Beauty as Duty: A Victorian Appreciation (1870)
Throughout this particular magazine article the common theme was the importance of always looking one's best and appearing as beautiful as possible. In the article written by Richard A. Wells for Manners magazine he speaks to the women of society during the Victorian era. The author stresses that women and men alike should always make themselves look as attractive as possible all the time, and that this rule is among the most important to follow in life. "Self-respect, as well as consideration for the other, demands that the personal appearance of each be pleasing and in good taste." This document exemplifies how important it was during the Victorian era to, above all, dress and clean yourself in a way that would appeal to others. The author also associates beauty with health, and states that, "In fact, the highest state of heath is equivalent to the greatest degree of beauty of which the individual is capable." Complexion Aids (Sears & Roebuck Catalog, 1919) This ad features a product that supposedly would improve a person's complexion and reduce wrinkles as well as excess fat in the chin and forehead areas. The particular ad also featured a price and stated what the product was made of. This is was included in the Sears and Roebuck catalog, which was also written by the company. The author seems to be targeting a specific audience, particularly women who may be developing features they may have disliked and would like to be rid of. "Used for the reduction of double chin and overfatness under the chin... Used for reducing wrinkles on forehead." This document is important because it shows the blatant vanity of the women in history in comparison to the women now. Fashion and looks were of the utmost importance during this period, especially for women. |
Skin Deep Yet Deeper (February 1920)
In an article written for McCall's Magazine by Suzanne Sheldon, the author explores the importance of one's health and the various ways to improve it. "But if she is sensible, she will realize that many of the bad points over which she is worrying, may be helped by exercises, diet and a cosmetic or two." The author also discusses the various features of the human body and which ones are the most important to keep looking their best. "Aside from the nicety of cleanliness, water is one of the greatest aids to health." The article also explains why it is so important to keep one's self looking the best they can possibly look, and all the different ways they would be able to do so. The steps target women/people who may not be pleased with their present looks and go into great detail about how to change that. The author seems to have wanted to make it clear that beauty is not simply skin deep; the organs and insides need to be taken care of as well. Velvet the New Queen of Elegance (November 7, 1936) This particular article, found on the 23rd page of the Literary Digest and written by a staff writer, suggests that the newest style was velvet. In fact, the entire article was based around how fashionable and stylish velvet was in that season and year. "A new crush-resistant, non-wrinkling, packable ultrafashionable velvet which is sweeping the country..." The timing of the article was centered around the recent Presidential election between Roosevelt and Landon. This article gave readers an insight on specific trends; what to wear and what not to wear. The importance of the article during this period was likely substantial, but now it seems as though it was simply reporting on who should have won the election simply judging by their dress. "But the ballots that really counted were those cast for velvet." Articles like these helped to shape how people viewed society's dress code. An article like this might have been able to tell women whether they should purchase a suede dress or velvet dress, therefore magazine articles such as |