We’ve always valued beauty – maybe not as individuals, but certainly as a society. Of course, different cultures have different definitions of what it means to be “beautiful” and ideas about how to achieve it. But the same cultures also had changing beauty standards throughout time.
Check out this slideshow to see what people in the past admired when it came to beauty.
Some of these are quite different from our current beauty standards, and some of them might actually strike you as familiar.
1. Unibrows in Ancient Greece
Women in Ancient Greece loved to rock a strong unibrow.
According to The New York Times, unibrows were considered a sign of intellect and beauty in Greek Antiquity!
If a woman couldn’t naturally grow her own unibrow, she would often line the bridge of her nose with khol to connect her two eyebrows.
2. Japanese women blackened their teeth
Ohaguro was a tradition in Japanese culture of blackening one’s teeth. It was often done to mark the coming of age of girls and boys, and it’s possible that it dates back to the 6th century.
Later in its history, Ohaguro became a way for wealthy married women to show off their marital status.
The dye for staining teeth black was a solution made from vinegar and fruit tannins mixed with ferric acetate.
In the 19th century, this practice was largely outlawed.
3. French beauty patches were meant to create imperfections
In France, beauty patches were called “la mouche.” The stick-on patches were used by both men and women to ADD marks (“beauty marks,” that is) to their fair skin.
Prior to that, people used patches to cover their imperfections.
4. Small feet were wildly popular in China
Beginning around the 1200s, the practice of foot binding began to take hold in China.
For women, small feet were considered a symbol of refinement and beauty, so many would go to extreme lengths to make their feet smaller.
Often, this included breaking the bones of their feet so that they could fit into tinier shoes.
This practice was phased out in the twentieth century.
5. Into 6-pack abs? In the Middle Ages you would have admired calves
Rumors of this fad have been a bit exaggerated, and Atlas Obscura does a lot of work to separate fact from fiction here, but regardless of how overblown the beauty ideal of men’s calves has been, it is true that calves were a sign of beauty.
This beauty standard was popular up through colonial times and some men even bought stockings that were padded for a slight lift in their calf size.
Hey, some dudes are still really proud of showing off their calves, so it’s not too hard to believe!
6. Extremely long fingernails
Especially around the 19th century in China, fingernails that extremely long became a beauty symbol in China.
It was a symbol of status, indicating that that person did not have to work or do manual labor.
Some women even wore ornate fingernail protectors to protect them.
7. Short teeth in the Renaissance period
Many famous portraits and poems from the Renaissance attest to the fact that the beauty ideal back then was very different than it is today.
Back in the 1400s in Florence, for example, women were admired for having short teeth.
While it’s hard to say why this was a style, this particular fashion has gone down in art history.
8. People in the Renaissance and Middle Ages also plucked their eyelashes
One of the most valued beauty symbols at the time was a big, open forehead.
In order to comply with this trend, many women would get rid of excess hair around their face by plucking their eyebrows or shaving their hairline back.
Sometimes they even plucked their eyelashes to make it seem like their face was more open.
9. Women painted their legs during World War 2
Amidst all the rationing that was required of civilians during World War II, women in America had to give up their nylon stockings.
Despite this, women still wanted to have the tanned legs look that nylons gave them. So, they simply just painted their legs in order to make it seem like they were wearing nylons.
10. Skull shaping during the Mayan Empire
It’s unclear exactly why the Maya shaped their skulls artificially, as most of our information about this practice comes from Spanish records and is not straight from the source.
That being said, the practive has even shown up in other cultures as far away as Egypt, Japan, and Europe.
11. Many cultures throughout history have considered pubic hair filthy
Although Brazilian waxes are still very popular today, this trend dates back millennia and comes with some negative attitudes about body hair.
Ancient Egyptians and some Native American tribes considered body hair unhygienic, and in Ancient Greece, body hair was believed to be low class.
12. The Divorce Corset
This name refers to the fact that the two breasts were “divorced” from one another. Although other corsets made a straight sheath that pushed both breasts together, in 19th century France, it became popular for there to be a gap between the breasts.
A padded triangle of iron was inserted into the corset to separate the breasts.
13. Painted eyebrows in Tang Dynasty China
Women in 600s CE China often removed their eyebrows entirely in order to achieve a more precise shape.
After removing their eyebrow hair, they would paint the shape of the eyebrow that they wanted.
This made it easier to get your eyebrow shape to follow the trends of the day.
14. Women with round cheeks
One refreshing historical beauty standard is the appreciation of fuller-figured women in China.
Particularly in the Tang dynasty, curvier bodies were valued, and the most important asset that showed this off was round cheeks.
15. The S-bend silhouette
For about a decade during the Edwardian era, there was a unique type of corset that came out that was designed to ease the stress on women’s hips and emphasize other parts of their bodies.
The s-bend, or s-curve, corset had a straighter shape so that it pushed women’s hips backward.
However, corsetry lost its popularity soon after the s-bend became popular. And judging by the photo, we’re not surprised!
As you can see, beauty standards and preferences have changed a lot over time.
While it’s interesting to look back in time and reflect on what hasn’t stuck around, it’s also helpful to remember that many of our contemporary beauty trends will likely not last either.
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