moved away, and you’ve become close friends with Vogue Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour. Everyone who cares the slightest bit for fashion in Indianapolis would know this...

Posted in: Ladies Lounge Ladies Lounge: L.S. Ayres, Fall 1944 Suit

In a time when there were few designers that might be considered household names, Hattie Carnegie was well known. Not bad for a woman who didn’t know how to sew. She could make hats, but...

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Posted in: Ladies Lounge Ladies Lounge: Girls played hockey in 1932 Indianapolis?

With the excitement of the current Olympics, and all the inspiring USA and worldwide competitors, it’s hard to escape thoughts of sport this week. As barriers are broken: record-breaking times, ages–old or young, and the...

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Posted in: Ladies Lounge Ladies Lounge: Swimwear of Olympic Proportions

credit: Roger Viollet Watching the current Olympic swimmers got me pondering the evolution of the bathing suit, especially as it pertains to sport. Couldn’t help noticing last night that the suits Olympian ladies wore bear...

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Posted in: Ladies Lounge Rainbow hair in 1949?

Redheads like Lucille Ball weren’t the only ones to dye their hair in the 1940’s or before. Check out this article from October 1949, talking about pink, blue and other colors in New York from...

Posted in: Ladies Lounge Ladies Lounge: Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Sew Me

With all the talented women who have lived and do live in Indianapolis, I’m guessing the number of capable seamstresses, in total, is astronomical. A few such accomplished locals have started an organization called Pattern...

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