A Stitching Odyssey: My Glamorous Grandmother: The 1950s Beach Edition

Here in the UK, the weather has taken a depressing turn for the autumnal, with no reassuring signs that the summer will return. The only way I can cheer myself up, is by pouring over the stunning beach photos of my grandmother that I stumbled upon during my recent visit with her in Portugal. There are lots and lots of photos, but I'll break them up into different posts so you can delight in some bygone glamour. 

My grandmother is Hungarian - a descendant of the noble Bathory family from Transylvania - and although we've always teased her about being a princess, I think being glamorous is in her blood. Sadly, we're not related (I wish!), but she's been in my life since I was 9 years old. In contrast to my maternal great-grandmother and grandma, she's led quite the jet-setting lifestyle, including living in a number of different countries due to my granddad's job - Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and South Africa to name a few.

My grandmother pictured on the left 

My grandmother pictured in the middle 

 My grandmother pictured on the right

My grandmother pictured second along 

My grandmother pictured front and centre

I believe most of these pictures were taken in the 1950s and early 1960s, when my grandmother was in her mid-to-late 20s. She's pictured with her ex-husband in some of them too. After getting married aged 24, they decided to divorce almost a decade later, but remained close friends until his recent death.

My grandmother pictured on the right 

My grandmother pictured on the right

Why do old pictures have the ability to make you feel so nostalgic for an era you weren't even alive during? My heart literally aches when I look at these. Maybe it's partly sadness for my grandmother's loss of youth and maybe it's partly longing to have a reason to look this glamorous myself!

Do you have precious photos of your loved ones when they were younger?