Doing the Locomotion: Saratoga Spring and New York City
A few more Shorpy photographs of people walking, these focused a bit more on male style.
Dress like you mean it
I do tend to notice men's dress, and here are a couple of good examples.
The end of the Nineteenth Century was right about now
The coolest man in town
Saratoga Springs is a resort town, known for its horse racing. Here is everyone strolling in the shade of the elms, in 1915.
I’d love a look at the headlines
This couple is quite elegant, but I think the male far outshines his mate. Everything about him is sharp.
Meanwhile, right behind them: newsies! They really did dress like that. The more sophisticated older one is leaning casually against a tree, leg up, while the younger ones try to impress him with their street smarts.
Everyone has somewhere to be
Not just the clothes, but how you wear them
Finally, the heart of purposeful walking, New York City. Here is a picture of the intersection of Seventh Avenue and West 125th, in 1938. Again, a lot of people, but I love this other gracious gentleman. Both he and the boulevardier in Saratoga Springs show that it's not just the clothes, but the way that you wear them. And, really, a hat helps, even though that is no longer permissible, and just makes you look like you're losing your hair.
Where is she going tonight?
But I also always like this cheerful lady right behind him. I wish I knew her.
I wish I knew them all, and it is a bit chilling, sometimes, to realize that they are all long dead.
Do you look at pictures of the past?
What kind of thing do you look for when you do? I also look at machinery, architecture, and trains.