Woman holding a purse
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This 3.5 x 5.25 snapshot is rather beaten up, and comes with no information, but I keep staring at it. Everything about it, the setting, the woman, her pose, seems so solid. I’m intrigued by her dress, with the fancy sleeves and the unusual seams near the shoulders, accented by the brooch. Her wry expression looks like she doesn’t put up with nonsense, and those hands look perfectly capable of keeping you in line. But there’s a patient affection behind that expression, too, which gives this photo a certain warmth.
Pics of Then 
Her sleeves seem quite unusual. Her brooch reminds me of an airplane propeller. That could be coincidental, but on the other hand, the photo was taken during a time when all airplanes had propellers (1920s-1930s?).
It almost looks like some giant, winged insect landed on her chest. I wish we could see it better, but it’s nice that most of the rest of her is pretty clear. I agree about the sleeves. It looks like the garment also has pockets, which feels unexpected to me.
She screams “Italian Grandmother” to me! 🙂
Sorry. Hit enter too soon. What you see as “unusual seams near the shoulders” probably are from an apron that matches her dress, hence the pockets. The sleeves are probably built that way to make it easy to roll them up to make food.
But of course, it’s just a guess!
Yes, it looks almost like it’s a two-part dress, with a dress that has a second apron-like part over it. I doubt it’s supposed to be worn like an actual kitchen apron, if she’s got a brooch on it. But who knows?
Agreed.
My guess to that is she had to run out for a quick errand (hence the purse) – maybe to a food purveyor of some kind, as she ran out of an ingredient? So to make herself look more “presentable”, she added the brooch!
Obviously, she’s sparked my imagination, if nothing else!
That could be. But yes, she makes us want to know more.