From the fifteenth to the nineteenth century, females from all over the world have been searching for the most accurate portrayal of the ideal woman. Throughout these periods, the idealization of women has been in a constant flux. The expectations of the perfect woman are dependent on the various perceptions that men and woman have all around the world. The perception of physical beauty can be based on a variety of different tastes, styles, and even societal classes (Vester, 2010). However, beauty is based on unhealthy perceptions and attitudes that have created an impossible standard for all women to meet (Malkan, 2007). The main purpose of examining societies idea of the perfect woman is to put emphasis on the impractical standards that …show more content…
The Renaissance is known for its revolutionary effect on society that changed the outlooks of many people. In England during the Renaissance Era, the idea of a perfect woman was strongly impacted by the wealthy women of the society (Cole, 2000). To be considered beautiful, women would have to possess the palest of complexions. Women that had darker complexions would be instantly categorized into the working class, which was perceived as less desirable. Instead of using the harmful mixtures seen in the following eras, Renaissance women would apply leeches to their ears in order to drain all of the blood in their faces (The Richest, 2011). Other than that, they were known to use ground alabaster to give the false appearance of a pale complexion. To give females a lively look, they were expected to put colour back into their faces by applying red and pink powders onto their cheeks and lips (Lezamakeup, 2013). If a woman of the Renaissance failed to do this, they were seen as unattractive. The perceptions of beauty in this era relied solely on the false appearance created by the unnatural ideas of society. The desire to be categorized as wealthy based purely on physical appearance was very critical to women of this …show more content…
The desired hair colour was non-other than strawberry blonde which was ironic in a time of a predominant dark-haired society (Cole, 2000). Females were desperate to find ways to change their hair colour to conform to societies standards. Women began using products such as saffron, alum, and sulfur which forced them to sit out in the sun for hours (Hair of the Renaissance, Unknown). This created an issue due to the fact that the sun would remove their pale complexions, but it was quickly solved with hats and heavy clothing. The stereotype of high hairlines became strongly apparent, so females without this characteristic were forced to wear caps or jewelled turbans to disguise their faces. The Renaissance Era put emphasis on the importance of having curly hair within the styles of various up-dos and braids. This era was most known for hair embellishments, ranging from pearls, a variety of stones and even veils (Lezamakeup, 2013). The representation of embellishments only added to the females value in society, without them a woman would be seen as ugly or poor. Depictions of perfection were solely based on physical and materialistic elements in this era. On the contrary, the expectations of the Renaissance are certainly not the worst, some may consider them the
In the traditional political history of Italy the people outside of the ruling class of the society were rarely studied. Only with the use of social history did the issues of class and gender begin to be debated by scholars. Numerous recent articles have done a great job of analysing particularly men of high status. In this paper I will look at the lower classes of Renaissance Florence. More specifically, I will center my focus on the lives of women during this era, how they were treated and viewed by people of other classes and how women were viewed and treated by men.
Across Europe, between 1400 and 1650, there were women present in all major styles of time. They worked along side of great artists and were developing new techniques and styles. Women also played a very important role in the Renaissance. Although not as well documented as their male counterparts, women worked along with the other great masters, were just as innovating, and were key in developing new techniques.
Hair styles and make-up have been a significant part of the culture for centuries. It has been changing with every era, decade or style of art. The difference can be as small as a change of a shape of the eyeliner or it can be a complete change of people’s looks. What was considered beautiful in Renaissance was absolutely outdated 100 years after this era. In this essay I will be talking about the hair and make-up in Renaissance. It all started in Italy, home of the greatest artists of the time. The first section of my essay will be about Italy and the way people were changing their natural appearances using various products. In the second section I will move to the north of Europe to explore a bit more about this topic and see how much the fashion that was set in Italy has changed. In the third section I will look at what was going on in the Great Britain and compare the Elizabethan hair and make-up to the continental style.
Between the 1300s and 1500s, Europe experienced a period of cultural rebirth known as the Renaissance, marking the transition from medieval times to modern times. The Renaissance brought new importance to individual expression, self-consciousness and worldly experience.
It seems if a woman does not follow what the television or magazines do, they will be considered a ‘disgrace’ to society. “By the 1930’s, mass advertisements on radio and in magazines persuaded women to purchase cosmetic products by appealing to her fear of growing old or being rejected by social acquaintances,” (Gourley 56). The beauty industry specifically targeted women, using the ideas of an often highly feminine related idea of vanity. This also talked about women’s apparel in clothing and how they weren’t able to dress casually since they would be titled, slob. As looks represent a lot in a woman, the body type of a woman has always struggled with maintaining since the ‘perfect’ body types are not what everyone has. “In the 1890’s women had full bosoms, round hips. In actual measurements they were probably no rounder than Miss Cox but they seemed so because they were shorter, tightened their waists into an hour-glass effect … Now, though, the ideal figure must have a round, high bosom, a slim but not wasp-like waist, and gently rounded hips” (“This is What…”). Ideals women that society has pushed onto women to be for them to have any chance in romance. Though many women can drift away from this the women, though they won’t admit to it, had struggled to meet the ‘set standard’ for women. This shows how after women have gained the rights of voting, gender roles
The ladies dresses of the early Middle Ages were influenced by the classical styles of the Greek and Roman women. Their dresses were tight to display the elegance of their figure. Dresses were embroidered and luxuriously decorated. Some dresses consisted of two tunics and of a veil or drapery. The veil was thrown...
During ancient civilizations, Egyptians used scented oils as healing solutions. Cosmetic products eventually found their way into ancient Greece and Rome, where women strived to be considered “beautiful.” However, in Sparta, it was believed that the use of makeup represented “superior beauty”. Therefore, women in this area were prohibited from wearing makeup. Similar to what we are familiar with today, baths, spas, manicures, and hairdressing came from ancient Greek customs. During the expansion of the Roman Empire, Greeks developed their own customs which included cosmetics (A Brief History of Cosmetology). Soon, prices inflated and rich women gambled to have the best of the best. This lead to the prohibition of any sort of cosmetics (Chaudri S.K., Jain N.K., 2009).
It is essential to recognize the relative perception of beauty products and hair treatments for different ethnic groups at the time in question. For the white consumer, the use of makeup was the major issue; the disreputable view of the painted lady had to be overcome. The black woman had a more complex situation regarding the products being offered. Hair-straightening and skin-lightening products could be viewed as an attempt to seem more white, and use of these products was thus charged with racial overtones within the black community.
Were the Witch-Hunts in Pre-modern Europe Misogynistic? The “YES” article by, Anne Llewellyn Barstow, “On Studying Witchcraft as Woman’s History” and the “NO” article by, Robin Briggs, “Women as Victims? Witches, Judges and the Community,” will be compared, and summarized.
Consumption, which is becoming pale and thin before death, is something that had a huge effect on the way people in the Victorian era began to view fashion and beauty. Tuberculosis was a disease that reached its epidemic around the mid-1800s both in the United States and in Europe. This disease was one that damaged the organs, it made people very thin, and it made their skin look pale. Fine silky hair, sparkling eyes, rosy cheeks and red lips, were the effects that tuberculosis had on women. People began to romanticize this new look that those with tuberculosis had and made it the new ideal. The new beauty standards of the Victorian era were ones that mirrored the effects of tuberculosis. As Mullin mentioned in her article,
The 18th century fashion for men and women was influenced by the royal court and Puritans. Women’s fashion was very elegant and colorful, more so than the men’s fashion. The shoes worn by the women of the 18th century were made of silks and satin. They were decorated in laces and had a square or round shape. They also began to wear shoes of different and vibrant colors with higher heels. A majority of the time their shoes were not shown because of their extravagant skirts and petticoats. Lace was a stylish detail to women’s fashion during that time. They wore lace gloves and their petticoats were trimmed in lace. Men wore knee high boots that were either high-heeled or flat along with their knee length trousers. Their shoes were often neutral colors dark brown, light ...
... fashion on the top of the list and it'd be a crime not to keep up with the trend. The Renaissance did set the fashion for the rest of the world throughout the world and continuing centuries. Nowadays we can still see around us the trends from that time, it may not exactly look like it but we can still see the idea behind it. A couple similarities we see from a couple years ago would be the “Scarpin” the duck bill leather shoe which had jewels as such woven into the shoe atop, which favors the Crooks people wear today where it is bill-like and pieces of decoration can be placed atop of the shoe. Another trend from the time period seen today are the wigs made from peasant hair, which now a days (favored by women) it’s very common to get wigs, excitations, clip-on, etc. made with real hair. The Renaissance era was the birth of fashion and the urge to follow its rules.
The Renaissance was simply “the green end of one of civilization's hardest winters” (Robert 10). In other words, catastrophic events swept through Europe such as the black plague, warfare, and starvation causing a high population of death rates. After an era of destitution, the Renaissance was a period of “rebirth” where individuals could express their intellectual thought through art, science, literature, and education. It’s true that people during that time express humanist ideals of individual achievement, but does the word “individual” contribute to both men and women (Ramirez 439)? As a result, in what ways did the Renaissance world view influence or impact social issues such as gender equality? The Renaissance highly influenced gender equality especially in terms of marriage, wealth ownership, and freedom of expression. With this is mind one should question, “did women have a Renaissance” (Kelly 1) or exhibit the same privileges as men?
Historically, seen throughout of the rise of humanity, gender inequality, created through the use gender social classes, has always played a huge part of social construction. In our society, we have a culture that teaches men to be masculine and, through that, dominating in terms of relations with other genders, most importantly female. This has lead to our social structure with men in dominance and women as the oppressed. This structure is often related directly to American culture and it’s high focus on dominance, yet, if viewed historically, the social structures of categorizing women as lesser then men can be seen throughout history, even in civilizations at their proclaimed apex. If one looked back and viewed the Renaissance period in Europe in terms of gender equality, the similarities between the gender structures in the United States and Europe during the Renaissance era.
Clothing of the renaissance was very unique; the materials often used were sheep’s wool, mohair, plant fibers from the cotton plant, and silk. For color, natural materials became ground colors: brown, white, cream, or black. For shades of brown, red or orange, the Madder root was used. Embroidery included running, chain stitches, or a buttonhole. Dangling jewelry and tassels added color and movement to many of the costumes worn at that time. Renaissance men as well as women wore extraordinary clothing decorated with gold and precious jewels. During this period a person’s wealth was shown by the amount of gems sewn onto his clothing. Changing shirts was considered to be bathing since water was rarely used for hygiene, and by the end of the 15th century changing shirts became a daily act.