Beauty can be timeless, but trends and beauty ideals… Not so much!
Beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder. So it’s only natural that as we as a society change, our perception of beauty changes. You can see this very clearly by looking at old paintings. Whereas today, it’s trendy to be slim and toned, this wasn’t always the case. Back in the middle ages, having some extra pounds meant you had the money to splurge on food. This made you someone who was highly in-demand.
You don’t need to go back 700 years in order to witness the evolution of beauty ideals. Today, we’ll show you what the ‘perfect woman’ in every decade from 1900’s to the 2010’s looked like.
In the 1900s, the beauty ideal was to be as curvy and voluptuous as possible. Women were encouraged to have ample hips and breasts, as well as a cinched waist. The Gibson Girls of the era were seen as the epitome of beauty and elegance. This style of dress and figure was seen as the most desirable look, and many women of the time sought to emulate it. The next decade saw a shift in the beauty ideal. The flapper style of the roaring twenties was all about youth and being slim.
Women were encouraged to wear short dresses and bob their hair, and to have a slim, athletic figure. This was a dramatic departure from the previous decade, as the focus was no longer on curves. The 1930s and 40s saw a return to the curvy figure, though not as extreme as the Gibson Girl look of the 1900s. Women were encouraged to have a curvier figure with a defined waist, and the glamour of Hollywood actresses such as Marilyn Monroe certainly helped to shape the beauty ideal of the time. In the 1950s, the beauty ideal shifted yet again. Women were encouraged to be prim and proper with their hair in a neat updo and wearing dresses
Continue on to the next page to start off with the first decade in the list: The 1900’s!