My Glamorous Grandmother: The 1950s Beach Edition


Here in the UK, the weather has taken a depressing turn for the autumnal, with no reassuring signs that the summer will return. The only way I can cheer myself up, is by pouring over the stunning beach photos of my grandmother that I stumbled upon during my recent visit with her in Portugal. There are lots and lots of photos, but I'll break them up into different posts so you can delight in some bygone glamour. 

My grandmother is Hungarian - a descendant of the noble Bathory family from Transylvania - and although we've always teased her about being a princess, I think being glamorous is in her blood. Sadly, we're not related (I wish!), but she's been in my life since I was 9 years old. In contrast to my maternal great-grandmother and grandma, she's led quite the jet-setting lifestyle, including living in a number of different countries due to my granddad's job - Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and South Africa to name a few.



My grandmother pictured on the left 

My grandmother pictured in the middle 

 My grandmother pictured on the right

My grandmother pictured second along 


My grandmother pictured front and centre

I believe most of these pictures were taken in the 1950s and early 1960s, when my grandmother was in her mid-to-late 20s. She's pictured with her ex-husband in some of them too. After getting married aged 24, they decided to divorce almost a decade later, but remained close friends until his recent death.



My grandmother pictured on the right 

My grandmother pictured on the right


Why do old pictures have the ability to make you feel so nostalgic for an era you weren't even alive during? My heart literally aches when I look at these. Maybe it's partly sadness for my grandmother's loss of youth and maybe it's partly longing to have a reason to look this glamorous myself!

Do you have precious photos of your loved ones when they were younger?

18 comments:

  1. We have some GLORIOUS pictures of my husband's family that I just adore! His Grandmother (b. 1906), Aunt Kaye (b. 1924) and Mom (b. 1943) are wonderfully stylish for their respective eras. Just wonderful, wonderful, elegant women! For some pics, visit my Fashionable Family set on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kirkbyky/sets/72157628722407655

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    1. Oh my goodness, thanks so much for linking to your photos...they are absolutely incredible!!! If I had to pick a favourite it would have to be the one titled:
      A. Ives (LG's 1st wife), 1930's!

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  2. What a lovely woman and yes it does make me feel nostalgic, too! I love looking through old postcards and family photos at estate sales. I could spend hours doing it.

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    1. Me too Justine...I find it just as enthralling going through old photos of people I don't know. In a way, they're almost more fascinating!

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  3. Thank you for sharing such lovely photographs and giving a little history behind them - it was a delight to see!!

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  4. We have some really wonderful pictures like these of my grandmother from the 40s and 50s. So fun to look through!

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    1. I be they are, how lovely that you have them!

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  5. WOW those photos are amazing, your Grandmother had quite the life by the looks of things.

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    1. Haha, yes! I think she's had a decent life, despite her challenges earlier on :o)

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  6. Thank you for sharing! She looked so lovely and happy!

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    1. Yes, she really was (and still is) fun loving!

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  7. What fabulous photographs! She was certainly a glamorous lady. I wrote a nostalgic post the other day about a little blouse that my grandmother made for my mother at the end of WW2. We have lots of old photographs so I included one of my grandmother on holiday in the late 1920s in a very cute holiday outfit. https://janemakes.wordpress.com/2015/07/20/a-sewing-history/

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    1. Wow, thanks for sharing that post! The bouse is adorable, as are the pictures of your mother and grandparents!!!

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  8. Lovely photos- it does make you ache for the early 50's glamour :) Thanks for sharing!

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    1. You're most welcome, it was a pleasure!

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  9. How wonderful to have these amazing photos! There was definitely a glamour about the age. People just made more of an effort, I think sometimes because photos weren't as commonplace as they are now, perhaps? How fun if you recreated one of her photos yourself - live in that glamour for a moment! :D

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  10. Wow, these photos are so fun! Your grandma seems like a really interesting person! I fantasize about getting a job that would let me live in another country- it's so cool that your grandparents have experienced so many different places!

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