The beauties of Patras in 1929
Where did they go, where did they have fun and how did our grandmothers dress?
A unique tribute to the beautiful girls of Patras
In “Options” together with “P”
The girls of Patras were very beautiful in 1929
It is one of the investigations that aroused interest. Both of us, and of the readers of the “Patraiki week” in the distant 1929. Research – dedication, in continuations with the subject of some beautiful girl of the time.
Obviously, we are dealing with bourgeois / aristocrats of the time, in any case with women who had the financial comfort to dress well, to have a secular life and the like, hard to find in those years.
Seven years following the Asia Minor disaster and while the wave of refugees has not stopped, in the years between the wars, Patra is going through a period of development. The authors of the tribute (under the title “SILHOUETTES”) describe 21 young girls of the time, how they dressed, how they communicated, the worldly life they led, etc.
According to some, due to characterizations and phrases used by the editor, we are dealing with an almost voyeuristic text, which is misleading in terms of the “morals” of the pages of the time.
Don’t be fooled though, we have before us a primitive, but very adequate sample of secular reportage. A lifestyle journalistic tribute, before these were established in the last decades.
However we do it, far from modesty, puritanism, and orthodoxy, the editor speaks freely of our grandmothers and our great-grandmothers. Which were dolls. A stunning beauty. One more reason to remember them with love!
In 21 sequels
The “Patriarch’s Week” survey entitled “Silhouettes” was published in 21 sequels
Started at no. No. 3 sheet of the newspaper, Sunday, March 24, 1929 and was completed on its last sheet (No. 22, Sunday, September 1, 1929).
The names of the girls were never known, some are however “photographed” like the Dilernia sisters and others.
They were obviously known to the author, and beyond the apotheotical description, these texts preserve many of the habits of the young girls of Patras in the interwar period.
Editors are not saved
Just as we will never know who were the new girls of Patras (silhouettes) who so impressed the newspaper executives, so we will never know who the editors of the tribute were.
These 21 articles are signed by two journalists, “Kosmik” and “Kosmik”. The first the first 8, the second the next 13 tributes.
The editors Andriopoulos brothers, the journalists Errikos Geliniotis, Makis Athanasiou, the learned notary Timoleon Voilas, the short story writer Loula Kotsetsou, Georgios Maltezos, Spyros Voulgaris, Nikos Arvanitis, Athanasios Sempos and others wrote in the newspaper.
The writing style of the male journalist betrays Timoleons Voila more than Makis Athanassiou, while Cosmik must be Lula Kotetsou.
The unknown beauties of the 20th century
The newspaper, as the word itself says, is something ephemeral. The news of the day, that’s all. Nevertheless, the newspaper with the ephemera it deals with is the main source of historical research.
As for the specific dedication of the “Patra Week”, yes the tastes and hobbies of 21 young girls of Patras in 1929 were saved, but we will never know who they were.
Neither the newspaper circulates, nor the editors live, but neither do the extremely beautiful women of Patras themselves.
And so the newspaper confirmed exactly that. The ephemera of the news. Today, no one cares regarding those beautiful girls who liked to dress well, go for walks, play sports and go out into the night life.
All we know are their initials. So here are the 21 dolls:
A. T.
E. S.
A. L.
A. K.
A. K.
N. P.
B. B.
M. P.
E. D.
F. A.
L. P.
L. K.
B. D.
L. K.
H.K.
K. M.
M. G.
A. A.
M. L.
M. M.
M. I.
The social life of our great-grandmothers
Tastes, hobbies, clothing, hangouts and groups
So what were the young girls of Patras like almost a century ago? What tastes did they have, how and why did they impress the male population?
Through the description made in the “silhouettes” of the city we derived some of their interests, their habits, their hobbies!
So we glean from the author’s anonymous description:
– They always wore fancy dresses
– They spoke French
– They were playing the violin
– They were in demand at secular gatherings
– They had infinite fans
– They were playing the piano
– They spoke German
– They loved sports
– They loved the sea
– They frequented the secular centers
– They went for a walk in Psilalonia
– They wrote lyrics
– He was engaged in painting
– They were accompanied by their dad
– They belonged to sports clubs
– They spoke Italian
– They went to Athens for the carnival
– They were observed in Kerpini
– They went to fancy gatherings
– He was accompanied by a teacher
– They had a dog and they went out for a walk with him
– They were free to speak and have an opinion
– They dressed modestly
– They spoke many foreign languages
– They had a lady escort
– They lived a secular life
– They were watching sports meetings
– They were union members
– In the evening they went to the “Olympia” cafe and pastry shop
– Some had just moved to Patras from Smyrna, Naxos etc.
– They were watching football
– They were workers
– They were going for a walk in the countryside
– They got engaged young
– They preferred top public officials
– They were bad swimmers
– They liked hunting
– They were going for a walk with their teacher
– They tanned in the summer
– In the evenings they frequented Flisvos
– In the summer they bathed in the morning
– They went for a walk to the shops
– They preferred serious aristocracy
– They had erudition
– They had a doctor father
– They were going for a walk with their brother
*From the “Selections” of “Peloponnisos” on Saturday, November 2, 2019
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