Date needed to help with ID of this picture please

[jpakendal]

This picture came from a glass negative (which is now sadly lost), from which a contact print was made by a photographer about 20 years ago. The negative size was about 2" by 3". I'd love to have rough idea when it dates from.

Many thanks

John

[chinakay]

Hi John...the girl seems to be wearing some sort of formal gown that doesn't follow current fashion...sooo, looking just at her hairstyle my guess would be around 1920 or so...

Cheers,
China

[jpakendal]

Hi China

Thanks for your reply... I'm interested that you refer to her as a girl.. what age would you put her at?

John

[Niksmum]

Just a quick clean so we can see her better

Irene

[Ruskie]

Just a wild guess from me till the experts come back on. I also thought the 1920's before I read China's reply, then the costume threw me. 

A guess at her age. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think at that time young girls kept their hair long, then it was cut short when they were older? It's difficult to estimate her age, but I will say she looks 18ish ...   

'Ive just had another look at her and perhpas she is older. Is she pregnant or is that just stiff material? Is she wearing a 1920's maternity dress?  Another wild guess ... Maybe she's about 25 years old? 

[chinakay]

Hmmmm, I thought she was about 16, 17 or so. I thought the dress was a handmade, ingenuous effort...never seen anything in that Empire A-line look until the 1960s. I did try to find  some indication of what maternity wear looked like in the 1920s but there doesn't seem to be anything on the web...interesting thought...

Cheers,
China

[Joyful]

I, too, wondered about pregnancy but the only example I could find online was for a maternity
coat dated 1925.

Joy

[Ruskie]

I couldn't find any historical maternity wear on line either. You'd think there would be some information about it somewhere, considering how much of their lives many women spent in that condition. 

Perhaps she is wearing a costume - looks a bit like 'dress up' being made from that shiny material. And there is a bit of a lump at the side of the dress as well, so perhaps she is wearing a bulky petticoat (not very 20's with that usual slim-line look). 

Yes, China, she could very well be younger ...

Do you know who she is John?

[chinakay]

The dress looks like satin. Doesn't seem like an everyday dress, and certainly the style isn't everyday.