Liberating Women's Bodies

[Lady Day]

The liberation in all this is choice. Weather you want to or not, not weather society mandates you do or not. There are societal stigmas, but for the most part, you arnt shunned if you dont get a boob job.


LD

 

[reetpleat]

It's an interesting evolution of cultural mores since the Era -- at one time it was considered the exclusive mark of a working-class person to be muscular: it indicated that you did hard physical labor for a living, and if you were a man you probably were a laborer, a farmer, or a factory hand. If you were a muscular woman, you were probably a scrubwoman, a housemaid, or a launderess. For women especially, being "untoned" was a sign that you didn't have to raise a hand in physical work, and were therefore of a higher social class. Nowadays, being "toned and muscular" is a sign that you can afford gyms and trainers, and have the free time to work out a lot.

count on you to add interesting cultural perspective. Kind of like how in Asia or India, women still avoid the sun, and it is a mark of high class or beauty to have light skin. No tanning booths for them.

i don't know that it is so much a high class sign of being able to afford a gym. After all, working class people could still be lean and muscular if they ate a healthy diet. Perhaps it is a backswing in response to an era in which most people don't have to do physical labor. While tastes may be incultrated, I just don't buy the idea that there is not some genetic preference for people who are slim and muscular. but then again, History might prove me wrong. But in an era where we walk around in not all that much clothing, it is harder to hide the flaws.

 

[Foofoogal]

Anyone who is wearing the right size will not mind - heck, even like - wearing a bra.

Since I have such a dislike for them, believe me I have been measured by the best and told it was the most comfortable one available. Still..not.

Lizzie Maine is correct. Even porcelain skin was desired in times past. My grandmother would not be caught dead without a sunbonnet.
I guess I should of just been born before the flapper period so I would not have to wear bras.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

This one is so beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!! Very liberating....:eusa_clap

Evening dress
by Madeleine Vionnet
France
1930
Silk velvet with pink and purple chiffon streamers

 

[Tomasso]

I like this '38 Vionnet.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Gorgeous....

 

[chanteuseCarey]

Unlike the toned and muscular body or the lean and untoned body as society and fashion has dictated over the recent years- long long ago, in the Renaissance period of painters Raphael and Michelangelo the preferred body type for women was by our standard, very "Rubenesque". I believe that the more fleshy voluptuous female form back then meant you had enough money to have more than enough to eat, that you did not look thin like the starving poor.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Unlike the toned and muscular body or the lean and untoned body as society and fashion has dictated over the recent years- long long ago, in the Renaissance period of painters Raphael and Michelangelo the preferred body type for women was by our standard, very "Rubenesque". I believe that the more fleshy voluptuous female form back then meant you had enough money to have more than enough to eat, that you did not look thin like the starving poor.

So true....however anyone that gauges a person's beauty based on body shape is missing out on a great deal in life....

 

[Foofoogal]

To look at one of the designer's creations from 1936 - a bias-cut white crepe dress cinched with a gilded leaf belt - is to see the soul of her style and understand her self-definition: "What I do is not fashion - it was designed to last forever," she said in 1960.

I like this quote of hers. I think she definitely accomplished her goal.

 

[chanteuseCarey]

Also very true CB. And sadly many, many women have literally killed themselves, and lots of young girls everyday are heading towards that possibility over an unrealistic ideal of what they or their peers think or society thinks they should look like...

l

So true....however anyone that gauges a person's beauty based on body shape is missing out on a great deal in life....

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Also very true CB. And sadly many, many women have literally killed themselves, and lots of young girls everyday are heading towards that possibility over an unrealistic ideal of what they or their peers think or society thinks they should look like...

l

Yes, in fact, my understanding is that in the UK legislation is currently being discussed which would require advertisers to disclose on the ad itself that the photo was retouched and accurately cite the what was retouched. Celeberties are not liking this.

This is all aimed at protecting the the target groups which include minors especially female minors.

Such disclosure is similar to that shown on diet programs, for example.

 

[Paisley]

Nowadays, being "toned and muscular" is a sign that you can afford gyms and trainers, and have the free time to work out a lot.

Or that you work out at home a few hours a week and follow a good eating plan. That's what I do. Of course, you can go to a lot more time, effort and expense if you want to.

 

[Lauren]

Vionnet's gowns were and are absolutely stunning. When my husband and I saw the exhibit the article linked to was written about we were amazed at how "ordinary" some of the evening gowns were... until we remembered that when they came out in the 30s they were avant garde. She was the one that CREATED the style that has passed down through time. And all that beading was done by hand. They haven't gone out of style, in some form, since she created them- that's a feat indeed.
I really do recommend the book. Between that and the other Vionnet book out there that has patterns, there's a lot to drool over and hope to make similar copies of someday.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

I always thought nirvana was Coco Channel's creations; for example

The Little Black Dress

Chanel believed fashion should be functional as well as chic. Radically simple, her LBD was designed not to show stains and to fit every woman. It was meant as the fashion ideal: a perfectly simple, yet sexy object.

It could be worn by anyone at any age

Gabrielle Bonheur (aged 87)

And, of course, Audrey Hepburn

However, when I first realized the genius behind Vionnet's creations I have second thoughts......only about the design not Audrey Hepburn.

 

[Miss Sis]

It's true when you look at Vionnet's designs they are timeless. In some ways particular designs look like they could have come from anytime from about 1930 - 1960s. That is some feat.

I'd love to have a go at making a Vionnet gown one day; the whole draping on the model thing sounds very interesting and Vionnet was at her height of fame in my favourite era, the 1930s.

As to the underwear question, I'm in the wearing it camp. I'm not large but not wearing a bra is darned uncomfortable! I sometimes make an exception for certain evening gowns where it's just not possible for me to get suitable undergarments, but then I'm only foxtrotting - nothing more strenous is possible.

 

[Lauren]

The Little Black Dress was a great fashion phenomenon. I like Chanel, but I think Vionnet's cuts are the work of a mastermind. She was absolutely brilliant. I can't believe the way she came up with her designs. The book I mentioned earlier with the patterns- when you look at them it's a maze. To think that someone came up with them is mind boggling.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

The Little Black Dress was a great fashion phenomenon. I like Chanel, but I think Vionnet's cuts are the work of a mastermind. She was absolutely brilliant. I can't believe the way she came up with her designs. The book I mentioned earlier with the patterns- when you look at them it's a maze. To think that someone came up with them is mind boggling.

Lauren I tell you I was not aware of her brilliance...the artist in her truly shows her soul....

 

[Lauren]

Yes, indeed!
Here's a link that shows some of her patterns flat, then in a toile.
http://dept.kent.edu/museum/exhibit/spirals/vionnet.htm

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Yes, indeed!
Here's a link that shows some of her patterns flat, then in a toile.
http://dept.kent.edu/museum/exhibit/spirals/vionnet.htm

Thank you so much....:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap