C.D. Gibson, father to Edwardian Elegance

In the century preceding Marilyn Monroe, decades before Betty Grable's shapely legs were insured, a male sketch artist from Massachusetts set the standard for American female beauty.  Using his elegant wife, Irene Langhorne, and her sisters for inspiration, he defined all a girl should be, his girl, the Gibson Girl.  Her form was the hourglass incarnate, thanks in great part to that marvel of undergarments, the swanbill corset, which created an "S" curve silhouette of its wearer.


In addition to being shapely in all the 'right' places, she had a relaxed air of confidence, as exemplified in the soft tussled waves of her chignon hairstyle.  Interestingly, this most feminine of archetypes was no shrinking violet, and carved out her own feminist niche.

Camille Clifford,
the veritable embodiment of the Gibson Girl

"In addition to the Gibson Girl's refined beauty, in spirit, she was calm, independent, confident, and sought personal fulfillment. (She could be depicted attending college and vying for a good mate, but she would never have participated in the suffrage movement.) She was also sexually dominant, for example, literally examining comical little men under a magnifying glass, or, in a breezy manner, crushing them under her feet. Next to the beauty of a Gibson Girl, men often appeared as simpletons or bumblers; and even men with handsome physiques or great wealth alone could not provide satisfaction to her." [Wikipedia]

Though her charms would lose favor with the women of WWI who chose function over form, opting for more comfortable, practical and sporty clothing, the allure of the Gibson Girl has never been completely quashed.  And thanks to the Gibson Glamor blog, you too can achieve the feminine elegance of the belle of the Belle Epoque.  Here are a few selections from that delightful blog:

Hair
The human hair is of such delicate structure that it should be given the most delicate and painstaking care. It will reward its owner by smiling up and looking fine. The hair has its seasons of health and illness, like other parts of the body. When it is shaggy, unmanageable and lifeless it is because it is not having proper attention. Brushing the hair for five minutes every night will give ventilation to the hair and exercise the scalp and will be helpful in every way. The rubbing in of a good tonic once or twice a week will prolong one’s hair for many years.

The ...advertisement for a lady's "decoletté" razor from about 1915 tries to sell women on the new idea of body hair removal. In the 19th century, evening gowns began to be fashioned that lacked sleeves entirely and were held up in place only by small spaghetti straps. The famous Portrait of Madam X shows us one such early example. However, despite the idealizations paintings and sculpture of the era might present, the act of shaving one's body hair was not immediately put into vogue. Historical pictures show that shaved armpits were not always expected on women -- even attractive and scantily clad ones -- even through the 1930s. If you've ever read the naughty literature of the era, you find that pit hair was even considered fairly titillating and sexy. This is not to say that the whole concept of hair removal was unknown in the Edwardian era. Unibrows and female mustaches have been commonly troubling women for centuries. However, depilatories and tweezers were usually the preferred methods for dealing with these problems; shaving razors needed to undergo some modifications before they became an acceptable possibility for use on the female body (imagine trying to shave your legs with a straight razor!) Electrolysis was also newly discovered and already in use.

Edwardian Milk Bath 

"At home in Paris I take a milk bath two times a week,
but here on the road it is more difficult. I miss them."
~Anna Held

The economical Edwardians didn't subscribe to the Cleopatrine notion of filling a whole bath with milk. The following replacement was suggested. 
Combine together in a muslin bag: 

• 1/2 pound marshmallow flowers 
• 1/4 pound hyssop herb 
• 4 pounds bran flour 

Victorian, Edwardian and Belle Epoque Perfumes 
"The true gentlewoman never uses strong perfumes," says Qui-Vive, "yet her hats and clothing and handkerchiefs always send forth a faint scent of fragrant flowers. The odor is so very slight that it does not suggest the dashing on of perfume, but, instead, bespeaks scrupulous cleanliness of body and garments, with perhaps an added suggestion of the soft winds that blow over a clover field. No perfume at all is far better than too much, for who does not look with suspicious eyes upon the woman who, when passing one on the street, seems to be in an invisible vapor of white rose or jockey club — strong enough to work on the streets?" She continues, "There is a secret about it all, and such a simple one! It is merely choosing one particular odor and using it in every possible way." 
Mary Miglin's website, while not especially aimed at the Gibson Girl or Edwardian enthusiast, lists some suggestions for some new ways to use fragrance: 

• Layer your chosen scent with bath and body products and apply your fragrance to pulse points--especially those below the waist. 
• Spray lightbulbs. Heat dissipates fragrance. 
• Spray your air conditioner, heating vents, humidifier and dehumidifier with fragrance. 
• Sprinkle dusting powder on carpets before vacuuming and on clean bed linens. 
• Shampoo your hair with fragranced bath and shower gel. 
• Wash lingerie and delicate items in fragrant shower gels. 
• Spray on a cloth shower curtain. The heat from the shower will dissipate the scent. 
• Sprinkle dusting powder in your shoes to keep comfortable and smelling nice. 
• Spray a damp cloth with fragrance and throw it into the dryer with your clothing to scent them beautifully. 
• Heat oven to 200-250 for ten minutes, then turn off and place a small dish in warm oven with a few drops of fragrance of bath oil for about 30 minutes. 
• Mix a small portion of fragrance with hair conditioner. 
• Place a few drops of perfumed oil on the inside of a leather watchband. 
• Pour a few drops of fragrance into the final rinse cycle of your wash. 
• Spray a small amount of fragrance on your ironing board. Again, the heat will dissipate the scent. 
• Place scented soap shavings inside your closet to keep it smelling nice. 
• Spray padded hangers with fragrance. 

And at last, a bit of a giggle, but not so much as to burst open your corset, 

"Those Awful Hats" 1909