This Is What The Perfect Female Body Looked Like 100 Years Ago (And Every Decade After)

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!

The 1900’s: the S-Bend

Starting off, we have the 1900’s. This decade is marked by classy dresses for women and stylish suits for men. Women wore blouses decorated with lace and ribbons, complimented by large wide-brimmed hats. They would part their hair in the center and make it look fuller with extensions. But what was really typical for this decade were the S-Bend corsets women wore underneath their dresses. This shape pushed their chest forward and curved their back, accentuating the curve of their backsides. At the same time, it minimized the size of the waist.

Continue on to the next page to see what the ideal woman in the 1910’s looked like!

The 1910’s: Even tighter corsets

If you thought the S-Bend corsets already looked quite uncomfortable to wear, imagine wearing the one you see above. The 1910’s favored a really thin waist, creating what some referred to as a wasp waist or hourglass figure. You needed a really strong corset to keep this shape in place, so they were made out of whalebone. The corsets were so tight, that they could damage the internal organs of the woman wearing them. Besides, they made it very hard to breathe. Imagine taking that off at the end of the day. Oh the sweet relief.

Continue on to the next page to see what the ideal woman in the 1920’s looked like!

The 1920’s: More skin, shorter hair and casual dresses

The 1920’s saw a complete shift in beauty ideals. During The Roaring 20’s as they’re referred to, women set aside the tight corsets and opted for a look that was less accentuating and more casual. More boyish, some would say. During this time, women started cutting their hair short and exposing more skin, which went completely against the standards as they had been for centuries. The 20’s were all about excessive partying and freedom of self-expression. Hats were still common, but instead of the wide-brimmed, large hats women had worn in decades past, they now went for tighter-fitting crochet hats.

Continue on to the next page to see what the ideal woman in the 1930’s looked like!

The 1930’s: Cheaper materials, more accentuating

The 30’s were a time of economic hardship. It was the decade of the Great Depression and this also seeped through into the beauty ideals. No longer could women afford to splurge on expensive materials, so women also started wearing cheaper clothing. Nightlife attire got more flashy, however. These dresses, often made of silk, went back to a more accentuated shape. The ideal was now to have a small waist, but also narrow hips.

Continue on to the next page to see what the ideal woman in the 1940’s looked like!

The 1940’s: Shoulder pads and knee-length dresses

In the 40’s, women set aside the long, flowing dresses that they had been wearing and collectively started wearing shorter dresses. They often went just past the knees. An interesting evolution was that it was now seen as ideal to have broad shoulders, so women started wearing shoulder pads under their dresses, blouses and jackets. Of course, World War II had a massive impact on fashion during this period. While their husbands were off to war, women would remake their suits into women attire. The clothing of this era is characterized by function over fashion.

Continue on to the next page to see what the ideal woman in the 1950’s looked like!

The 1950’s: Marilyn Monroe

In the 50’s, the entire world fell head over heels in love with the one and only Marilyn Monroe. Her curves, hourglass shape and perfect skin became the ultimate beauty ideal. As freedom returned to the West after the war, the restrictions of decades past were thrown away in favor for hyper-femininity. While going about their day-to-day business, women wore dresses and sweater sets and skirts. Later in the decade, close-fitting dresses became all the rage.

Continue on to the next page to see what the ideal woman in the 1960’s looked like!

The 60’s: Thin figures and casual attire

The 60’s saw the rise of more casual attire. The economy was going well, so women were able to shop for clothes instead of having to make them themselves. Your clothing was a direct indication of your social status and wealth. The ultimate beauty ideal of the 60’s came from the model Twiggy. Her figure was much desired by women (and their husbands) around the world.

Continue on to the next page to see what the ideal woman in the 1970’s looked like!

The 70’s: Hippie era

All fashion rules that were carefully drafted over the decades, sometimes even centuries, were smashed by the hippies. As an act of rebellion against the system, women stopped wearing make-up and shape-defining clothing. Instead, they started wearing tie-dyed peasant shirts, flared jeans and long boxy skirts. They let their hair grow long and walked around on sandals. As far as the bodies under all those vivid colors and patterns, a more natural look was favored. Health rather than thinness became the focus.

Continue on to the next page to see what the ideal woman in the 1980’s looked like!

The 80’s: Super-everything

In the 80’s, everyone wanted to be like the supermodels in the magazines. It was a decade of excess: the bigger, the flashier, the prettier, the better. Young people in this era had more disposable income than their peers of previous generations. This meant they could spend more money on fashion. Individualism became very important. Exercise gurus like Jane Fonda made working out all the rage. Women backcombed their hair to make it bigger, wore large earrings and showed a lot more skin than in previous decades.

Continue on to the next page to see what the ideal woman in the 1990’s looked like!

The 90’s: Super thin

Being thin became hip again in the 90’s. So thin, that the term “heroin chic” was coined. Models on the runways looked malnourished and like addicts to the dangerous drug.  Women wore casual dresses and more relaxed silhouettes; flared and low-rise jeans became popular. For everyday men and women, plaid patterns became super trendy.

Continue on to the next page to see what the ideal woman in the 2000’s looked like!

The 2000’s: Individualism

A big influence on fashion and beauty ideals in the 2000’s was the show Sex and the City. Women were encouraged to be individuals, to be more openly sexual and ambitious. In the mid 2000s artist’s such as Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez became celebrated for their healthy curves. Their “mixed” look made it easier to appeal equally to several groups of ethnicity, because more people were able to identify with them.

Continue on to the next page to see what the ideal woman in the 2000’s looked like!

The 2010’s: Changing by the year

By the year 2010, beauty ideals and fashion were evolving so rapidly that we could write a page about every single year. We’ll keep it short. In the year 2010, fake tanning became trendy. In the year 2011, it wasn’t trendy anymore. 2013: bolder eyebrows became a thing. In 2014, women started contouring their face more often. Korean beauty trends were assimilated into the Western beauty ideal. Nowadays, trends pop up as fast as they die down. It all comes down to which influencer has her 15 minutes of fame, really.

Source: https://www.tips-and-tricks.co/various/perfectwoman/