1920's
"Beauty show at the Washington Bathing Beach", Washington DC 1922
Be sure to open these panoramas to view the full size image! They're stunning! And prints are available to purchase from this awesome vintage photography site, Shorpy!
"The Third Annual Pageant of Pulchritude / 9th Annual Bathing Girl Revenue", Galveston, TX, 1928
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"Miss Atlantic City", 1927 |
"Miss Bobbed Hair", 1925
1930's
"Miss America" 1930
"Miss Radio Queen", 1939
1940's
Miss Philadelphia crowned Miss America, 1940
"Miss America", 1943
1950's
By the 50's Catalina began sponsoring its own beauty contests!
Behind the scenes - getting ready for the evening gown portion
"National Catfish Queen", 1954
This newsreel highlight of the 1955 Miss California pageant features a quick tour of Santa Cruz, the arrival of the contestants, the pageant's bathing suit portion, an evening gown competition to die for, and a beachfront crowing. The winner was Barbara Harris, age 20. And for those as nosy as I am, you'll be happy to note that the reporter did his job very thoroughly - Miss Harris weighed 120 lbs, was 5'6", and measured 34.5" - 23.5" - 34.5"!
1960's
How could I not include this goodie?!...
"Miss Mink", 1960
Enjoy the holiday! And don't be afraid to show off your best pageant wave this weekend!