another fav photo shoot - the playground!

[sup_fan]

i remember seeing one of these pics early on when i first learned about the Supremes and was always intrigued by the location and pic

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[daviddh]

Like the one in the middle with Lynda at the top.
Thx for sharing

[gman]

I've only seen a few of them, never this many...thank you.
They are definitely WEARIN' those gowns! they were some gorgeous, shapely women.

[sup_fan]

i know some fans dislike their reusing the old gowns but the green swirls are just my favorite! love them so i was thrilled to see more pics of them, like these

[gman]

the group paid for those gowns...they were entitled to wear them as long as they wanted...personally, the only 2 sets I thought were very outdated by Scherries arrival were the Batwing GIT/Sullivan Farewell gowns, which I am told were destroyed in the Mexican fire, and the black GIT ones that I would have thrown in!...sorry....hated 'em!

[nomis]

in Mary's interview on the 1983 VHS release "Girl Groups - Story Of A Sound" you can see one of these green swirl dresses draped next to the couch she is sitting on

[BigAl]

In August of 1968, I was fortunate enough to see DRATS in two shows one night and one show the next. In the first show they wore the chandelier gowns, in the second they wore the swirl gowns, and the next night they wore the Queen Mother gowns. So, I got to see three of the most iconic in two nights.

[RanRan79]

For the record, this photo session was produced for the cancelled album The Supremes Sing Children's Favorites. Only one or two cuts are rumored to exist.

[RanRan79]

Now that I've gotten the joking out of the way......While I can see a certain appeal in these photographs, they come across as mostly sad to me. The wearing of the old DRATS gowns, in the playground in sequins, children playing among them. It's all wrong IMO. Now had they had on some Supreme but funky street clothes, posing on the playground with and without the children, I'd dig it. [[Doesn't Labelle have an album cover with them on a playground?) Might have been a cool shoot for the Stevie produced album. But as it is, it's still kind of cool, but also kind of sad. I do, however, really love photos 4 and 6. Go figure.

[RanRan79]

Here's how Supremes On A Playground should look:

[marybrewster]

in Mary's interview on the 1983 VHS release "Girl Groups - Story Of A Sound" you can see one of these green swirl dresses draped next to the couch she is sitting on

Yes and at one point she even wears it, along with the pearl drop "Farewell" dress.

[RanRan79]

the group paid for those gowns...they were entitled to wear them as long as they wanted

They were entitled to wipe their asses with them, if that's what they chose to do. Doesn't make it a good move though. The Supremes at this point should have been doing all that they could do to get the public to view them as a new thing and not an old thing trying to convince everyone that it's a new thing while wearing an old thing everyone had seen from five or so years ago. Everyone was moving into the mid 70s and here they are looking like they're going to step onstage and sing "You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You"...which of course is exactly what they were doing. I get all the usual arguments about not being able to afford many new gowns, but the truth is that this was a new era. They didn't need bugle beaded gowns anymore. Mary should've packed all that old stuff away and focused only on the more modern and chic stuff the ladies could find. There are some beautiful photos of them from this era looking very much like the times. TCB/GIT and the rest should have never been anywhere near Lynda's time in the group.

[marybrewster]

I agree Ran. I've said this many times before; you can walk into Macy's today and pull a beautiful gown off the rack for less than $200. I imagine with inflation in the 70's it would have been closer to $50? True, these aren't thousand dollar creations, but wouldn't something new or timely been 10x better than wearing a 10 year old gown that had to get its crotch rebeaded?

[nomis]

poor Mary -caught between a rock and a hard place there had been at least one or two shows a round 1968 where the ladies just went on stage in whatever street clothes they felt like - and it was deemed a disaster Mary was adamant the sequins and bugles is what the fans wanted and that was just one more issue mary and jean disagreed on and mary now group leader was calling the shots so 10 yr old gowns were used meanwhile the likes of Labelle were wearing futuristic silver space themed creations three deegrees had a range of sequin dresses all new and chers mackies creations on her tv show took the game to the next level..Mary was locked in a mindsight of fighting for the groups survival so hey if the swirl dresses are need yet again so be it

[TYK1986]

Now that I've gotten the joking out of the way......While I can see a certain appeal in these photographs, they come across as mostly sad to me. The wearing of the old DRATS gowns, in the playground in sequins, children playing among them. It's all wrong IMO. Now had they had on some Supreme but funky street clothes, posing on the playground with and without the children, I'd dig it. [[Doesn't Labelle have an album cover with them on a playground?) Might have been a cool shoot for the Stevie produced album. But as it is, it's still kind of cool, but also kind of sad. I do, however, really love photos 4 and 6. Go figure.

I agree with you on this one completely. I like the photo's but everything seems out of place. The green swirly gowns look ok to a certain extend, photo 4 is my fave, but the silver ones look completely out of place. The contrast of the gowns and playground is somehow not right. I think everyday clothing would have been better. Especially with the kids around. I wonder what the photographer or the one organizing the shoots had in mind. Maybe we will understand the reason behind this, to my eyes, weird photo session. Don't have to agree with me but it's like "look at us being down to earth in our super expensive dresses".

[RanRan79]

I agree Ran. I've said this many times before; you can walk into Macy's today and pull a beautiful gown off the rack for less than $200. I imagine with inflation in the 70's it would have been closer to $50? True, these aren't thousand dollar creations, but wouldn't something new or timely been 10x better than wearing a 10 year old gown that had to get its crotch rebeaded?

Yup, and probably less expensive too, since Mary was attempting to keep costs down.

[RanRan79]

poor Mary -caught between a rock and a hard place there had been at least one or two shows a round 1968 where the ladies just went on stage in whatever street clothes they felt like - and it was deemed a disaster Mary was adamant the sequins and bugles is what the fans wanted and that was just one more issue mary and jean disagreed on and mary now group leader was calling the shots so 10 yr old gowns were used meanwhile the likes of Labelle were wearing futuristic silver space themed creations three deegrees had a range of sequin dresses all new and chers mackies creations on her tv show took the game to the next level..Mary was locked in a mindsight of fighting for the groups survival so hey if the swirl dresses are need yet again so be it

Yeah, to be fair, Mary was having a rough go of it. Once the Supremes hit big in the 60s they really didn't control much of anything group related. Gordy and company took care of everything. Had to be nerve wracking for Mary to suddenly find herself having to make decisions for the group that even Diana didn't have to make once they were on a certain level. Mary's Supremes weren't on the level of Diana's Supremes, but they weren't pre-"Where Did Our Love Go" Supremes either, so Mary had her work cut out for her.

I suspect had she allowed Jean to share some of the load- and Cindy, and Lynda- she might not have been so stressed. I also suspect that, if true Jean felt as lead singer she should be the leader, that probably didn't do Jean any favors in Mary's mind when it came to allowing more input. Mary was queen bee there, and rightly so. Her position should have always been respected by every incoming Supreme no matter how many songs she sang lead on. But Jean, and Lynda, came to the table with ideas about the group that weren't rooted in it's history. Mary had some loyalty to the 60s Supremes, Jean and Lynda did not, and thus could've moved the group into more hipper territory.

[RanRan79]

it's like "look at us being down to earth in our super expensive dresses".

Yes!!! This!!! Phony is how it comes across. I do agree that the swirl gowns come across better than the other here, but everything just seems off. It really would be interesting to learn what point was intended.

[sup_fan]

Yes!!! This!!! Phony is how it comes across. I do agree that the swirl gowns come across better than the other here, but everything just seems off. It really would be interesting to learn what point was intended.

yeah i think the swirls of the green gowns work well with the poses around the monkey bars and on the slides. probably some of the other pics are more just for fun - like the rings.

I think the bigger point being made here isn't so much about the dated dresses as the OUTDATED group image. i don't know the date of this photo shoot. but the girls did commission a lot of new outfits with Jean - mostly during the JMC lineup. favored a lot of pantsuits but still high glam. When Lynda joined, they only had a handful of new outfits, and several of them were a more earthy look. dropping the over-the-top sequins and Vegas splash. However most of the fans here complain about that too lol

I love the look of their outfits on Floy Joy. simple, chic, coordinated yet individual. maybe that was an approach - less "matchy-matchy" and bugle beads and more fashionable hip and individual.

[sup_fan]

here's a pic that was used internationally for the pic sleeve of Bad Weather

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[sup_fan]

these burgundy gowns i've only seen on the Flip Wilson clip of them singing Lean On Me. there's a youtube compilation where you have the typical 20 second clip or so of Lean but then it also includes the finally where Flip thanks each guest and they walk across the stage. The girls are still in these and to be honest, they come across a bit better. in the Lean clip, it's so dark and so short you really don't have much time to observe the gowns. Plus they're standing at their mics. Walking in them gives them a bit more definition and interest. perhaps on stage and with their routines, they might have been a bit stronger and also a bit more modern

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[RanRan79]

The "Bad Weather" photo outfits are perfect for a photo shoot, but I don't think that particular look would've gone over well on stage, not for the Supremes. And I agree about the Floy Joy outfits also. They look very Supremes but in a laidback way. The black dresses above are also great IMO for the stage show. I'd say they're very modern stage glam, which is different from what "Very modern stage glam" was even just a few years before.

[sup_fan]

i think the look of MJL in totally random outfits on Soul Train was a bit odd versus MSS in the red outfits for You're What's Missing. MSS looked totally hip and sexy, the red provided some degree of unity without looking like a hot mess.

but i also think you can go glitter and matching and still work. the short Central Park mini dresses were hot as hell!! totally spot on for a new era