PICK YOUR SHADE
Whether you associate it with Grace Kelly, Taylor Swift or your stylish aunt, simple bright-red lipstick has been a classic since at least Ancient Egypt. It’s a statement look and always has been: I’m here. I’m a woman. And I’m not apologizing for that.
Lip color, whether bright or neutral, has always been a way for women to make a statement.
It’s a choice.
Before we went down to the drugstore to buy our lippies, women made lip salves at home, and it was up to them (or their servants) to decide whether to add color – and how much. Often, that was determined by the fashions of the time.
Women (and plenty of men!) have always tried to enhance their appearance, but what they were emphasizing, and how, depended on the time. Really bright lips were sometimes associated with courtesans or other “bad women,” and respectable wives would redden their mouths without going too far.
Not always, though. At the court of Elizabeth I, flaming vermilion-red lip color was practically a requirement. Queen Gloriana never went out without a full face of artifice, and her ladies followed suit.
Red lips usually tracked with makeup trends: if the heavy, stylized look was in, bright rouge was a part of it.
The 19th century, though, was a bit of a makeup desert. It started with the light, natural look of the Regency, a definite reaction to the stiff, powdered 18th century style…and then the Victorians got involved. They were very much from the “good women don’t wear makeup” school, and it wasn’t until the nice ladies realized how much fun actresses were having with greasepaint that things changed.
Lipstick (as it became in the 1910s – see last week’s post!) got redder and more noticeable as the new 20th century continued. By the 1920s, it was the redder the better if you were a flapper, and a good bright shade even if you weren’t. Cosmetic companies made some other shades, like coral or orange, but lipstick stayed primarily red for decades.
The classic red lip really evolved over the middle of the 20th century. By the 1960s, it was associated with both the elegance of Grace Kelly – and the sexiness of Marilyn Monroe. Probably meeting somewhere in the middle around Elizabeth Taylor.
And then came the 1960s.
For the first – but not the last – time, people flirted with all kinds of exotic shades, from white to green to blinding purple. You can see the whole natural brownish 1970s lipstick as a reaction to that, and I won’t argue.
A lot of millennials may have started their lipstick career with black – or near-black – lipstick…or the second run through the wild brights that followed around Y2K. And then, no surprise, we hung up our velour sweatsuits and went back to the classics.
There’s no doubt that lip colors follow the fashion cycle. And a lot of us who’d never bother re-doing our wardrobes every year will happily buy the new lip color of the moment, just for a fun little change.
So what next? My theory: as we take off our masks, we’re going to go nuts for the crazy colors again. I know I’m drawn to them…so don’t be surprised if you see me in bright blue one of these days!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
Lip color, whether bright or neutral, has always been a way for women to make a statement.
It’s a choice.
Before we went down to the drugstore to buy our lippies, women made lip salves at home, and it was up to them (or their servants) to decide whether to add color – and how much. Often, that was determined by the fashions of the time.
Women (and plenty of men!) have always tried to enhance their appearance, but what they were emphasizing, and how, depended on the time. Really bright lips were sometimes associated with courtesans or other “bad women,” and respectable wives would redden their mouths without going too far.
Not always, though. At the court of Elizabeth I, flaming vermilion-red lip color was practically a requirement. Queen Gloriana never went out without a full face of artifice, and her ladies followed suit.
Red lips usually tracked with makeup trends: if the heavy, stylized look was in, bright rouge was a part of it.
The 19th century, though, was a bit of a makeup desert. It started with the light, natural look of the Regency, a definite reaction to the stiff, powdered 18th century style…and then the Victorians got involved. They were very much from the “good women don’t wear makeup” school, and it wasn’t until the nice ladies realized how much fun actresses were having with greasepaint that things changed.
Lipstick (as it became in the 1910s – see last week’s post!) got redder and more noticeable as the new 20th century continued. By the 1920s, it was the redder the better if you were a flapper, and a good bright shade even if you weren’t. Cosmetic companies made some other shades, like coral or orange, but lipstick stayed primarily red for decades.
The classic red lip really evolved over the middle of the 20th century. By the 1960s, it was associated with both the elegance of Grace Kelly – and the sexiness of Marilyn Monroe. Probably meeting somewhere in the middle around Elizabeth Taylor.
And then came the 1960s.
For the first – but not the last – time, people flirted with all kinds of exotic shades, from white to green to blinding purple. You can see the whole natural brownish 1970s lipstick as a reaction to that, and I won’t argue.
A lot of millennials may have started their lipstick career with black – or near-black – lipstick…or the second run through the wild brights that followed around Y2K. And then, no surprise, we hung up our velour sweatsuits and went back to the classics.
There’s no doubt that lip colors follow the fashion cycle. And a lot of us who’d never bother re-doing our wardrobes every year will happily buy the new lip color of the moment, just for a fun little change.
So what next? My theory: as we take off our masks, we’re going to go nuts for the crazy colors again. I know I’m drawn to them…so don’t be surprised if you see me in bright blue one of these days!
Got a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Drop it in the comments!
date
newest »
newest »
It seems that sooner or later everything old is new again with fashion.
Interestingly one might think that makeup was predominately the domain of the female of the species however, down through the ages men have been adorning themselves with makeup.The earliest records of men wearing makeup date as far back as 3000 BC in China and Japan.
Thank you again, Kathleen, for your stimulating article.