GLAMOUR IN FASHION MEDIA IN THE 50'S

Glamour in Fashion Media in the 50's

Glamour in Fashion Media in the 50's

Introduction

In the 1950's, magazines, television, books, and films all had many angles of influence over women's fashion choices. One may argue that the media has also heavily influenced the concept of the 'ideal' body for women. In the 1950's, the widespread idea of an 'ideal' body was an 'hour-glass', or 'fuller' figure. This had much to do with the mainstream influence of a very well known American fashion and beauty icon; Marilyn Monroe. If she did not exist, one may argue that the media may not have encouraged this new idea about women's bodies. Therefore, it is not always the media who are the main influence for our ideas about ourselves, it has a lot to do with certain people, whether they are movie stars, designers or models etc, who make a name for themselves and put themselves on a platform to voice their opinions and share them with the world; if they achieve global acceptance, the mass opinion will therefore change.

Discussion and Evaluation

In terms of body image, Monroe was more than comfortable with the way her body looked, however it took a while for others(e.g., the media, the public domain) to accept this;

'Nevertheless prejudices still exists today and only two decades ago a photograph of Marilyn Monroe in a state of nature was traced with difficulty and expensively suppressed when she became a star, as it was thought such a lavish display of her person would damage her box-office appeal'.

Marilyn Monroe

Monroe was so comfortable with herself, not just her body but her career, that she did not feel a nude photograph would create any problems in her professional life, if it did not in her personal life, and didn't care what everyone else thought.

Monroe's lifestyle was that of a very glamorous Hollywood actress and model; yet she was not as 'conventional' looking as others around the globe. For example 'conventional' to the UK at the time, was the popular actress of English and Dutch decent, Audrey Hepburn. Hepburn, whose career began in the English cinema, was the complete opposite to Monroe. Hepburn was another successful movie star who had her own identity in terms of style and body image, who also influenced women at the time with fashion and ideas about body image.

In terms of fashion, the 1950's moved Britain from the somber appearance of the 1940's to the prosperity of the 1960's. In the 1950's teenagers became an emerging fashion influence. It was no longer the popular opinion that you had to be between thirty and forty to be fashionable. By the end of the decade, a teenage cult arrived with its own development of style and spending. Until then, teenage girls often dressed and looked the same age as their mothers.

Girls' clothing was mostly influenced by the rock 'n' roll craze. Full skirts in bright colours become popular for dancing and skirts and bottoms were pinched in at the ...