Life — September 25, 1919 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This illustration by a artist named Startt (signature visible) depicts a fashionably dressed woman in a light coat and boots, standing confidently among formally-dressed female figures in elaborate period gowns in the background. The caption reads "THE GIRLS SHE LEFT BEHIND HER," suggesting a narrative about social change or generational difference. Given the 1919 date—immediately following World War I and coinciding with the women's suffrage movement (19th Amendment passed that June)—this likely satirizes the "New Woman" of the post-war era: more independent, modernly dressed, and liberated compared to the constrained Victorian femininity represented by the ornately-gowned figures behind her. The image celebrates this social shift through fashion and posture.