In 1907, brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière developed the first commercially viable form of color photography. Their process, called Autochrome, used glass plates coated with millions of microscopic color filters, each one consisting of—believe it or not—a dyed, powdered grain of potato starch.
The starch grains essentially transformed the plate into a stained-glass window made of red, green, and blue dots, which filtered the light shining onto a light-sensitive emulsion. Up close, the resulting photographs looked like dots of various shades of red, blue, and green. But from a distance, viewers’ eyes blended the colors into muted, dreamlike tones—making autochromes look like pointillist paintings.
Here, below is a collection of some of stunning Autochrome photos of women dressing in their traditional costumes around the world:
1. Brimming With Joy
Three women living in an alpine village near Salzburg, Austria, pose for photographer Hans Hildenbrand in a 1929 autochrome.
2. Standing Proud
A Roma woman in Tirana, Albania, poses wearing traditional garb in this 1928 autochrome by Luigi Pellerano.
3. Aglitter
A dancer on Tenerife Island, part of Spain’s Canary Islands, poses in her costume in this July 1929 autochrome by National Geographic staff photographer Wilhelm Tobien.
4. Legacy In Lace
A woman in Brittany, France, leans against a stone wall in this early 1923 autochrome by Jules Gervais-Courtellemont.
5. Bold Bonnets
In this November 1931 autochrome by Wilhelm Tobien, two women from the Netherlands’ Zeeland province pose with their daughters. Their fan-shaped bonnets are hallmarks of the region’s folk costume.
6. Ready For The Water
A woman in Bucharest, Romania, sits on a bench wearing a red hat and bathing suit in a January 1936 autochrome by Wilhelm Tobien.
7. Labores De Largartera
A girl in Lagartera, Spain, poses in traditional costume for an informal portrait in this 1914 autochrome by Jules Gervais-Courtellemont. Lagartera is renowned for its centuries-old tradition of elaborate embroidery.
8. Making Thread
A woman in Lucerne, Switzerland, works with her spinning wheel in an autocrome taken by Hans Hildenbrand in early 1932.
(via National Geographic)
The starch grains essentially transformed the plate into a stained-glass window made of red, green, and blue dots, which filtered the light shining onto a light-sensitive emulsion. Up close, the resulting photographs looked like dots of various shades of red, blue, and green. But from a distance, viewers’ eyes blended the colors into muted, dreamlike tones—making autochromes look like pointillist paintings.
Here, below is a collection of some of stunning Autochrome photos of women dressing in their traditional costumes around the world:
1. Brimming With Joy
 |
| (Photograph by Hans Hildenbrand, National Geographic Creative) |
Three women living in an alpine village near Salzburg, Austria, pose for photographer Hans Hildenbrand in a 1929 autochrome.
2. Standing Proud
 |
| (Photograph by Luigi Pellerano, National Geographic) |
A Roma woman in Tirana, Albania, poses wearing traditional garb in this 1928 autochrome by Luigi Pellerano.
3. Aglitter
 |
| (Photograph by Wilhelm Tobien, National Geographic Creative) |
A dancer on Tenerife Island, part of Spain’s Canary Islands, poses in her costume in this July 1929 autochrome by National Geographic staff photographer Wilhelm Tobien.
4. Legacy In Lace
 |
| (Photograph by Jules Gervais Courtellemont, National Geographic Creative) |
A woman in Brittany, France, leans against a stone wall in this early 1923 autochrome by Jules Gervais-Courtellemont.
5. Bold Bonnets
 |
| (Photograph by Wilhelm Tobien, National Geographic Creative) |
In this November 1931 autochrome by Wilhelm Tobien, two women from the Netherlands’ Zeeland province pose with their daughters. Their fan-shaped bonnets are hallmarks of the region’s folk costume.
6. Ready For The Water
 |
| (Photograph by Wilhelm Tobien, National Geographic Creative) |
A woman in Bucharest, Romania, sits on a bench wearing a red hat and bathing suit in a January 1936 autochrome by Wilhelm Tobien.
7. Labores De Largartera
 |
| (Photograph by Jules Gervais Courtellemont, National Geographic Creative) |
A girl in Lagartera, Spain, poses in traditional costume for an informal portrait in this 1914 autochrome by Jules Gervais-Courtellemont. Lagartera is renowned for its centuries-old tradition of elaborate embroidery.
8. Making Thread
 |
| (Photograph by Hans Hildenbrand, National Geographic Creative) |
A woman in Lucerne, Switzerland, works with her spinning wheel in an autocrome taken by Hans Hildenbrand in early 1932.
(via National Geographic)
