Women's clothing style.......Period??

[sapphire]

I have this picture of my grandmother and was wondering if anyone can give me a time frame for this style of dress.

I was quite pleased after looking at it again today and thinking I recognized the background......and I was right! I've learned one more thing about the picture and hope to learn more. 

BTW, this is one of those photos that was made into a postcard but unfortunately nothing helpful on the other side.

[waywardangler]

Nice hat on your Grandmother.  I can see why her head is tilting just to balance that thing. But I know nothing about period styles.  Where are the cannons located?  The Battery?

[KC]

I really like this site....I believe these folks even are the ones that help out movie studios!
http://www.fashion-era.com/index.htm


Talesof, I don't know if you have ever seen this site...it has a huge source of other sites for reenactment afficiondos.
http://www.fortlangley.ca/links.html

[sapphire]

Great site KC, thanks!  I'll start browsing through when I get home from work tonight.

Wayward, that was at Fort Anne, Nova Scotia. The first fort built on the site was in 1634. It was designated a National Historic Park in 1917.

http://www.annapolis-valley-vacation.com/fort-anne.html

[talesofthesevenseas]

It is probably easiest to date the photo by starting with the known dates your grandmother lived, estimating her approximate age range in the photo (remember that people didn't wear makeup then so they always look a little older and she is young and spry enough to be climbing up on a cannon for a photo shoot) And one you have narrowed it down, then you research the fashions of the era to dial it in. That's how I would go about it.

Thanks for the link!! 

[Oceans64]

WOW - I love that hat!!!  I could design an entire foyer around a lighted display cabinet, a vintage scarf, gloves and THAT hat!!!  I wonder what it looked like in color!

[KC]

By hat style and dress....think you are looking at the time line between 1890 - 1914......or a little thereafter due to trends lasting longer and not everyone being able to afford new clothes immediately.

The pics and history of where it was taken are great.  That area was first opened up as a area for visitors (prior to this was grazing land for years) was 1917.  So the two time lines are pretty close together!

[sapphire]

Tales, love the time line idea.

She was born in 1878

Her first two children (my aunt and mother were born in 1907 & 1908

The family moved to Nova Scotia one year after the Halifax Explosion, so 1918



And I'm going to leave this all up there as proof of my 'duh' moment.

It would had to have been from 1918 onward.......as they lived in another province until then and it's unlikely
she did a lot of traveling with their six children. I had always assumed that the canons were those in Victoria Park, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Realizing today that it was at Fort Anne it should have clicked that it would had to have been later.  This would make her at least 40 when the picture was taken.

So I'm looking at 1918 forward.........now to check out that site KC recommended.