Now this is an incredible throwback! Doreen Galea shared some stunning shots of vintage Carnival costumes – one even dating back to the early 20^th century.

Doreen shared a photo of herself around 1958 dressed up as a doll. “I remember it like it was yesterday, my dad painting those paper flowers with poster colours for my hat,” she said in the Malta Vintage History Facebook page. She also shared a photo of her dad dressed up as a little toy soldier dating back to around 1915.

“I loved looking at these two photos when I was young,” she said in a previous post, sharing more insight into costumes back in the day. “In both photos, it is my dad, a very young teenager then, and the young ladies of the neighbourhood playing charades during carnival time.” These date to circa mid 1920s. In all probability they were re-enacting some exciting scene from the latest Mary Pickford/Douglas Fairbanks silent movie showing at the local ''talkies''.”

“I love the genteel carnival clothes and make-up and just how earnest they all look,” she continues. “In the first pic, it's my dad dressed up as a villain of some sort brandishing a gun. I still have that gun at home in my collection of old arms. It's a small lady's gun that apparently ladies of my great grandmother's generation carried around for protection when they went horse riding.”

The second photo shows Doreen’s dad beato fra le donne. She notes that the headgear quite resembles that in the popular TV shows Downton Abbey set in the ‘20s. “Like all other respectable ladies then, they all [wore] thick black stockings to cover their legs.”

Thank you for sharing, Doreen!

Doreen Galea Vincenti Zarb