Marissa Elman | Fashion & Photography

Marissa Elman is a lifelong lover of fashion and photography.

Archives for November 2019

Fashion Trends of the 2010s

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Just like any other decade, the 2010s were full of many different fashions that make it unique to all others. To many of us, the 2010s seemed to have flown by. Here are some fashions from the 2010s.

 

Hipster Fashions

Hipster fashions took this decade by storm. “Vintage” clothing became all the rage as trendy, thrift-style stores popped up in urban areas. Mismatched clothing articles became a trend, and there were retro themes where people dressed in the fashions of previous time periods. In some places, it wasn’t completely unusual to see a guy dressed like someone in the 1920s. The 1980s, especially, was glorified in fashion. Music and clothing from that time period made a huge come back. The idea that clothing had to be stylish or hip was challenged, and more people felt comfortable sporting awkward, unique outfits.

 

Spike Heels

Spike heels were all the rage as teenagers and young women wore them to all kinds of special events. Whether it was a graduation or a night out, you would see people break out the six-inch heels.

 

Leggings

Leggings were especially big in the 2010s. They came in many different colors and prints, though the most common types of leggings worn were back. Wherever you went, you would see girls and women of all ages sport the skin-tight bottoms. People would dress their baby daughters, as well as themselves, in leggings. Even in the winter, people would commonly wear them even though a majority of leggings were relatively thin. Fortunately, “thermal” leggings were produced to provide people with more warmth in the winter.

 

Beards and Mustaches

Of course, in the 2010s, beards and mustaches still had bad stigmas among large swathes of people. However, they became popular among a certain subset of the population—particularly among people thrown into the “hipster” category. People grew long, thick beards and mustaches. There were even some men who styled their mustaches in eccentric ways.

 

These are just a few of the fashions that were unique to the 2010s. Beards and mustaches became popular among a certain subset of the population, despite retaining their negative stigmas among others. Females of all ages wore leggings, even in the cold. Young women wore tall heels to special events. Hipster fashions took the world by storm. Other trends like high-top sneakers and athleisure clothing also emerged and gained popularity among the general population.

What is a Daguerreotype and How Can You Spot One?

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Old family photo albums are an excellent way to connect with family from previous generations. The problem with most aged photo albums is the lack of information available to identify distant relatives. Without dates available, knowing how to visually identify photographic techniques used in these photos can help with determining approximate time periods these photos were taken. While hundreds of photographic techniques exist, only a handful was employed for family photographs including daguerreotyping.

 

What is a Daguerreotype?

The daguerreotype, named after its creator Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, was the first commercial photographic technique utilized from 1839 to 1860. The daguerreotype was a one-of-a-kind image transposed on a highly polished silvered copper plate. The surface of the plate was sensitized to light via exposure to iodine or bromine gases. After exposure to a daguerreotype camera with a special lens, the plate was placed in a box to be developed with mercury vapor.

 

Characteristics of a Daguerreotype

There are distinct characteristics that can be used to identify a daguerreotype including time period and the materials used to display the photographs, including the cases, plates, and size of photographs. Daguerreotypes were available in Britain between the 1840s and early 1850s and were only accessible to middle and upper-class families because they were very expensive. Since daguerreotype photos were extremely delicate and easily blemished, they were always accompanied by protective cases most often formed with leather and faced with velvet or silk lining. Seeing that the daguerreotypes were transposed on highly polished silvered plates, they may appear as negative, positive, or a mirror depending on the angle at which they were viewed. In addition, these silver plates were susceptible to tarnish if exposed to the air. To prevent tarnish, the plates were sealed under glass. However, it’s very commonplace to spot tarnishing around the edges of the daguerreotype where the glass seal is impacted first. Lastly, daguerreotypes were used to keep account of natural phenomena, extraordinary events, and portraits to name a few. Be that as it may, the portrait was the most common and generally only came in very small sizes, usually in dimensions 2×3 inches.

 

Armed with an accurate definition and characteristics of daguerreotypes, spotting one is a little easier.