What would a day be like without looking at ourselves in a mirror? The idea of seeing our own reflections – first thing in the morning, or anytime we want to check something out – is so easy and automatic that we don’t even think of it. Mirrors surround us – in our bathrooms, our bedrooms, and even on the street if we live in a city. The ubiquity of mirrors in our lives mean that we are constantly checking …
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 …
The New York Times published – on its “room for debate” page – a collection of essays by authors with various viewpoints about makeup and self-esteem. As would be expected in such a collection, the authors include a couple of makeup artists, some writers and research scientists who’ve written on beauty and women’s issues, and the lone heterosexual male who loves his wife both with and without makeup.
But it’s not the coverage that’s rankling me – there’s something …
Guess it had to happen: with the rise of “healthy at any size”, there is now a fearful backlash by one woman who is worried that fit people are now being stigmatized. Britton Delizia is a Las Vegas fitness model who is sick and tired of being told to “eat a sandwich”, and has started a Kickstarter to raise funds for a book to fight the stigma of being a fit woman. Now I know that my skinny friends get …
“Man wishes to see himself because he is vain, and he’s afraid to see himself since, being vain, he cannot tolerate the sight of his flaws.” Pierre Nicole, Jansenist Theologian, 1669.
There’s been a lot of talk about mirror fasting and what it means to go without looking at one’s own reflection on a daily basis. Many who do it talk about freeing themselves from constantly checking their appearance – and not just their physical appearance. Autumn Whitefield-Madrano …
Vanity gets a bad rap in popular folklore: from Cinderella to The Devil Wears Prada, the bad girls are usually the vain, superficial, and ultimately unhappy counterparts to the heroine’s modest, unassuming persona.
This aspect of storytelling – and the miniatures that illustrate it – play an integral part in a new exhibition at The Morgan Library and Museum in New York. Illuminating Fashion: Dress in the Art of Medieval France and the Netherlands tours the history of medieval …
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