Tag Archives: Hair

The Duty of Beauty: Vanity in Downton Abbey

By Meli | Published: February 14, 2013

Any of us who are into fashion and beauty watch Downton Abbey with an eye for the details: the clothes and jewelry, and of course, the hair and (imperceptible) makeup. But I’m also struck by all the beauty and dress rituals going on in the background: the starching of collars, removing of stains, the help bathing and doing hair. Those of us behind the scenes in photography know how much labor goes into a “flawless” look, and that the series …

Posted in Beauty and Culture, Beauty and Technology | Also tagged beauty, Collective, Downton Abbey, Dress, Duty, Fabulous, Factory, fashion, Glamour, identity, Individual, Jewelry, Labor, Makeup, Modern, Other, Relationships, Self, Servants, Society, Vanity | Comments closed

The Way We Wore: 80′s Hair

By Meli | Published: September 18, 2012

Hindsight is 20/20 – especially when it comes to hair. Anyone who participates in fashion trends has seen some of their favorite do’s turn into dont’s within a few years.

I recently came across Big Hair, a book of photos compiled from hairstyling books from the 80′s. While many of these looks were styled only for those “hair books” you see at salons, some of them were definitely popular in real life.

So I give you a …

Posted in Beauty and Culture | Also tagged 1980's, 80's Hair, Big Hair, Blowout, Brooklyn, Feathered, Foxy, Hairstyle, Hunk, Mullet | Comments closed

Is Beauty Taking Over Women’s Sports? (Updated)

By Meli | Published: August 17, 2012

Watching the Olympic Games, I’ve noticed that this time around the athletes are all way more made up and styled. And it’s not just the gymnasts in full makeup and hair gel – they’re certainly savvy enough to know that they’re going to be scrutinized on everything. But the track runners are wearing full makeup as well, the swimmers are pulling their swim caps off to reveal perfectly arrayed and cascading hair, and don’t even get me started on Ryan …

Posted in Beauty and Culture | Also tagged Boxer, Cosmetic, Cover Girl, Gabby Douglas, Gold Medal, Gymnasts, Jennifer Kessy, Jordyn Wieber, Makeup, Marlen Esparza, Meli Pennington, Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin, model, Natalie Coughlin, Olympic, Olympic Games, Pantene, Ryan Lochte, Sponsorship, Swimmers, UK, United States, US, Victoria Pendleton, Wheaties, Williams Sisters | Comments closed

Makeovers in the Movies: Vertigo

By Meli | Published: April 19, 2012

Makeovers in the movies are so often about brightening up the place: prettifying a nerdy girl, replacing a boring wardrobe – even spicing up a lifeless movie plot.

But the makeover takes a darker, more sinister turn in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Here, the makeover is weaponized – looks are fuel for the war between the sexes, psychosexual redemption, and even murder.

The bulk of the movie shows us San Francisco detective John “Scotty” Ferguson’s attempt to decipher

…

Posted in Makeovers in the Movies | Also tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Film, Hitchcock, Judy, Madeleine, Makeover, Meli Pennington, Movie Makeovers, murder, San Francisco, Vertigo, yonic | Comments closed

Beauty and Authority: The Power Makeover

By Meli | Published: February 15, 2012

Often we think makeovers exist solely to make us more beautiful: to transform us from plain, ugly ducklings into glamorous, sexy swans with the addition of hair, makeup and styling. But many women use these tricks of the trade to understate their youth, beauty, or sexuality. And in doing so they both conform to and modify emerging feminine archetypes: those of female power.

Makeovers are ambition externalized. And ambition for women has been, for eons, mostly defined as getting a …