Fashion is as Fashion Does
The struggles to be thin, a commonplace in the hustle and bustle of today’s society, even the dangers seem to be commonly accepted. But, just where did the need to be skinny come from? It is a very interesting question to ask, and one that is worth asking. It is a problem found to be most prominent in women and young girls, and even worse studies show it beginning as early as middle school (Crandall Christian 1). In this paper I will attempt to examine the history and reasons this epidemic might be occurring not only in the U.S. but all over the world. I will take an unbiased approach on this subject, only stating the facts and leaving it up to you, the reader, to decide for yourself. This issue is quite controversial, and worth the second look maybe a dissection.
Before fashion models graced magazine covers and posed seductively in advertisements, there were fine art models. At least as far back as ancient Greece, artists have been using the human form as inspiration for artwork that appears lifelike and accurate. What came to be known as the "supermodel," however, began with Lisa Fonssagrives. Reportedly
Coole 2
appearing on more "Vogue" magazine covers than any other person, Fonssagrives' image was also featured in such publications as "Time," "Town and Country" and "Life" from the 1930s through the 1950s (Whitefeather 5). Lisa was a very slender elegantly beautiful woman from Sweden, and in all reality little is known about her. However it is widely believed that she was the beginning of the future glitz and glamour of Hollywood and the rise of fashion among women all over the world. Along with the glitz and glamour, came the perception of perfect, and that perception of perfect has essentially evolved and changed with each decade.
The 1950’s saw the rise of many starlets most of them being voluptuous young heart throbs, and at that time sexuality was a like a sheer nightgown over a naked woman’s body, there,...