
Mugshots from the 1920s are Significantly Cooler Than Mugshots from Today - shawndumas
http://www.thephoblographer.com/2013/08/19/mugshots-from-the-1920s-are-significantly-cooler-than-mugshots-from-today?daysago=115
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CamperBob2
Not always:
[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/mugshots/celebrity/music/david-...](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/mugshots/celebrity/music/david-
bowie)

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KamiKazeKenji
Some of it probably has to do with the fact that everyone back then dressed
better. MUCH better. Nowadays it's black people with T-shirts that are WAY too
big for them, or chubby hairy white people with nothing but a tank top and
shorts.

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jotm
They also dressed much more uncomfortably - suits and hats in 100 degrees
heat, as well as -20.

But they also valued dignity and discipline, and were generally pretty damn
hardcore compared to nowadays...

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jdbernard
Anything we can do to make criminal activity unromantic is a good thing my
book.

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Renaud
While these old photographs have a certain aesthetic appeal, none of the
people depicted in them appears particularly glamorous.

Most of these pictures bear witness to a harsh life. It would be interesting
to find out the charge for each person.

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11thEarlOfMar
The hats are awesome. And I'd love to see what the colors were and how they
bring out the personalities.

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brightsize
Fantastic. The villains back in the day sure knew how to dress. Contrast them
to today's versions: [http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/mug-
shots-121313](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/mug-shots-121313) How far
we've fallen...

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protomyth
I was looking at old photos from the 40's of my relatives in rural North
Dakota. They look better than any photo I've ever taken. Uncle Joe was a
spiffy dresser (so were his kids and wife). He also was dirt poor, so I'm a
bit shocked at how well he is dressed.

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mhurron
We equate suits and ties with being dressed up and well dressed now, but that
was normal style for many people in many walks of life then. There would have
been very cheap jackets and shirts just the same as there are very cheap jeans
and t-shirts in contrast to very expensive dress. There is also the fact that
even in the 40's having your clothes made at home was not unusual and simply
getting squares of cloth was cheaper than pre-made.

So they may look very dapper and done up now, but then it might not have been
the same. We can't look back at photographs with the same eye to fashion as we
would now.

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dredwerker
The women weren't looking at their best whereas the men in the main look quite
cool.

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vezzy-fnord
S. Skukerman has that very distinct, wizard-like facial appearance. Quite
intimidating.

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WalterBright
William Moore is definitely rockin' the house.

