Possible 1870's fashion?

[Kennington]

Can anyone date this picture? This couple, if it's who I think they are, were married in 1873, aged around 20. The man looks quite short. He was living with a chimney sweep aged 6, so would he have been put up the chimneys as a small built lad?
Do the fashions suggest a well-to-do couple?

[Treetotal]

Hi...The daters will want to see the back if you have it.
Carol

[Kennington]

Sadly I only have a scan myself.

[chinakay]

Around 1910 I'm afraid.

The lady is wearing a mushroom  hat! A thankfully short-lived fashion that came out in around 1908, designed to fit over a large hairstyle called a pompadour. Possibly she's also wearing a suffragette suit, 1910-about 1914.

Cheers,
China

[Kennington]

Oh, very interesting  Thank you for that. Not who I thought it was then! Any idea on the age of this couple? mid 20s perhaps?

[chinakay]

More like 30s by me...but due to photographic limitations and deterioration of old photos and the dearth of Pond's Beauty Cream etc, sitters can be pretty tough to age. By me anyway

Cheers,
China

[Frankyfarrell]

Definitely around 1910. Rather than it suggesting 'a well off couple' I think this is more probably a wedding portrait, this was a very common wedding pose and the outfits the couple are wearing are very typical of wedding attire at this time, hope this helps

[PrueM]

I'm not sure that, even back then, you'd find a photo of a bridegroom with a ciggie stuck in his mouth, would you?      It also looks a bit too casual for a wedding portrait.  They are certainly husband and wife, though.

[Frankyfarrell]

You would be surprised,  we shouldn't forget the temptation to judge through modern eyes.  We have a number of securely dated and attested wedding photographs from this period showing exactly this fag in h
and.