Schoolgirls

They look a lot less grim with the coloring, don't you think?

This particular era has always fascinated me -- the clothes, the hair, the manners -- but it sort of de-mystifies things when you colorize the photo. Instead of romanticizing the image, we see it as the schoolgirls saw it -- normal clothing that perhaps was a bit fancy, and faces that just looked bored, not grim. (I especially love the expression on the girl third from right.)

Colorizing this photo was loads of fun -- I got to choose each girl's hair color and skin tone, as well as the color of their clothes. Since I don't have any information on what these girls really looked like, I based it on assumptions. The girl with the bright red hair and green dress (third from left) was my favorite -- she seemed like the beautiful troublemaker. I gave her red hair because I know a girl similar to her with red hair. I also thought the girl behind the first girl (peach shirt, green skirt) was very striking.

Anyway, I imagine these girls are trying not to pay attention to their teacher in what I assume is an all-girls Catholic school.