Padaung women as 'giraffe women' in a circus show

Step into 1930s London’s fascination with exotic spectacle in this striking black‑and‑white image of three Padaung (Kayan Lahwi) women—widely advertised as “giraffe women”—posing beside a Metropolitan policeman on Elgin Avenue. Clad in their traditional brass neck coils and leg rings, they stand with calm dignity on a misty street, flanked by curious onlookers and the gleaming fender skirts of period motorcars.

Historical Context During the interwar years, circuses and travelling shows were at the height of their popularity in Britain. Troupes of performers from Myanmar and Thailand, like these Padaung women, toured music halls and fairgrounds, drawing huge crowds eager to glimpse customs from across the Empire. While today these exhibitions raise questions about cultural representation, in 1935 they offered many Londoners their first encounter with peoples from distant lands.

Share Your Own Vintage Finds! Do you have sepia‑toned postcards, family snapshots of theatre and circus life, or interwar street scenes tucked away in an album? Upload your photographs to OldPik.com and help us broaden the archive of Britain’s rich social history—one image at a time.

SEO Tags vintage photo, 1930s circus London, Padaung giraffe women, Kayan Lahwi, interwar Britain spectacle, Elgin Avenue 1935, antique UK postcard, human curiosities, colonial exhibition history, OldPik uploads