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87 Historic Photos That Show People Had More Class In The Past
Regardless of when you think "the good old days" actually were, many of us harbor a special respect for the past. These photos show people that had an appreciation for style, taste and class that seems to be harder to find these days.
If you have a photo showing what class looked like in "the good old days," we'd love to see it! Please add it to us or let us know about your favorite time period in the comments.
(h/t: designyoutrust)
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
A Young Harrison Ford
RELATED:
#2
American Actor Paul Newman During A Trip On A Water Taxi In Venice (1963)
#3
A Man In A Suit And Sunglasses Rides A Skateboard Down A Hill Path In Central Park, New York (1965)
#4
Louis Armstrong Plays For His Wife In Giza (1961)
#5
Sunday Morning On The South Side Of Chicago (1941)
#6
Clint Eastwood Walking In Rome (1960s)
#7
Audrey Hepburn At The Roman Holiday Premiere (1953)
#8
Plunging Necklines In 1950s
#9
A Man Ice Skating (1937)
#10
A Young Couple Dancing Be-Bop At Vieux Colombier Theatre In Paris (1951)
#12
Caroline Kennedy Walks In Front Of Her Father, President Of United States, While He Carries Her Doll (1963)
#13
Cary Grant Stops In London On His Way Home To Bristol To Visit His Mother (1946)
#14
A Young Sean Connery Smoking A Cigar
#15
Sigourney Weaver Dressed As A Man, Los Angeles (1983)
#16
Actress Brigitte Bardot Watching Pablo Picasso At Work In His Studio In Vallauris (1956)
#17
A Stylish Couple In The Rain
AnnHerring 10 years ago
Pattie Boyd poses in a Mary Quant fashion shoot with actor Tom Courtenay (Dr. Zhivago, Billy Liar e.g.) Distributor : Puritan Fashions (US). Published in the March 1966 issue of Seventeen Magazine under ‘Our Girl In London’. Photographer: John Cowan
#18
A Young Kevin Spacey (1980s)
#19
Clint Eastwood With Actresses Olive Stargess And Dani Crayne In San Francisco (1954)
#20
A Life Guard, Brighton Beach, New York (Between 1901 And 1906)
#21
Teenagers On A Date In The 1950s
#22
Elspeth Beard, First Englishwoman To Ride A Motorbike Around The World (1980s)
#23
Sophia Loren, Italian Film Actress, Who Won An Oscar, Grammy, And Golden Globe Awards
#24
Ernest Hemingway Passport Photograph (1923)
#25
1950s Greasers
#26
Carmen Dell’orefice, New York (1958)
#27
English Film Actor Michael Caine At Home With His Mother And Brother (1964)
#28
The Queen Elizabeth II And The Duke Of Edinburgh Watching Competitors At The Badminton Horse Trials (1968)
#29
Frank Sinatra Steps Out Of A Helicopter (1964)
BeverlyGlover 10 years ago
He's the only person I've ever seen exit a helicopter who didn't duck as if they were going to be decapitated.
#30
Albert Einstein Smoking A Pipe (1940)
#31
British Actress Diana Rigg, Also Known As Olenna Tyrell From Game Of Thrones (1967)
#32
First Actual Photo Session Of The Beatles In Hamburg (1960)
Suzanne Haigh 5 years ago
5 instead of 4, suppose Pete Best in on the left, but who is on the right?
#33
Einstein At Nassau Point, Long Island, New York (1939)
#34
Portrait Session With Marilyn Monroe (1957)
#36
Couple On Michigan Avenue, Chicago (1975)
#37
Teenagers And Their Car
#38
Alice Denham And Her Royal Hh Typewriter In (1957)
glennderman 10 years ago
Looks like a cross between what Marylyn Monroe should look like and Maria Calas. What a beauty!
#39
Actors Dean Martin And Angie Dickinson on the set of Rio Bravo (1959)
#40
Paul McCartney Of The Beatles And Mick Jagger Of The Rolling Stones Sit Opposite Each Other On A Train At Euston Station (1967)
#41
Children In Ballroom Dancing Class (1945)
#42
Skater Girl
LiekeMuller 10 years ago
Or instead of "skater girl", refer to this photo by the girl's name: Ellen O Neal. Being (one of) greatest female skateboarders in the 70's she deserves a bit more cred than just anonymous "skater girl", don't you think?
#43
Teen Fashion In 1950s
#45
Singer David Bowie Sharing A Cigarette With Actress Elizabeth Taylor In Beverly Hills (1975)
#47
First U.S. Debutante Ball Held At Versailles Palace (1958)
Suzanne Haigh 5 years ago
Debutante's were young women who were presented to the Queen, so how can America have debutantes?
#48
David Bowie Was Arrested In A Hotel Suite After Performance In Rochester (1976)
#52
Audrey Hepburn And George Peppard Filming Breakfast At Tiffany’s In New York, 1960.
Final score:
38points
#54
Frank Sinatra Arrives At Miami Beach With His Entourage (1968)
#55
Teenage Couple On Hudson Street, New York (1963)
#56
Elton John At His Piano Bar Aboard His Private Jet (1974)
#57
Jimi Hendrix At Monterey Pop Festival (1967)
#58
Couple With A Cadillac (1932)
#59
Paul Newman And Robert Redford Playing Ping Pong
Final score:
35points
LeslieDoty-Munson 10 years ago
Enjoyed the classic photos. I grew up in S. California when people dressed this way, stunning photos.
#60
Old Family Photo
#61
American Actress Faye Dunaway Takes Breakfast By The Pool With The Day's Newspapers (1977)
#62
Corona Del Mar High School Students Kim Robertson, Pat Auvenshine And Pam Pepin Wear "Hippie" Fashions (1969)
#63
Salesman Mike Dreschler Has His Motorised Roller Skates Refuelled At A Petrol Station Near Hartford (1961)
#64
American Astrophysicist And Cosmologist Neil Degrasse Tyson Was An Amateur Wrestler In High School And College
#65
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau Arrives With Members Of His New Cabinet For Swearing In Ceremonies At Government House In Ottawa (1968)
#66
Men Playing Poker
TammyChapman 10 years ago
Is the guy at the door keeping a lookout so they don't get caught gambling? lol Also....those are some ugly hats.
#75
Mechanic Who Was The Inspiration For The "millennium Falcon."
Final score:
2points
#77
Young Woman Smoking A Cigar; Circa. 1950
Final score:
1point
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What do you think ?
DariaB 10 years ago
More class than now? Still a lot of men wear suits and a lot of women display their shoulders... I don't... Get it. These do look beautiful, though, but it's too much to say it's a style which is "hard to find today"...
AnnieBeal 10 years ago
Men hardly wear suits now, just for the office (sometimes) and wedding and funerals. Most women show their shoulders, legs, bellies and boobs (not classy just trashy).
Load More Replies...
Hubert Motorcyclescreens 5 years ago (edited)
Motorcycle is a best window for the world, you are moving, you discover new things and you have a good time. Worth to consider to put on bike is a motorcycle windscreen. Don't fight with strong wind, make you more protected and ride is becoming more comfortable. Here is great site with top quality and cheap screens, for example look at this: https://www.motorcyclescreens.eu/ top online shop with best available windsreens! :)
JeevanBabu 10 years ago
Nostalgia never dies. It is dormant and waits patiently with its footprints intact on the sands of time to restore memories at our will.
BrettAlexanderMontano 10 years ago
I really loved the pictures, they showed us a lot from class to even a little risque for back then, but it was all done in really good taste.
LauraSultan 10 years ago
I live in Toronto and a lot if these pictures remind me of it. How people carry themselves, etc. Even some clothing similarities for men and women.
BarbaraFriedmanPalmer 10 years ago
These pictures were just wonderful. It just proves that nothing is like it used to be, and I think I like the" used to be" much more than what's going on now.
Sonia.Alexandra 10 years ago
Aww, man! These are marvelous photos. The class, the style, the attitude...all of these are kinds gone today. They look awesome. Chapeau-bas! <3
LOOKMUM,NOHANDS(ZekiMin) 10 years ago
The problem is that the fashion industry today developed such great expertise in making „bullsh*t“. I’m talking quality here, quality you can see. If you bought inexpensive clothes in the 20s - 70s, they were still made in a better quality than the most expensive clothes nowadays. Sad but true.
ThelmaMedina-Corpas 10 years ago
She looks like Katie Holmes and Rosario Dawson had a baby
Load More Replies...
NancyBaldauf 10 years ago
I think only those who experienced the 50's and 60's will truly understand the difference between the class of those decades and the styles of today. Sure, you can find isolated examples of class today, but back then EVERYONE dressed that way, every day of the week. NEVER jeans in a Doctor's office or on an airplane or in church!
JeevanBabu 10 years ago
Nostalgia never dies. It remains dormant and waits patiently with its footprints in tact on the sands of time to restore memories at our will.
DwiPurwanti 10 years ago
I don't know but clothing trends evolve. We can't say people today are not classy. Maybe we are just as classy but in different style. Maybe
DelvardianPawsitiveArt 10 years ago
To me class is something more than fancy dress. It's the way you treat somebody. Style is more than a suit. It's being a gentleman (or gentlewoman, if it's a word for it in English). And looking back - at the way women, children, homosexuals, disabled or animals (I'm sorry if this set of categories just sounds bad to you) were treated I just can't think of our ancestors as "classy".
Julie Julie 10 years ago
While I often had the same thoughts in my mind while looking at the photos, I'm disappointed (including in myself) that the majority of comments regarding ladies state "she is beautiful" or equivalent, while the comments regarding men are "he is elegant" or "very dapper" or similar. Men are being complimented for their sense of style, while women are being complimented for the way they look. It's actually quite different, and reflects the continuing perception that women's worth is based on beauty while men's worth is based on their personal actions and thoughts.
DariaB 10 years ago
More class than now? Still a lot of men wear suits and a lot of women display their shoulders... I don't... Get it. These do look beautiful, though, but it's too much to say it's a style which is "hard to find today"...
AnnieBeal 10 years ago
Men hardly wear suits now, just for the office (sometimes) and wedding and funerals. Most women show their shoulders, legs, bellies and boobs (not classy just trashy).
Load More Replies... Hubert Motorcyclescreens 5 years ago (edited)
Motorcycle is a best window for the world, you are moving, you discover new things and you have a good time. Worth to consider to put on bike is a motorcycle windscreen. Don't fight with strong wind, make you more protected and ride is becoming more comfortable. Here is great site with top quality and cheap screens, for example look at this: https://www.motorcyclescreens.eu/ top online shop with best available windsreens! :)
JeevanBabu 10 years ago
Nostalgia never dies. It is dormant and waits patiently with its footprints intact on the sands of time to restore memories at our will.
BrettAlexanderMontano 10 years ago
I really loved the pictures, they showed us a lot from class to even a little risque for back then, but it was all done in really good taste.
LauraSultan 10 years ago
I live in Toronto and a lot if these pictures remind me of it. How people carry themselves, etc. Even some clothing similarities for men and women.
BarbaraFriedmanPalmer 10 years ago
These pictures were just wonderful. It just proves that nothing is like it used to be, and I think I like the" used to be" much more than what's going on now.
Sonia.Alexandra 10 years ago
Aww, man! These are marvelous photos. The class, the style, the attitude...all of these are kinds gone today. They look awesome. Chapeau-bas! <3
LOOKMUM,NOHANDS(ZekiMin) 10 years ago
The problem is that the fashion industry today developed such great expertise in making „bullsh*t“. I’m talking quality here, quality you can see. If you bought inexpensive clothes in the 20s - 70s, they were still made in a better quality than the most expensive clothes nowadays. Sad but true.
ThelmaMedina-Corpas 10 years ago
She looks like Katie Holmes and Rosario Dawson had a baby
Load More Replies... NancyBaldauf 10 years ago
I think only those who experienced the 50's and 60's will truly understand the difference between the class of those decades and the styles of today. Sure, you can find isolated examples of class today, but back then EVERYONE dressed that way, every day of the week. NEVER jeans in a Doctor's office or on an airplane or in church!
JeevanBabu 10 years ago
Nostalgia never dies. It remains dormant and waits patiently with its footprints in tact on the sands of time to restore memories at our will.
DwiPurwanti 10 years ago
I don't know but clothing trends evolve. We can't say people today are not classy. Maybe we are just as classy but in different style. Maybe
DelvardianPawsitiveArt 10 years ago
To me class is something more than fancy dress. It's the way you treat somebody. Style is more than a suit. It's being a gentleman (or gentlewoman, if it's a word for it in English). And looking back - at the way women, children, homosexuals, disabled or animals (I'm sorry if this set of categories just sounds bad to you) were treated I just can't think of our ancestors as "classy".
Julie Julie 10 years ago
While I often had the same thoughts in my mind while looking at the photos, I'm disappointed (including in myself) that the majority of comments regarding ladies state "she is beautiful" or equivalent, while the comments regarding men are "he is elegant" or "very dapper" or similar. Men are being complimented for their sense of style, while women are being complimented for the way they look. It's actually quite different, and reflects the continuing perception that women's worth is based on beauty while men's worth is based on their personal actions and thoughts.
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