Long before you could scroll through a million images on your phone, photos had to be carefully thought out and curated. It’s a lost art that only a few remember. The following rare photos from the mid-20th century show a time of excitement and prosperity that we long to return to. These aren’t just random photos thrown together by an algorithm. These are inspirational pieces that remind us what the world was like before information could be exchanged instantaneously, and the world was so much smaller. Come along with us as we look back at history with a rosy tint, we promise you won’t want to leave the cozy embrace of the Groovy Era.
Mary Quant
Today, mini skirts are everywhere, but when Mary Quant came up with this look in the early ‘60s the hoi polloi weren’t ready for it. Quant started selling mini skirts in her London shop, Bazaar, specifically because she wanted young women to feel empowered while breaking away from the long skirts and oppressive clothing of the 1950s. Initially seen as a bridge too far by the status quo, mini skirts became the look of Swinging London. Soon, they were the look around the world.
Charlotte Rampling
There’s no question that Charlotte Rampling is one of the most beautiful women of the 20th century. From her rise through the mod scene in the ‘60s to her incredible turn as an actress in cult films like Vanishing Point and Zardoz, Rampling always carried an air of sophistication with her. Something we absolutely love about Rampling is her dedication to her craft. While a lot of models from the swinging London scene were happy to just sort of flitter around, Rampling was all about the work. In fact, she’s still working today. Most recently Rampling appeared in both of the Dune films from Denis Villeneuve.
Patti Boyd
The Patti Boyd, Eric Clapton, George Harrison love triangle is something that could have only happened in the 1960s with these specific super famous people. Harrison and Boyd married in 1966 after meeting on the set of A Hard Days Night. From then on the two were inseparable, mostly. According to Boyd, Harrison had problems with infidelity, but the last straw broke when he slept with Ringo Starr’s wife, Maureen (better known as Mo Starkey). While all of this was happening, Clapton was full on head over heels in love with Boyd, so much so that he wrote an entire Derek and The Dominos album about his unrequited obsession, “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs,” featuring the absolute banger “Layla.” Clearly, Harrison knew about his friend’s love for Boyd, so when she left Harrison in 197 and ran off with Clapton Harrison was cool with the whole thing. After Boyd and Clapton married in 1979, Harrison took to calling Clapton his “husband-in-law.”
Susan Dey
You know Susan Dey as Laurie Partridge from The Partridge Family and Grace Van Owen from L.A. Law, but long before she was everyone’s TV crush, Dey was a hard working model from the middle of nowhere Illinois. Dey was so young when she hit the public eye that she didn’t graduate high school until the year after the first season of The Partridge Family. Can you imagine being one of the most famous people on the planet and sweating whether or not you’re going to get your diploma? Everything worked out A-OK for Dey, but it must have been a chaotic time for such a young person making their way through fame and fortune in the Groovy Era.
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr is perhaps most famous for her role as Delilah in the Cecile B. Demille epic Samson and Delilah, but this Golden Age beauty was so much more than a gorgeous woman on the silver screen. Born in 1914 in Vienna, Lamarr moved to the States in the late 1930s to escape her first husband (an arms dealer) and the rise of fascism in Europe. After making her way to America Lamarr was a major star, but in her spare time she worked as an inventor, creating everything from tablets that dissolved in water to create carbonation, an updated version of the traffic light, and a method of transmitting radio signals by rapidly changing the carrier frequency, or the Frequency-hopping spread spectrum, which was the basis on which Bluetooth technology hangs its hat. If you like to listen to music on your phone without any of those pesky wires you’ve got Hedy Lamarr to thank.