Age 33, 1978
For the past 40 years, San Francisco-based photographer Lucy Hilmer has been photographing herself on her birthday dressed in nothing but her white Lollipop underwear, socks, and shoes.
Her unusual self-portraits make up ‘Birthday Suits’, a series that explores “one woman’s journey through time.”
Hilmer, who grew up during the 1950s and turns 70 next year, came of age before the women’s liberation movement that began in the late ’60s.
Her photographs are an effort to define herself on her own terms, and an attempt to shrug off society’s labeling of her as a “pretty girl” and not much else.
Hilmer plans to continue her series for as long as she lives, and is currently working on a book and film about it.
Check out some of her self-portraits below, and view more images at her website.
Age 35, 1980
Age 42, 1987
Age 56, 2001
Age 60, 2005
Age 67, 2012
[via Lens Culture, images via Lucy Hilmer]