It is strange how some days coincidence just bonks you on the head. This happened to me last week when two emails from separate sources arrived the same day and got me thinking again about my fascination with the 1920s.

The first email was a note about some 1920s McLaughlin-Buick cars for sale. As I have written briefly about before, I researched a trip that my great-grandparents made in 1926, in a touring car of this make. My dream is to recreate their journey as closely as possible, including driving a car of the correct vintage. Of course, the time and costs involved in restoring such a car and then spending an entire summer camping my way across the mountains with it, do tend to put this wish in the category of pipe-dream, but it is fun to contemplate, just the same…

…grasping the metal crank and spinning it until the old beauty sputters to life, the rumble of the engine vibrating through me as I bounce over the gravel roads, the warm wind blowing tendrils of hair across my smiling face as I wave at passersby, the hot sun beaming on me as I drive with the top down while noticing big white clouds bubbling on the horizon, struggling to heave the roof rails into place as a thunderstorm breaks overhead, getting drenched when the wind whips the waterproof side panels out of my hands as I try to fasten them in place, slipping in the mud and banging my shin on the running board as I struggle to get back into the car. maybe it is best just to dream…

The second email I received was an announcement of an upcoming exhibit at Lougheed House, in Calgary. It is called Daring Deco: 1920s Women’s Fashion and runs from June 24 to October 11, 2015. This interests me because of some old family photos. One is my grandparents’ 1926 wedding photo and Granny sure looked sharp in her frock and pearls. The other is a family portrait supposedly taken in 1921. I did a bit of research on 1920s fashion in an attempt to date this portrait.

I began by analyzing the elements of the photo that could be dated, such as who was or was not present in the family group. A portrait of a dead family member included in the photo gave a minimum date, while the presence of people who lived far away placed practical limits on the date. The apparent age of the individuals portrayed suggested a range of dates. Fashion elements such as hairstyles, clothing styles, particularly dress hemlines and necklines, and accessories like glasses and jewelry were all examined. These were compared to examples from the 1920s, and then compared to other eras in fashion. One of the women was wearing a dropped waist dress, which may have been what led to the tentative 1921 date. However, she also appeared to be heavily pregnant, so the birth dates of her children were calculated to try to pinpoint the date of the photo. After all of these aspects of the photo were analyzed, I think I came up with a reasonable suggested date, which was not 1921, unfortunately. Still, I had a lot of fun reading about historic fashions.

While I may never get to fulfill my dream of a 1926 car journey, I can immerse myself in the fashion of the 1920s by attending the exhibit at the Lougheed. Perhaps I will see you there.

This article was originally printed in the Bergen News and is being reprinted with permission.