These stunning images of 1920s beauty queens reveal how ideas of beauty have changed - and how they haven't - in the last 100 years. The photographs were colorized by Irish artist Matt Loughrey of My Colorful Past.
“I think they deserved to be seen in colour as they were. A lot of these photographs were taken in Washington D.C in the early 1920s. It was a time of huge social upheaval as well as an economic shift that saw America morph into a major consumer society.” – said Matt
From the winners of seaside beauty pageants to the winner of Miss Universe the pictures give a real insight into the popularity of these contests - and the women who won them.
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| Portrait of a group of young women as they pose in risque bathing suits that bare the legs and knees, Washington DC, May 29, 1920. |
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| Miss Washington, Evelyn Lewis, standing proud in her modest bathing suit and knee-high stockings at the Wardman Park Hotel. |
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| Miss Chicago of 1925, Margarita Gonzales. Gonzales was a candidate for the national title at the Atlantic City beauty contest in 1925, but was eliminated in the first round. |
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| Beauty queen Evelyn Cushing, 24, won Miss Illinois in 1932 and went on to compete for Miss America. |
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| Ella Van Hueson exercising on a static bike in June 1928 after being named Miss Universe. |
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| Iola Swinnerton and Anna Neibel, winners of a beauty contest at Washington's Tidal Bathing Beach, 1922. |
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| Splash of color Eva Fridell receives the winners cup on August 5th 1922 at the Washington Tidal Basin beauty contest. |
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| Miss Universe Ella Van Hueson sitting in her car in 1922. |
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| Mrs. Wallace Ford models a dress that she will wear to the Miss America ball in 1927. |
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| Eva Fridell takes the prize at the Washington Tidal Basin Beauty contest, August 1920. |
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| Miss Anna Neibel with her winners cup at the Washington Tidal Basin in 1922. |
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| Mae Greene, 18, was chosen as Miss Chicago 1926 out of 4,000 rivals at the Trianon Ballroom. |