The Representation Of Beauty In The 1920's

Praise Tordoff Page 1 Augusta Technical College History of Beauty Praise Tordoff Linda Walker Cosm1000 09/02/16 Praise Tordoff Page 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Content Page # Women's Hair 3 Men's Hair 4 Children's Hair 4 Hollywood Actresses 5 Pantyhose 5 Summary 6 Bibliography 7 Praise Tordoff Page 3 History of Beauty in the 40's

Fashion in the early nineteen twenties was all about comfort. Men’s pants got wider and women stopped wearing their corsets and tight dresses, while older women of the age considered this scandalous and still held the thought that women should not show their ankle. Though the majority of adults disagreed with the fashion revolution, young women continually hiked up their skirts, stayed out late, and kept up with fashion trends. Times were changing, and thus the flapper age was born. Hemlines rose to the knee, and then later above it- exposing the muscular dancer’s legs-toned

Another area in which women made changes was with their appearance. Women used their attire and style to show an independence, a certain freedom in which they alone had control. Starting with the “Gibson Girl”, women dressed in long, slim dresses, freeing themselves of the poufy petticoats of yore. Women started wearing shorter dresses and shorter hairstyles, leading to “Flapper Jane”. “Women started wearing “less” clothing, shorter dresses, cutting off their hair, and just being more “sensual” than normal”, (Bliven, 1925).

The style and cut of women's clothing during the 1920's changed drastically. Waistlines dropped dramatically while hemlines rose scandalously. Turned-down hose were no longer black, but beige. Rouged knees, bobbed hair, and figureless figures characterized the "radical flappers". These women violated many of the rules dictating appropriate clothing and behavior for women. The

F. Scott Fitzgerald wasn’t too far off the mark in that regard. After several troubling decades, which included war and a devastating epidemic, the economy was improving, music and film technology was emerging, and people wanted to let loose. For many, this decade was a never ending party and that meant women wanted to look young and beautiful. It was the first decade where wearing make-up wasn’t associated with being a harlot. Their makeup played just as crucial a role in this look as their short dresses and high heels.

As the 1920s climaxed, there was an emergence of the confident face of femininity. Women gained insight on their true womanhood and took on more unconventional lifestyles. For example, they changed their fashion standards. What was once strict Victorian uniform transformed into a sleek, trendy look. Hairstyles and clothing incrementally became shorter and more revealing. This led to the birth of a new woman in 1926. She dressed provocatively, smoked cigarettes, and

The photographs were also illustrated. This ment the illustrates (the especially men) were able to e.g tuck in their waist, plump up breasts, similarly to do what Photoshop does now, creating an unreal human form. The ideal female body may have been heavier back then, but it was just as criticized and retouched as it now. - In this decade many people in society were shammed for being skin in the same way the media shames fat figures now.

Though out the years fashion has changed in different variety of ways in the 1920s by giving women the ability to change the way they act and look. “1920's

After the war restrictions, women in the 1950s rediscovered the pleasure of the make-up. Whether it is their skin, their lips, or their hair, every aspect of their face is embellished. The eyebrows are depilated and they are drawn with the help of a pencil, lashes stretched out with mascara, and rollers are used to style their hair. Fashion must not be a constraint anymore. It is for women to emancipate themselves, to express their freedom. Marilyn Monroe becomes a beauty icon; women smoke, drive, and wear short skirts as well as short hair.

In the 1950s, excessively feminine silhouettes were celebrated thus accentuating curves, full bosoms and narrow waists was a prevailing way for women to dress. Nevertheless, with her sphere of influence on women, Audrey Hepburn introduced an alternative to this limited standard of how women—through various aspects of dressing and behaving—should be (Keogh 1). Some of the popular stars who eventually became sex symbols in the period were Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot and Grace Kelly. Hepburn’s physique however, was totally different from these women. She did not have a big bosom or a bottom. She was not curvy. Unlike Audrey Hepburn’s

It’s difficult to envision a world where idealized female imagery is not plastered everywhere, but our present circumstance is a relatively new occurrence. Before the mass media existed, our ideas of beauty were restricted to our own communities. Until the introduction of photography in 1839, people were not exposed to real-life images of faces and bodies. Most people did not even own mirrors. Today, however, we are more obsessed with our appearance than ever before. But the concern about appearance is quite normal and understandable given society’s standards. According to Jane Kilborne, “Every period of history has had its own standards of what is and is not beautiful, and every contemporary society has its own distinctive concept of the

It 's not a mystery that society 's ideals of beauty have a drastic and frightening effect on women. Popular culture frequently tells society, what is supposed to recognize and accept as beauty, and even though beauty is a concept that differs on all cultures and modifies over time, society continues to set great importance on what beautiful means and the significance of achieving it; consequently, most women aspire to achieve beauty, occasionally without measuring the consequences on their emotional or physical being. Unrealistic beauty standards are causing tremendous damage to society, a growing crisis where popular culture conveys the message that external beauty is the most significant characteristic women can have. The approval of prototypes where women are presented as a beautiful object or the winner of a beauty contest by evaluating mostly their physical attractiveness creates a faulty society, causing numerous negative effects; however, some of the most apparent consequences young and adult women encounter by beauty standards, can manifest as body dissatisfaction, eating disorders that put women’s life in danger, professional disadvantage, and economic difficulty.

Throughout history, the way one defined beauty has changed. In the renaissance, women that were curvy, and fleshy were considered to be the most attractive. Paintings from the renaissance show women that would now be considered overweight in our time, but at that time they were considered the “epitome of sexy” (CITE). Also, in the renaissance, women believed the lighter the hair, the better. They strived for a pale face, and deep red lips (CITE). However, the women of the Victorian era were much different than the renaissance women. They were very conscious about their bodies, and beauty “meant having the smallest waistline humanly possible” (CITE). To achieve this small waistline, women wore corsets. Their corsets were so tight that women could barely breathe, and sitting down was out of the question (Cite). As for makeup in the Victorian era, only high-class women were expected to wear makeup sparingly. “Bold colors were considered to be uncouth, and reserved for prostitutes” (cite). In the 1920’s instead of tight corsets to show off their curves, women wore loose dresses, and some even bound their chests with a cloth to achieve a boyish look (cite). “Going

What is beauty, anyway? Beauty has varied throughout time, various cultures and the vast different perceptions of the world. Specifically, the differences between the Middle Ages or the Medieval Period and Modern Pop Culture are... From fair maidens to today’s supermodels, beauty standards are always changing across time and cultures. Due to culture differences today, I’m going to focus on American Pop Culture in the past ten years (mainly focusing on the 2010s-present). What influences our perception of beauty? The clothes, accessories, and make-up we wear and the hairstyles we have.

Actress and comedian Phyllis Diller once said, "It's a good thing that beauty is only skin deep, or I'd be rotten to the core". Unfortunately, beauty can be a harm deeper than skin. People have been using beauty products and cosmetics from shampoo to plastic surgery. As we advance in technology and science, it has now come to light that these products contain extremely dangerous chemicals. As a result, people are becoming much more aware and demanding new and natural products. For this reason, Companies have reached for natural ingredients to add on to their chemically soaked products. Many people, especially women, use plastic surgery to change the way they look to feel beautiful. People argue that undergoing plastic surgery is at their own risk for wanting to achieve a better physical appearance. Without these multibillionaire cosmetic companies, many people can be left unemployed. However, there needs to be laws demanding the discontinue of animal testing and all daily beauty products should be FDA approved before going into market in the United States. It is human nature to feel good, pretty and pleased with our appearance, but it should all be done in a safe, nontoxic manner.