North Shields is an ancient coastal town in northeast England. I came across two mugshots, taken in 1905 and 1914 respectively, each depicting a fashionable young woman who was busted for theft in North Shields.

Looking at them, I remembered a few years back when Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan kept getting arrested. Their mugshots have a distinct Teen Vogue vibe, almost as if they were paying people to arrest them so they could manufacture a more edgy image. It’s rather difficult to look dangerous or glamorous when you’re so clearly delighted to be arrested on a misdemeanor.
Part of the reason mugshots are so interesting is because they capture people at a low point and their facial expression tells you something about them that can’t be captured in a normal picture. Lindsay and Paris could have taken a lesson from Lillian Tibbs and Maud Garmey on how to take an impressive mugshot.

