Over history it is proven time and time again that standards of beauty can be very subjective. What was attractive to the general masses in the 19th century is not true of the 20th Century. What was considered beautiful in the 1920’s is different to the 1980’s. Opinions on beauty are constantly changing with the times and fashions. The decade in history I am going to focus on for this essay is females in 1950’s Hollywood.
In Hollywood in the 1950’s, female stars had to epitomise class and grace and this needed to be reflected in the clothes they wore and the way they styled their hair. This was called the ‘Golden age of Hollywood’ and some of the actresses from this era are considered amongst the most beautiful in history. The general idea of female beauty at this time was in curvy women usually with curled blonde hair. The female star would often spend hours using all manner of beauty treatments to give themselves the red lipsticked, rosy cheeked glow.
I believe these high standards of what women should look like at the time may have been due to the fact that the world had just come out of a devastating war. Many soldiers were returning home to their families and the female style at the time was very much the homemaker. The idea was of a beautiful woman that men would feel comfortable coming home to. The
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Perhaps the most famous 1950’s woman was Marilyn Monroe, who rose to fame in the 1953 classic ‘Gentlemen prefer blondes’. Monroe epitomised the soft curled, blonde look with the immaculate makeup and lovely curves. Her personality given across in her films was also the slightly breathless, need to be looked after by a man. This vulnerability contrasted with her physical looks and made her appear less threatening to other women and also gave men a feeling of wanting to looks after her and keep her
As Talia Felix points out, a cultural disparity exists between our perception of makeup in the Roaring Twenties, and the ordinary look of the day. Our perception of the era relies heavily on the pictures and products of the stars and celebrities of the day. While icons like Louise Brooks and Clara Bow often had a face full of dramatic makeup, ordinary
The 1920’s was an era of dramatic political and cultural change, where many Americans lived in cities rather than farms. Many inventors came to be noticed as new cars were invented and as music entered the entertainment industry. A new style of music was invented mainly in the African American community, creating the Harlem Renaissance; which was an evolution of music and entertainment in Harlem, New York City. The women of America began to evolve in the 1920s, adding new styles to our fashion industry and changing the way women dress, act, and are portrayed in society for generations. Women were viewed before the 1920’s as innocent housewives, that made little to no money, as they often relied on their husbands’ for income. Women also
The way women dress now is based off of how Joan Crawford dressed when she was a flapper. Women wear makeup, shiny dresses for special occasions, even wear flowers or feathers on their heads for fashion. Her acting has left a big impact on actresses today. She inspired them to be the best actresses they can be.
Sarwer, D. B., Grossbart, T. A., & Didie, E. R. (2003). Beauty and society. Seminars in
Noted in Yvonne Tasker’s Working Girls: Gender and Sexuality in Popular Cinema, Goldie Hawn says this about women's role in the film business “There are only thee ages for women in Hollywood: Babe, District Attorney and Driving Miss Daisy” (1998, p. 3). While Haw...
The 1950s was a time when American life seemed to be in an ideal model for what family should be. People were portrayed as being happy and content with their lives by the meadia. Women and children were seen as being kind and courteous to the other members of society while when the day ended they were all there to support the man of the house. All of this was just a mirage for what was happening under the surface in the minds of everyone during that time as seen through the women, children, and men of this time struggled to fit into the mold that society had made for them.
Revolutionary fashions made it acceptable to show more skin, develop different styles, and be able for women to express themselves. Women began to liberate themselves from the traditional long hairstyles and turn to the new and shorter masculine hairdos. “The bob appeared in the US shortly. Women with bobs needed more frequent haircuts, and wanted permanent waves” (Monet). Women began to cut their hair shorter, cringing their hair, and finger waving it.
Think about the obstacles of a woman to become successful in the 1950s. I want to find an answer whether it was the media, which created Monroe’s sexy image or Monroe, whom herself used her sexy image to become famous. I am going to study the background of the time period, and learn if the current events such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Cold War, had any impact on Monroe's life, or whether Monroe herself had any influences politics in mid-20th century. I will also explore on how Monroe’s image influenced and redefined the feminism in the 21st century. I believe Marilyn Monroe was a clever, confident, and independent woman who was very brave and smart. Her spirit is what the girls in the new century needed. I also would like to study why Marilyn Monroe is still relevant and even famous in the 21st century to show the power of female charisma.
In the early 1900’s the ideal woman would be dressed with long dresses and would normally have long hair. Several events such as World War I, in July of 1914, changed women’s role in society. They were not only taking care of the children and the household but they were also taking the role of a man. As men went to war, women replaced them in factories. This caused woman to be more independent. Women realized that having a job was something that could be done; their sex didn’t restrict them from taking this action. This was extremely important as it lead to women being more confident and capable. In the 1920s young women began to change. They went from having long dresses and long hair, to a short haircut and wearing dresses that were above the knee. Women developed a greater interest in looking attractive. According to Russell L. Johnson, the beauty industry grew rapidly as cosmetic expenses sky rocketed from 750 million to 2 billion dollars (Johnson 3). This was one of the causes of the sexual revolution. Women became “ less formal but more expressive (Mag...
The establishment of these standards were reinforced by the media and the beauty industry, despite the fact that these were initially saw as a form of liberation, in contrast to the repression women suffered during these period; that led to the creation of stereotype and expected appearance associated to feminity.
Freeman S. (2004). In Style: Femininity and Fashion since the Victorian Era. Journal of Women's History; 16(4): 191–206
Thomas, Pauline Weston. “1950’s Glamour Fashion History 1950’s.” Fashion Era. 2005. 2 May 2005 .
Women used to dress very conservatively and strict before the turn of the decade. Clothing consisted of fitted dresses, long skirts, and corsets in lady like manners. Since the 1920’s brought women’s rights along, young women decided that they were not willing to waste away their young lives anymore being held down to the rules; they were going to enjoy life. The younger generations of women were breaking away from their old habits and their fashion statements changed their roles in society completely. Women were modeling their lives after popular icons...
There are two ways women would do their eyebrows, the first was to pluck them thin or how much they wanted it to be and then fill them in with pencil to obtain a certain shape. The second way was to pluck or shave it completely off and then draw them in with eyebrow pencil. Natural brows were also a typical thing for women because it was considered fashionable to draw the ends beyond the natural brow and then slope them downward. Eyebrows were a main part of makeup because women tended to have thicker and fuller eyebrows than men which would not exceed many women’s standards in a feminine, artificial look. Lastly, for creating a perfect lip outlook, push-up tubes were used and were invented by Maurice Levy in 1915. Red was the typical lip shade that was used because it was one of many colors to enhance their face with pop color and to balance out their heavy eyeshadow look. Also, the most associated lip look in the 1920s was the cupid’s bow to create the upper lip in a shape of a heart along with applying lipstick on it’s outer edge for a rounded mouth. Furthermore, makeup was very essential in the 1920’s for women because it was a form of individual
The definition of beauty is varying among different people in the world. Even though almost everyone knows the term beauty, many people are struggling in defining it and persuading others to agree with their opinions. Beauty is defined by a combination of qualities existent in a person or thing that fulfills the aesthetic feels or brings about profound gratification. Many people define beauty as a term to describe a person’s physical appearance; they often think that beauty comes from magazines, video girls, or even models. Although the term beauty can define a person’s physical appearance, true beauty lies in the way one acts and thinks rather than the way one look.