1900s Beauty Standards
Evolution of Beauty Standards (1900s-Now)
The definition of beauty is a view of perfection as a part of aesthetics, culture, social psychology, philosophy, and sociology that is admired by a particular culture. The definition of a standard is an idea used as a model for comparative evaluations. A beauty standard is a popular trend of looks and style that people are expected to be.
In the 1900s to the 1910s there was a very unique sense of fashion. The decade’s body image consisted of being fit. Women were expected to be tall and to have wide hips. A type of style that helped women achieve this look was a “S” shaped dress. They also stayed up to date on the fashion trends. Common fashion trends were hobbie skirts, bloomers, corsets, and bonnet …show more content…
hats. Make up was minimal in the 1900-1910s. It was mostly lightly lined eyes, light blush, and red lipstick. The hairstyle for this decade was the edwardian updo which is like a loose “messy” bun.
In the next decade, 1920s, also known as the roaring twenties, the style of clothing drastically changed. The style of clothing had become casual. It wasn’t what you would normally think of as casual, as in jeans and a tshirts, their casual was short and frilly dresses. These dresses were known as flapper dresses. Women wore their hair short and curly with headbands in their hair that had large feathers sticking out of them. The makeup style for women in the 1920s was very heavy, black eyeliner and drawn on eyebrows. Bright, pink blush and red lipstick was also still a trend. The body image had also changed completely. Women were expected to have more of a boyish, straight body figure along with a small chest. Diet and exercise was also a big trend.
In the 1930s-1940s, women went back to the more traditional, simple way of dressing. They went back to wearing long skirts, although the skirts were still tight, along with blouses and jackets. Nylon tights were new trend for this era. The makeup style was similar to the 1900s-1910s. A well known hairstyle for this decade is the pin up curl. The body image also went back to being feminine with wide hips and shoulders.
The 1950s set the bar high for women.
They were expected to have perfect hair and make up all the time along with flawless skin. The style of was hair was short and curly with a few pin ups curls. The style of makeup was foundation to hide blemishes, black lined eyes, drawn on brows, and red lipstick. They wore knee length, swing skirts and big hats. The female body was also made very sexualized due to it being the beginning of the Marilyn Monroe era. Women were expected to have an hourglass body and a full figure.
Another icon inspired the look for the 1960s. “Twiggy” was a supermodel at the time who was super underweight. Women went back to having a boyish figure with no chest and small hips. Makeup in the 1960s consisted of bright eyeshadows like blue and white with heavy, black eyeliner, and big, bold eyelashes. The hair style for the 60s was long, loose curls with high volumized hair. The fashion style was the “hippy” style. High waisted, knee length, and tight skirts with matching jackets. Towards the end of the 60, the hourglass body figure came back, but it didn’t last long.
In the 1970s, thin body image came back. But in the 70s, women weren’t so demanded to look “perfect” all the time. Minimal makeup was except along with long, natural hair. The style for dressing in the 70s was high waisted bell bottom pants and layers of blouses and
vests.
The 1980s stuck with the thin body image. Women were expected to be toned and muscular and look like supermodels. Clothing styles were your typical “80s look”. Leggings made out of spandex material with short skirts and leg warmers. Head bands were also a tending look in this decade. Bright and bold was expected for your daily makeup look in the 80s. Women wore lots of eyeshadow that was pink, blue, green, yellow, and orange. They would do crazy looks with their makeup, too. The 1980s are known for big hair. Women crimped and teased their hair.
Women were expected to have thin bodies still in the 1990s, but to have a large chest. Many women had unhealthy, low BMIs. The clothing style as known as “Heroin Chic”. This style consisted of high waisted jeans and skirts, jean jackets, combat boots, and sweaters. Makeup in the 1990s was light. Women wore nude colored eye shadow with light eyeliner and mascara. They also wore darker, nude lipstick. Hair was simple in the 90s, too. Most women wore it down to their shoulders and straight.
The 2000s brought on the “Barbie” body image along with fake tans. A huge trend at this time was chunky lowlights and highlights for your hair or frosted tips. Airbrushing makeup became a big thing in this era, also. Along with silver eyeshadow. Women wore low-rise jeans and yoga pants with tube tops and bell-sleeved shirts.
In the 2010s staying skinny and having a muscular body was still expected, but was taken to an extreme. There were two major hair styles in this decade, pixie cuts, and if you still had long hair, ballerina buns. Makeup trends were mega lashes, “80s” style eyeshadow, winged eyeliner, and contouring. The style for 2010 was modern day casual. Jeans and blouses or t-shirts.
The idea of beauty can come from many different platforms. These platforms include magazines, movies, music videos, models, and social media. Many women say that they think about models, movies, and unattainable standards of perfection when they are asked what they think beauty is. Other women say they look for “average” people, like themselves, to be their beauty inspiration. But a study done by Dove shows these women are actually mostly looking at women they see on social media for their beauty inspiration. This survey was taken by 1,027 women between the ages of 18 and 64 and when they were surveyed, the survey turned out to say that these women are twice as likely to say that their idea of beauty comes from women who are famous and in the public light, and or on social media. The study also shows that women base their looks and compare themselves to other women they see on social media platforms. 78% of women say that they know that social media is unrealistic to use for making beauty standards because of photoshop and editing, but 82% of women say that social media is what shapes their beauty image. Social media is the biggest contender for these beauty standards.
The statistics of how women view themselves and how they cope with it is terrifying. 80% of women say they're unhappy with their appearance. Another 67% of women from ages 25 to 45 are trying to lose weight even though 53% of those women are already at a healthy weight. 69% of women say they are in favor of plastic surgery. 40% of diagnosed eating disorder cases are girls ages 15 to 19 years old. These numbers are on the rise, too.
The amount of money that is spent to reach these beauty standards is also outrageous. In America, women spend $7 billion a year on cosmetics and beauty supplies. Almost $11.7 million of that was spent on cosmetic surgical procedures. On average, women spend about $50 a month on manicures and pedicures. A study show that if they put that into a retirement account that was interest bearing, every year for 10 years, they would have almost $10,000 saved for their retirement. There is so much money going out to beauty supply companies and plastic surgeons because women are made to feel like they have to spend all this money on these beauty products to be able to look somewhat acceptable.
These standards are affecting girls and women of all ages. Young girls are more likely to have low self-esteem issues based on the way the media makes beauty standards out to be. Aggressive bullying between girls has been rising since the early 1990s. The bullying is usually due to physical appearance. A study shows that girls who actually spend more time on their appearance, have a lower confidence level. Almost half of diagnosed eating disorder cases are girls ages 15 to 19 years old. The youngest case of an eating disorder is known to be a kindergarten aged girl. It doesn’t only affect young girls, it affects middle aged to elderly women, too. Many middle aged women are concerned about getting wrinkles and age marks while the elderly women are trying to get rid of the wrinkles and age marks they already have. Thanks to these standards, many issues are arising for women and girls.
Most professionals will tell you that most of the beauty standards throughout the last 100 years have been unreachable, but they are getting aggressively worse along with the heights women will do and go through to obtain them. Women have always done dangerous things to be skinny, have flawless skin, perfect hair, and be the best dressed, but now a days, women will do the unimaginable to be able to please society and it’s crazy standards. These last 100 years have been filled with trends good and bad, healthy and unhealthy, beautiful and ugly. Let’s make the biggest trend for the next 100 years to be kind to one another and empower each other.
The definition of beauty is a view of perfection as a part of aesthetics, culture, social psychology, philosophy, and sociology that is admired by a particular culture. The definition of a standard is an idea used as a model for comparative evaluations. A beauty standard is a popular trend of looks and style that people are expected to be.
In the 1900s to the 1910s there was a very unique sense of fashion. The decade’s body image consisted of being fit. Women were expected to be tall and to have wide hips. A type of style that helped women achieve this look was a “S” shaped dress. They also stayed up to date on the fashion trends. Common fashion trends were hobbie skirts, bloomers, corsets, and bonnet …show more content…
hats. Make up was minimal in the 1900-1910s. It was mostly lightly lined eyes, light blush, and red lipstick. The hairstyle for this decade was the edwardian updo which is like a loose “messy” bun.
In the next decade, 1920s, also known as the roaring twenties, the style of clothing drastically changed. The style of clothing had become casual. It wasn’t what you would normally think of as casual, as in jeans and a tshirts, their casual was short and frilly dresses. These dresses were known as flapper dresses. Women wore their hair short and curly with headbands in their hair that had large feathers sticking out of them. The makeup style for women in the 1920s was very heavy, black eyeliner and drawn on eyebrows. Bright, pink blush and red lipstick was also still a trend. The body image had also changed completely. Women were expected to have more of a boyish, straight body figure along with a small chest. Diet and exercise was also a big trend.
In the 1930s-1940s, women went back to the more traditional, simple way of dressing. They went back to wearing long skirts, although the skirts were still tight, along with blouses and jackets. Nylon tights were new trend for this era. The makeup style was similar to the 1900s-1910s. A well known hairstyle for this decade is the pin up curl. The body image also went back to being feminine with wide hips and shoulders.
The 1950s set the bar high for women.
They were expected to have perfect hair and make up all the time along with flawless skin. The style of was hair was short and curly with a few pin ups curls. The style of makeup was foundation to hide blemishes, black lined eyes, drawn on brows, and red lipstick. They wore knee length, swing skirts and big hats. The female body was also made very sexualized due to it being the beginning of the Marilyn Monroe era. Women were expected to have an hourglass body and a full figure.
Another icon inspired the look for the 1960s. “Twiggy” was a supermodel at the time who was super underweight. Women went back to having a boyish figure with no chest and small hips. Makeup in the 1960s consisted of bright eyeshadows like blue and white with heavy, black eyeliner, and big, bold eyelashes. The hair style for the 60s was long, loose curls with high volumized hair. The fashion style was the “hippy” style. High waisted, knee length, and tight skirts with matching jackets. Towards the end of the 60, the hourglass body figure came back, but it didn’t last long.
In the 1970s, thin body image came back. But in the 70s, women weren’t so demanded to look “perfect” all the time. Minimal makeup was except along with long, natural hair. The style for dressing in the 70s was high waisted bell bottom pants and layers of blouses and
vests.
The 1980s stuck with the thin body image. Women were expected to be toned and muscular and look like supermodels. Clothing styles were your typical “80s look”. Leggings made out of spandex material with short skirts and leg warmers. Head bands were also a tending look in this decade. Bright and bold was expected for your daily makeup look in the 80s. Women wore lots of eyeshadow that was pink, blue, green, yellow, and orange. They would do crazy looks with their makeup, too. The 1980s are known for big hair. Women crimped and teased their hair.
Women were expected to have thin bodies still in the 1990s, but to have a large chest. Many women had unhealthy, low BMIs. The clothing style as known as “Heroin Chic”. This style consisted of high waisted jeans and skirts, jean jackets, combat boots, and sweaters. Makeup in the 1990s was light. Women wore nude colored eye shadow with light eyeliner and mascara. They also wore darker, nude lipstick. Hair was simple in the 90s, too. Most women wore it down to their shoulders and straight.
The 2000s brought on the “Barbie” body image along with fake tans. A huge trend at this time was chunky lowlights and highlights for your hair or frosted tips. Airbrushing makeup became a big thing in this era, also. Along with silver eyeshadow. Women wore low-rise jeans and yoga pants with tube tops and bell-sleeved shirts.
In the 2010s staying skinny and having a muscular body was still expected, but was taken to an extreme. There were two major hair styles in this decade, pixie cuts, and if you still had long hair, ballerina buns. Makeup trends were mega lashes, “80s” style eyeshadow, winged eyeliner, and contouring. The style for 2010 was modern day casual. Jeans and blouses or t-shirts.
The idea of beauty can come from many different platforms. These platforms include magazines, movies, music videos, models, and social media. Many women say that they think about models, movies, and unattainable standards of perfection when they are asked what they think beauty is. Other women say they look for “average” people, like themselves, to be their beauty inspiration. But a study done by Dove shows these women are actually mostly looking at women they see on social media for their beauty inspiration. This survey was taken by 1,027 women between the ages of 18 and 64 and when they were surveyed, the survey turned out to say that these women are twice as likely to say that their idea of beauty comes from women who are famous and in the public light, and or on social media. The study also shows that women base their looks and compare themselves to other women they see on social media platforms. 78% of women say that they know that social media is unrealistic to use for making beauty standards because of photoshop and editing, but 82% of women say that social media is what shapes their beauty image. Social media is the biggest contender for these beauty standards.
The statistics of how women view themselves and how they cope with it is terrifying. 80% of women say they're unhappy with their appearance. Another 67% of women from ages 25 to 45 are trying to lose weight even though 53% of those women are already at a healthy weight. 69% of women say they are in favor of plastic surgery. 40% of diagnosed eating disorder cases are girls ages 15 to 19 years old. These numbers are on the rise, too.
The amount of money that is spent to reach these beauty standards is also outrageous. In America, women spend $7 billion a year on cosmetics and beauty supplies. Almost $11.7 million of that was spent on cosmetic surgical procedures. On average, women spend about $50 a month on manicures and pedicures. A study show that if they put that into a retirement account that was interest bearing, every year for 10 years, they would have almost $10,000 saved for their retirement. There is so much money going out to beauty supply companies and plastic surgeons because women are made to feel like they have to spend all this money on these beauty products to be able to look somewhat acceptable.
These standards are affecting girls and women of all ages. Young girls are more likely to have low self-esteem issues based on the way the media makes beauty standards out to be. Aggressive bullying between girls has been rising since the early 1990s. The bullying is usually due to physical appearance. A study shows that girls who actually spend more time on their appearance, have a lower confidence level. Almost half of diagnosed eating disorder cases are girls ages 15 to 19 years old. The youngest case of an eating disorder is known to be a kindergarten aged girl. It doesn’t only affect young girls, it affects middle aged to elderly women, too. Many middle aged women are concerned about getting wrinkles and age marks while the elderly women are trying to get rid of the wrinkles and age marks they already have. Thanks to these standards, many issues are arising for women and girls.
Most professionals will tell you that most of the beauty standards throughout the last 100 years have been unreachable, but they are getting aggressively worse along with the heights women will do and go through to obtain them. Women have always done dangerous things to be skinny, have flawless skin, perfect hair, and be the best dressed, but now a days, women will do the unimaginable to be able to please society and it’s crazy standards. These last 100 years have been filled with trends good and bad, healthy and unhealthy, beautiful and ugly. Let’s make the biggest trend for the next 100 years to be kind to one another and empower each other.