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.

North Shields, established in the thirteenth century

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.

Maud M. Garmey, arrested for theft in North Shields, England 1905

Lillian Tibbs arrested for petty larceny in North Shields England 1914