Booth in Boston April 1865

[BettyO]

Gentlemen, keep in mind that the view of "feminine beauty" in the 19th Century was vastly different from that in the 20th-21st Century. The ideal of beauty was to be plump (sometimes VERY plump which appears to us today as right-down fat!) with snow white skin (for Caucasian ladies), a clean well-scrubbed face and not a hair out of place. Plumpness was desired because it indicated that the lady was well-to-do, did not have to work and had plenty of food to eat. A well bred lady had no need for makeup; rouge, ect. which was associated with "fast ladies" and/or prostitutes. To appear well groomed, ladies oiled or pomaded their hair just like gentlemen. They also used a curling product called "bandolin" which apparently made it easy to curl with a hot curling iron if so desired. One could also crimp their hair with hair crimpers. Some ladies even ate arsenic in order to obtain a white skin (aside from death!) White skin also indicated that the lady did not have to work outside.

Women who were thin were regarded as not having enough to eat and who had to work for a living. One who was an early proponent of thinness was Empress Elizabeth (Sissi) of Austria. She advocated being fashion model thin and also was an advocate of dieting.