Home Vegetable garden on the windowsill Like beauty in our time. What is beauty? e: Large bends

Vegetable garden on the windowsill

Like beauty in our time. What is beauty? e: Large bends

Man has always had a desire for beauty. Living in incredibly difficult conditions, the people created true masterpieces, trying to decorate simple household items with painting, embroidery, and carving. Spinning wheels, suppliers, wooden spoons, towels, sequins, baskets, bright decorative clothing and much more have inspired more than one generation of artists and today teach us an understanding of beauty, the ability to see harmony and beauty in the nature around us, in every blade of grass, leaf and flower, in the endless variety of shapes, colors, lines and rhythms.

However, the concept of beauty, which is very complex and includes a whole complex of external and internal qualities of a person, has changed over time. Each historical era gave birth to its own idea of beauty. It developed in accordance with certain climatic conditions, political, economic and other features of social life, with morality, ethics, religion, characteristic features life of different peoples, classes and estates.

Many great minds of mankind have thought about the secrets and laws of beauty, about the nature of beauty. In particular, Baudelaire wrote that it consists of two elements - one eternal and unchanging, which cannot be precisely defined, and the other relative and temporary, consisting of what a given era provides - fashion, tastes, passions and prevailing morality. Symmetry was and remains an indispensable condition for “eternal and unchanging” beauty; harmony - unity in diversity; mutual correspondence of all features and proportions; a complete, holistic image; feeling of authentic life.

A change in the aesthetic ideal does not exclude the main quality that is common to all in the most diverse types of beauty - harmony. No matter how different the unique Egyptian queen Nefertiti from the ancient Venus de Milo, the beautiful Florentine Simonetta from the Tahitian beauties of Gauguin, or the magnificent plump women glorified by Rubens from the trained, athletic type of our contemporary - they all assume in their appearance a certain harmony, such a mutual correspondence of all features and proportions that creates a complete and complete image.

Man not only created images of ideal beauty that have come down to us in the works of great poets and writers, masters of painting and sculpture, but also in real life I tried to imitate this ideal in all things.

Each generation defined its ideal of beauty, and this primarily concerned women, since less attention was always paid to the beauty of men.

Naturally, at all times connoisseurs female beauty there were men, and the first of them (according to Greek mythology) was the son of the Trojan king Paris. Zeus instructed him to judge Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, who were arguing among themselves about beauty. “The apple of discord” with the inscription: “To the most beautiful” - Paris gave to Aphrodite, who was later caught using powder and lipstick.

Thus, almost simultaneously with the appearance of man, cosmetics appeared that preserved beauty, emphasized advantages and masked disadvantages. Already at the earliest stages of his development, a person strives for cleanliness and decoration of the body, to get rid of visible defects in appearance using various means.

The ideal of beauty in Ancient Egypt was a slender and graceful woman. Subtle facial features with full lips and huge almond-shaped eyes, the shape of which was emphasized by special contours, the contrast of heavy hairstyles with a graceful elongated figure evoked the idea of an exotic plant on a flexible, swaying stem.

To dilate the pupils and add shine to the eyes, Egyptian women dripped juice from the “sleeping stupor” plant into them, which later became known as belladonna.

The most beautiful color the eyes were considered green, so the eyes were outlined with green paint made from copper carbonate (later it was replaced with black), they were extended to the temples and thick, long eyebrows were painted on. Green paint (from crushed malachite) was used to paint the nails and feet.

Egyptians invented special whitewash that gave dark skin a light yellow tint. It symbolized the earth warmed by the sun. The caustic juice of iris was used as a blush; irritation of the skin with this juice caused redness that persisted for a long time.

The famous Egyptologist Georg Ebers in the novel “Uarda” describes the Egyptian woman as follows: “There was not a drop of foreign blood in her veins, as evidenced by the darkish tint of her skin and a warm, fresh and even blush, average between golden yellow and brownish bronze... About purity her straight nose, noble-shaped forehead, smooth but coarse hair the color of a raven's wing and graceful hands and legs adorned with bracelets.”

Women and men wore a wig made of plant fiber or sheep's wool on their cropped heads. Nobles wore wigs big size, with long curls falling down the back or with numerous small braids. Sometimes, to create even more volume on the head, two wigs were placed on top of each other. Slaves and peasants were supposed to wear only small wigs.

Egyptian women were famous for their art of making all kinds of varnishes, rubbings, paints and powders, which in their composition are close to modern ones. Elderly women dyed their hair with black ox fat and crow eggs, and used lion, tiger, and rhinoceros fat to improve hair growth.

Men shaved their faces, but often wore artificial beards made of sheep's wool, which were varnished and woven with metal threads.

The Assyrians and Babylonians inked their eyebrows and eyelashes, thickly whitened and blushed their faces, women covered their faces with special compositions, which, when dried, gave the face shine and hardness of the enamel, and dyed their hair with henna and basma. Etiquette required men to wear the same makeup as women; men wore thick wigs, false mustaches and beards.

Representatives of the Maya people, who inhabited the Yucatan Peninsula and other areas of Central America, painted their bodies with red ointment, to which they added a very sticky and odorous resin - stirana. They smeared a special bar decorated with patterns with this mixture and rubbed it on their chest, arms, and shoulders, becoming, as it seemed to them, very elegant and pleasantly perfumed.

In ancient China, the ideal of beauty was a small, fragile woman with tiny legs. To keep the foot small, girls' feet were tightly bandaged soon after birth, trying to stop its growth. Women whitened their faces, blushed their cheeks, lengthened their eyebrows, and painted their nails red. Men grew their hair long and braided it.

Long nails were considered especially beautiful for men and women; it was a symbol of dignity and wealth. Nails were carefully looked after and special richly decorated “thimbles” made of precious metal or bone were worn to preserve them.

The beauties of Japan thickly whitened their skin, covering up all the defects on the face and chest, outlined the forehead along the edge of the hair growth with mascara, shaved off the eyebrows and drew short thick black lines instead. Married women In feudal Japan, teeth were coated with black varnish.

It was considered ideal to collect hair in a high, heavy knot, which was supported by a long patterned stick. To sleep with this hairstyle, special pillows on a wooden stand were placed under the neck. To strengthen the hair and give it shine, the hair was lubricated with special oils and plant juices (aloe juice). Men painted or glued on fake mustaches and sideburns, shaved their foreheads and the back of their heads, and gathered their hair on the top of their heads into a beautiful bun, which they tied with spectacular cords.

The Japanese carefully looked after their bodies. They washed themselves in unusually hot water, lubricated their bodies with special ointments, and used steam baths.

During excavations on the island of Crete, the English archaeologist Arthur John Evan found and explored ancient city, which existed a thousand years before it flourished Ancient Hellas. Judging by the surviving wall paintings, the fair sex of this island wore dresses with a crinoline and a low neckline. They loved water treatments, pampered themselves with sea bathing and a hot bath.

In Ancient Greece huge role played in the education of a citizen and a person Physical Culture and the cult of the trained body was natural. The ideal of beauty is based on unity and harmony of spirit and body. The Greeks considered size, order and symmetry to be symbols of beauty. An ideally beautiful person was one whose all parts of the body and facial features were in a harmonious combination.

Artists found and left behind a measure of beauty - the so-called canons and modules. The body had to have soft and rounded shapes. Standard beautiful body The Greeks began to have a sculpture of Aphrodite (Venus). This beauty was expressed in numbers: height 164 cm, chest circumference 86 cm, waist - 69 cm, hips - 93 cm. A face that could be divided into several equal parts (three or four) was considered beautiful. With three, the demarcation lines passed through the tip of the nose and the upper brow edge, with four - through the edge of the chin, along the edge of the upper lip, along the pupils, along the upper edge of the forehead and along the crown of the head.

According to the canons Greek beauty the beautiful face combined a straight nose, large eyes with a wide slit between the eyelids and arched edges of the eyelids; the distance between the eyes should have been no less than the size of one eye, and the mouth should have been one and a half times larger than the eye. Large bulging eyes were emphasized by a rounded eyebrow line. The beauty of the face was determined by the straight lines of the nose, chin, and low forehead, framed by curls of hair with a straight parting. Hellenes great attention paid attention to hairstyle. Women, as a rule, did not cut their hair; they styled it in a knot or tied it at the back of the head with a ribbon. The “Antique Knot” has gone down in the history of hairstyles and still finds admirers.

Young men shaved their faces and wore long, curled locks tied with a hoop. Adult men wore short hair, round beard and mustache.

Strict and noble beauty was in fashion. Above all, blue eyes, golden-haired hair and fair, shiny skin were valued. To give their faces whiteness, privileged Greek women used whitewash, applied light blush with carmine - red paint from cochineal, and applied powder and lipstick. For eyeliner - soot from the combustion of a special essence.

Women from the people, for whom cosmetics were inaccessible, put on a mask made of barley dough with eggs and seasonings at night.

In ancient Rome there was a cult of light skin and blond hair. Apuleius believed that it was unlikely that Vulcan would have married Venus, and Mars fell in love with her, if she had not been golden-haired. The wives of the Roman patricians used milk, cream and lactic acid products for skin care, in addition to whitening ointments, remedies against dry skin, wrinkles and freckles. During their travels, in addition to their retinue, they were accompanied by herds of donkeys, in whose milk they bathed. The Romans already knew the secret of bleaching hair. The hair was rubbed with a sponge soaked in goat's milk oil and beech tree ash, and then bleached in the sun.

Blonde, curly hair was considered the ideal of beauty, and Roman hairdressers came up with a wide variety of curls. Greek hairstyles and Egyptian hairstyles a la Cleopatra came into fashion. During the imperial period, they were replaced by high hairstyles on fan-shaped frames, with artificial hair overlays. Men have straight, short hair combed over the forehead, a shaved face or a small curly beard. The “head of Titus” hairstyle of short curls with sideburns, named after the Roman emperor Titus Vespasian, has gone down in history. Cosmetics for the everyday toilet of rich Roman ladies were made at home, and skin and hair care was carried out by specially trained young slaves under the supervision of older and more experienced women.

The Romans were experts in hygiene, they widely practiced massage and frequent bathing in baths (therms), where there was cold and hot water, baths, steam rooms, relaxation rooms and gymnasiums.

With the decline of Rome, the era of glorification of beauty was replaced by a cult of asceticism, detachment from the joys of perceiving the world. In the Middle Ages, earthly beauty was considered sinful, and enjoying it was prohibited. They draped heavy fabrics that hid the figure in a tight bag (the width of the clothes to the height is 1:3). The hair was completely hidden under the cap, and the entire arsenal of means for improving one’s appearance, which were so popular in ancient times, was consigned to oblivion.

Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury publicly declared hair blocking to be an unholy practice.

The ideal woman was personified by the Blessed Virgin Mary with an elongated oval face, an emphatically high forehead, huge eyes and a small mouth.

An important turning point in the perception of beauty was the turn of the 12th-13th centuries, when culture acquired a more secular character. The accumulation of wealth and the desire for luxury among the knights gave rise to ideals that were very far from asceticism and mortification of the flesh. In the 13th century, the worship of the “beautiful lady” flourished. Troubadours praise the queens of knightly tournaments, their thin flexible figure, like grapevine, blond hair, a long face, a straight thin nose, lush curls, clear and cheerful eyes, skin like a peach, lips redder than a cherry or a summer rose. A woman is compared to a rose - she is tender, fragile, graceful.

In the 15th century, during the Gothic period, the S-shaped curvature of the figure's silhouette was in fashion. To create it, small quilted pads - barefoot - were placed on the stomach. The clothes are narrow, restricting movement, elongated, dragging along the floor. Grand headdresses.

During the early Renaissance pale color faces and long silky strands of blond hair became the canons of beauty for women in Florence. The great poets Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch and others glorified snow-white skin. A slender “swan neck” and a high, clean forehead were considered ideal. To follow this fashion, to lengthen the oval of the face, women shaved the front hair and plucked their eyebrows, and to make the neck appear longer, they shaved the back of their heads.

The High Renaissance brings a completely different understanding of beauty. Instead of thin, slender, agile figures, curvaceous, powerful bodies with wide hips and luxurious fullness of the neck and shoulders triumph.

A special golden-red hair color, so beloved by Venetians, is coming into fashion - a color that later came to be called “Titian’s color.”

The monk of the Vallambrosa order, Agnolo Firenzuola, in his treatise “On the Beauty of Women” gives us his idea of the ideal of beauty in the Renaissance: “The value of hair is so great that if a beauty were adorned with gold, pearls and dressed in a luxurious dress, but did not put her hair in order hair, she looked neither beautiful nor elegant... a woman’s hair should be soft, thick, long, wavy, the color should be like gold, or honey, or the burning rays of the sun.

The physique should be large, strong, but at the same time noble in shape. An overly tall body cannot be liked, just like a small and thin one. White color the skin is not beautiful, because this means that it is too pale: the skin should be slightly reddish from the blood circulation... The shoulders should be broad... Not a single bone should show through on the chest. Perfect breasts rise smoothly, imperceptibly to the eye.

The most Beautiful legs- these are long, slender, thin below, with strong snow-white calves, which end in a small, narrow, but not lean foot. The forearms should be white and muscular...”

It is this type of beauty that is depicted in Titian’s canvases “Earthly and Heavenly Love”, “Portrait of a Lady in White” and portraits of many masters of the Venetian school of the 16th century, in the works of Rubens, Rembrandt, Hals and other artists of that time.

IN late XVI century (Rococo era), the ideal of beauty as an expression of the tastes of the highest aristocracy moved away from strict classical forms: the hairstyle became deliberately enlarged, the hair was whipped for this purpose with a toupee, and, if necessary, supplemented with false hair. Wigs are becoming fashionable, and not only for women, they are becoming mandatory for men as well. Used to create hairstyles various devices- wire frames, hoops, ribbons, hair were thickly sprinkled with powder. Such miracles of hairdressing were very expensive, they took a lot of time to create, so the ladies tried to preserve them for as long as possible, did not comb their hair or wash their hair for weeks, and only moistened their faces and hands with cologne. Queen Isabella of Castile of Spain once admitted that she washed only twice in her entire life - at birth and on her wedding day. It was known about the French king Louis XIV that he only bathed in the spring.

The main signs of beauty were considered to be white skin and a delicate blush. However, due to the smallpox epidemic, there were almost no women who did not have some kind of skin defect. In order to hide these defects and further highlight the whiteness of the face, the custom of decorating the face with small round fly patches spread.

The deliberate complexity of sinuous forms inherent in the Rococo style was emphasized in everything, in hairstyles, decorative cosmetics, and clothing. Huge, sometimes up to a meter high, headdresses came into fashion; The neckline boldly exposed the breasts, which were supported by a corset. Dresses with crinolines were overloaded with furs, ribbons, lace, and long trains. The etiquette of the court of Louis XIV determined the size of the trains: for the queen - 11 yards (1 yard is equal to 119 centimeters), for the king's daughters - 9 yards, for the king's granddaughters - 7 yards, for royal princesses - 5 yards, for other princesses and duchesses - only 3 yard

One of the chroniclers of the 16th century gives his own, quite original and completely non-standard, formula for female beauty, a multiple of the number three.

In his opinion, beautiful woman must be:

Three whites - skin, teeth, hands

Three black ones - eyes, eyebrows, eyelashes.

Three red ones - lips, cheeks, nails.

Three long ones - body, hair and arms.

Three wide ones - the chest, the forehead, the distance between the eyebrows.

Three narrow ones - mouth, shoulder, foot.

Three thin ones - fingers, hair, lips.

Three rounded ones - arms, torso, hips

Three small ones - breasts, nose and legs.

The 18th century was the heyday of women's hairstyles and wigs. The court hairdresser of the French queen Marie Antoinette, the famous Leonard Bolyar, was the creator of hairstyles that were integral with the headdress. They even reflected international events. He invented the hairstyle “a la frigate”, dedicated to victory French frigate "La Belle Poule" over the British in 1778.

At the end of the 18th century, a new style emerged, the aesthetic ideals of which were borrowed from the ancient world (Empire style). Clothing and hairstyle repeat elements of antiquity; wigs, blush, and front sights go out of fashion. Decorative cosmetics approach natural tones and do not become an end in themselves.

The ideal of beauty changed more than once in the 19th century. At its very beginning, clothes with a very high waist (under the bust), made from thin, translucent fabrics that softly envelop the figure, came into fashion. Then, by the 30-40s, the waist drops to its usual place, is tightened tightly with a corset, and the skirts become fluffy and wide. In the 80s, bustles came into fashion - voluminous draperies and bows at the back, to the bottom of the waist. The silhouette of the figure in profile takes on an unusually feminine S-shaped curve. But in general, nineteenth-century fashion tended toward artificiality. Everything natural and natural seemed rough and primitive. Healthy blush and tan, strong, strong body were signs of low origin. The ideal of beauty was considered to be “wasp waists,” pale faces, delicacy and sophistication.

Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, was blonde. To prove their devotion to the emperor, French women imitated her in everything, even hair color. And then the Parisian hairdresser Hugo found a simple way to bleach hair with hydrogen peroxide. Soon in high society there was not a single dark-haired lady left.

Over the course of centuries, certain changes in the ideals of beauty, shape and cut of clothing reflected the aesthetic requirements of the elite - a small privileged part of society. The nature of clothing strictly corresponded to class differences. Nobles, merchants, artisans, peasants - for each class there were certain forms and types of clothing, fabrics and decorations.

Physical education and sports developed. In parades, women performed equally with men. Tennis, cycling, swimming, and volleyball have become popular sports. If used to be an ideal femininity was grace and sophistication, gentle roundness of forms, but now a thin, athletic female figure with broad shoulders, Not big breasts, narrow hips I long legs, then her figure is similar to a man’s. Women's dresses, blouses and jackets became straight. The clothes were shortened so much that they barely covered the knees. The waist was not emphasized at all. And the most desperate fashionistas bandaged their chests to make them as flat as possible.

Of course, such clothes adorned very few. Therefore, it was not surprising that in the 30s, fashion returned to fitted forms, which were much more in line with the natural proportions of the female figure and, to some extent, returned the usual female image.

The standard of beauty is a romantic woman with a doll-like face, a small, plump, bright mouth, and a fine perm. And a tall, thin figure with fairly broad shoulders, a thin waist and narrow hips is still in fashion. (This is exactly what the ideal figure of a fashion model became, and this is how it remains now.)

The Second World War was approaching. Shoulder pads began to appear in women's clothing, thanks to which it acquired clearer outlines, vaguely reminiscent of a military uniform. And then the war began, in which women took an active part. And it is quite natural that fashionable women's clothing began to resemble military uniforms even more - wide, raised shoulders (now with massive shoulder pads), cinched waists. Short skirts, as if by contrast, emphasized the feminine roundness of the legs. Such clothes, complemented by shoes high heels and a thick wedge sole (the name itself was purely military), remained in fashion until 1947.

At this time, women hardly wear makeup, only sometimes tinting their eyelashes with mascara and painting their lips. Included in fashion short haircuts like men's.

But the war passed, and a natural desire arose to forget about the horrors and hardships. I wanted a calm, quiet, peaceful life. And fashion proclaimed a new image. Its creator was the famous French fashion designer Christian Dior. It was a kind of revolution. Dior has eliminated the shoulder pads that had been an integral part of all women's dresses, blouses, jackets and coats for the past several years. The shoulders now became smoothly sloping. Set-in sleeves were increasingly replaced by one-piece sleeves and raglan sleeves. The neck was framed by elegant small collars. The slouch at the waist was replaced by a soft fit that beautifully outlined the figure. The skirts sharply lengthened, covering the calves of the legs, shod in “slippers” (they were also affectionately called “galoshkas”). Flat-soled shoes made the gait smoother and freer. Petticoats and transparent nylon blouses appeared.

Women are again beginning to show interest in decorative cosmetics. They pay special attention to the eyes. The upper eyelids are lined with colored shadows, with a contour along the eyelash edge that clearly lengthens the eyes. Voluminous hairstyles (bouffants) are becoming fashionable.

However, by the late 50s and early 60s, skirts began to be shortened again, in many cases turning into "barrel" skirts. And soon there was another coup. “Shirt dresses” appeared - straight, loose, not cut off at the waist. It would seem, what's special here? Just another change in form. In the 20s they already wore something similar. Who cares?

There was a difference, and a very significant one. Previously, all women wore straight, non-fitting clothes. The fashionable silhouette was the same for everyone. And now straight dresses could be worn in different ways - with a belt that clearly defined the waist, with a belt at the hips, or without a belt at all. How it suits anyone. That is, this was the first application for freedom of choice. Fashion ceased to obediently serve the elite. She was forced to listen to the real demands of the majority. And if at first she only got rid of corsets, excessive length and many unnecessary details in order to become comfortable, simple and accessible to everyone, now she has taken a new, albeit timid, step towards the majority. The artists sought to create clothes that corresponded to the spirit of the time - laconic, clear, expressive in form, not cluttered with “styles” and allowing everyone to wear it in their own way. However, real freedom was still far away.

Essentially the same form, the same proportions were offered to everyone and not for one year. The search began for different shapes, silhouettes, proportions, so that every woman could choose what suits her best.

Another decisive step was taken in this direction - women's trousers came into fashion, and as full-fledged clothing, the same as skirts. At the same time, dresses and skirts began to rapidly become shorter. With the onset of each new season, they seemed too long, as if last time 5-7 cm had not been cut off from them. The triumphant march of the mini-length began, at first, as usual, met with hostility, and then took root everywhere.

Why did this fashion arise? After all, there was no practical need for such short clothes, especially if you remember that everything was short. Even winter coats were no exception. What was needed was a challenge to generally accepted norms. This was necessary purely psychologically. The fact is that fashion changes arise under the influence of various circumstances. On the one hand, these are practical, social demands associated with changes in living conditions, and on the other hand, always human the need for renewal, a change of impressions. The French fashion designer Paul Poiret said this very well: “...man, alone of all animals, invented clothing and, paying for it, is obliged to change it, never settling on the same form.”

Thus, the possibilities of choice have expanded even further. We could wear straight, fitted or semi-fitted clothing. If we didn't want to draw attention to our legs, we could replace the miniskirt with trousers. And yet complete freedom of choice did not come. The boundaries of fashion expanded, but remained quite rigid. The trousers were the same cut, the skirts were the same length.

Another sharp shift was needed, another overthrow of accepted norms and traditions. It was necessary to put an end to the elitism of fashion once and for all and turn it more decisively towards the real life of the vast majority of people, working life, intense, with its ever-accelerating rhythm and increasingly complex problems.

This is exactly what happened in the mid-70s, when the denim style, the most democratic and popular of all that ever came into fashion, took a key position in fashion. Its popularity grew exponentially, and this would have led to a dull blue monotony, if it had not been followed by the same mass passion for folklore motifs. Bright embroidered bouquets appeared on denim jackets and skirts, worn denim trousers began to be worn with light, cross-stitched, blouses taken from grandma's chest.

It was then that interest in antiquity arose for the first time. The young men took out the leather “commissar” jackets and coats of their grandfathers from the mezzanine. We stopped frivolously throwing away old, unique things - furniture, dishes, candlesticks, ink utensils, mortars and similar cute, cozy little things. The faster the rhythm of our life became, the more rapidly humanity conquered more and more new frontiers of technological progress, the more natural became the desire not to lose roots, to find moral support in the past, to resist the standard nature of the environment, to introduce something individual, original into our life, to preserve some then objects, even if not very necessary and practical, but warmed by the warmth of living human hands that once worked on their creation. This partly prepared the subsequent changes in fashion. There is one pattern in its development.

The more popular a style of clothing, one or another of its forms, becomes, the sooner it should be replaced by something else. And so, having relegated denim clothing to the background, at the turn of 1978-1979 a completely different style of clothing came into fashion.

It was retro style distinctive feature which was an appeal to the motifs of past years, namely the 40s and 50s. The fact is that denim fashion, with its unpretentiousness and decisive rejection of traditional ideas of elegance, has created a lot of convenience for us. In jeans, you could walk anywhere and everywhere, from morning to evening. They were worn by everyone - adults and children, men and women, mainly, of course, young people.

But, having gotten used to freedom and ease, women began to forget about their femininity, about the grace of gait and posture. And men very soon got used to treating them as friends who can easily be patted on the shoulder and who do not necessarily have to be let ahead, not to mention giving up their seat in public transport, and other “prejudices.” Clothing has a much greater influence on our behavior, manners and relationships than is commonly believed. Of course, all this happens unconsciously, but fashion belongs to the realm of the unconscious. It is only later, as time passes, that we begin to understand what dictated these or those turns. Without explaining anything to us, it amazes us with its novelty, precisely, unmistakably, like migratory birds, guessing the direction of your path. And now, by offering a retro style, she has given us an excellent opportunity to try to regain our lost femininity.

Moreover, this style, which revived classic shapes and the types of clothing seemed to be more suitable for mature, respectable people. But he was not interesting to them. They wore similar clothes, albeit not exactly the same, but very similar, in their youth. Worn now, after the “mini” and “jeans”, it mercilessly aged them. But for young people, the retro style was fraught with extraordinary charm. A wonderful opportunity for reincarnation opened before them. The girls, who had just worn the jeans in which they, one might say, grew up, which literally became a second skin for them, were transformed before their eyes, wearing long skirts, classic suits, dresses with feminine, romantic trims.

However, that’s why fashion exists, to constantly change and force us to reconsider our attitude towards clothing. The retro style, in general not very practical, turned out to be too binding, to some extent pretentious, and therefore was not suitable for everyone and not always. This style has remained in fashion for elegant as well as purely formal clothing (in classic versions). As for ordinary, everyday, universal clothing, something different was required here.

Therefore, despite all its attractiveness, the retro style lasted only a season and a half. In 1980, decisively and calmly, as a person absolutely confident in his rightness and irreplaceability, sport style. It was then that quilted jackets and coats, the same trousers and overalls, as well as sneakers appeared - in a word, everything that was previously considered purely sporty. Cozy, free, practical, devoid of any mannerism or pretentiousness, these clothes fit perfectly on any figure, creating a feeling of calm self-confidence, cheerfulness, dexterity and, so to speak, physical fitness.

Sports style clothing immediately found ardent followers among young people, but then pretty soon migrated into the wardrobe of adults, who appreciated its convenience, practicality and the fact that it helped to look younger.

It would seem that the optimal option has finally been found, one that suits everyone and most accurately meets the harsh realities of our busy lives. But... fashion would cease to be fashion if it offered something stable, suitable for all times. Older people know that every innovation at first slightly shocks us with its unexpectedness, and then we get a taste, get used to it, and it seems to us that only such clothes are beautiful, comfortable, reasonable, practical, and that this is the only way we will dress now. Then the fashion changes, and everything repeats all over again.

So, after some time it turned out that the cozy, calm, democratic sports style is surprisingly monotonous in mood. After all, clothes are not just a combination of shapes, lines, folds, buttons, pockets, etc. There is always some kind of mood in it. She can be serious and flirtatious, boring and cheerful, strict and careless. The style, details, color and pattern of the fabric are what make up the mood. For example, light ruffles, flounces, lace, especially in delicate light colors, create a clean, poetic image, and a classic white blouse with a blind fastener, complemented by a tie or a small black bow, creates a feeling of severity.

In the development of fashion, especially in the last ten years, concepts such as image, mood, style have begun to play a much greater role than before. The usual characteristics of fashion - the length of clothing, the shape of a collar or the cut of a sleeve - are important only insofar as they help create some kind of image. If there is no image, the clothes are boring and inexpressive.

Sports style clothing is characterized by a certain sketchiness, as if predetermined solutions - known system design of fasteners, pockets, characteristic cut, accessories (zippers, buttons, etc.), stitching securing the edges of parts, that is, some limitation in the use of fabrics and decorative techniques, leading to monotony.

Naturally, the need for new images arose. However, from a practical point of view, the sports style was very good and therefore influenced further development fashion. Its characteristic cutting techniques, free forms, clear technology, pockets, zippers and buttons, finishing stitching have become widely used even in traditional classic things, even elegant evening dresses. We are so accustomed to the convenience and freedom of handling clothes that now the famous French proverb “To be beautiful, you have to suffer” makes us smile.

But in order for our practical, highly functional clothing to be filled with new stylistic content, fashion turned to the search for new figurative solutions that could be associated with historical costume, and not in general, but with the clothing of specific historical, literary characters and movie characters, with folklore images, etc.

Of course, all this found its most vivid expression in youth fashion. There were musketeers, and the first aviators, and Tom Sawyer, and Chekhovian, Dickensian images, and solutions inspired by various styles of art, such as Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and carnival, theatrical images. And at the same time, interest in the classic style reappeared and the volumes sharply increased (since the advent of “Puffy” sports jackets), and motifs from the fashion of the 50s were heard every now and then. In new proportions and thanks to a new manner of dressing and wearing both the things themselves and additions, decorations, building the entire ensemble of clothes more boldly and picturesquely, these motifs sounded fresh, modern and very funny. Fashion did not allow us to lose touch with the past, guaranteed maximum comfort and ease, and on top of that, provided complete freedom to choose not only shapes and silhouettes, but also the style of clothing in accordance with the individuality of each person. And this became another, perhaps the most important, achievement. Fashion has finally lost its elitism.

Length, volume, proportions, figurative, stylistic decisions - everything has now begun to depend on the imagination, taste, character, external data of each of us.

Of course, at one time or another, some style, some forms become the main, leading ones in fashion. Others seem to fade into the shadows for a while, but fashion does not abandon them. So, in 1987, after a general craze large volumes Fitted, feminine shapes began to become increasingly attractive. But this did not mean that by wearing loose, voluminous clothes we risked looking ridiculous and old-fashioned. Or the “mini” length, which had come back into fashion, did not at all oblige all women to shorten their dresses, skirts and coats as it once was. Along with short ones, artists offered models of any other length.

If we trace the development of fashion over approximately the last quarter of a century, we will see that none of the trends that have changed during this time have left without a trace. Each one left and still has some interesting finding, some rational grain, something that allows us to use this direction in the future. This was the case with denim clothing, which during this time, it would seem, could have gone out of use a long time ago, but nevertheless is alive to this day. Life itself does not allow it to disappear. And, realizing this, artists are constantly coming up with options for updating the “denim theme.” There was everything here - sports style, corset style, flares, bananas, corduroy, faux fur, leather, embroidery, and lace. And the colors were different - from thick blue indigo to the notorious “varenka”.

Or, despite the fact that the sports style has left the forefront, giving way to more interesting and varied interpretations, we still enjoy wearing comfortable, well-designed quilted jackets and other similar things. What about the “shirt dresses” that came into fashion in the late 50s and early 60s and are still thriving today? And wide skirts in folk style, short and long, with frills and petticoats, in a variety of fabric combinations? And elegant, feminine elegant dresses in retro style different periods XX century? What about strict classic suits, jackets, fitted or in the style of a men's jacket, which we never cease to wear in a variety of ensemble options? Finally, the same trousers, which have become an integral part women's wardrobe. Having undergone so many changes, even at some point completely replacing skirts and dresses from everyday life, they came into fashion so long ago and, presumably, will remain in our everyday life for a long time.

At the same time, modern fashion is characterized by a mixture of styles. This can be noticeable not only in the style of a particular product, but also in the way we combine individual items of clothing, shoes, jewelry, bags, gloves, hats, etc. with each other. In the future, we will dwell on this in more detail. , we will try to give as many specific examples as possible, to show them what makes up this or that style of clothing.

Fashion is constantly changing, although much of what it offers today can be used in the future. Nevertheless, we considered ourselves entitled to give only general characteristics modern fashion to show the main direction in its development. As for practical advice, recommendations on how to learn to dress beautifully, how to choose clothes for yourself, here we proceeded from the fact that there are some approaches, principles that last a long time and do not lose their significance, no matter how fashion changes.

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What are ideal breasts? Is there a universal concept of the ideal shape and size of a woman's breasts? Surely not. So much different views, positions and statements in this regard. All times and eras have had their own understanding of beauty. For some, small, neat shapes are preferable; for others, the standard of beauty is large, high breasts with a beautiful neckline. So what qualifies as perfection these days?

HOW WOMEN'S BEAUTY CHANGED OR THE IDEAL BREASTS OF THE STONE AGE

At a time when a man was a hunter and a breadwinner, a beautiful woman was either always pregnant or very plump. There can be only one conclusion from this: beautiful breasts are large saggy breasts.

But already in the times of the Mayan tribe, the figurines found tell us that an attractive woman of the tribe is graceful with beautiful small breasts and wide hips (they are, after all, for ladies who are not alien to the replenishment of the family).

But still, the ideals of female beauty of Mesopotamia can be judged by the images of the great goddess Ishtar (Astarte), many figurines and images of which have been well preserved to this day. Judging by these images, we can conclude that women with particularly curvy figures were most likely not successful.

HOW WOMEN'S BEAUTY CHANGED IN ANCIENT EGYPT, CRETE, CHINA

The ancient Egyptians believed that a woman should be slim, but not thin. At the same time, developed muscles were welcomed. The breasts, oddly enough, were small. Greater emphasis was placed on the lips, huge almond-shaped eyes and a straight nose.

In the Crete-Minoan civilization, which existed from 3000 to 1000 BC on the island of Crete, women emphasized large, full breasts, thin waists and rounded hips.

And here's how a woman's breasts are described in ancient mythology: “The breasts should be of good shape, like large pearls, but soft to the touch, and the breasts themselves, like lotus buds, should be located so that there is no distance between them.”

In old China, according to custom, it was supposed to have a body of “straight lines.” Girls from the age of 10-14 were re-tightened chest with a canvas bandage or put on a special vest.

IDEAL BREASTS FOR THE ANCIENT GREEKS

In Ancient Greece, men believed that the body should be physically perfect. When a woman had perfect figure, which means she had an ideal soul. When the body is physically perfect, it cannot a priori have large breasts.

HOW WOMEN'S BEAUTY CHANGED IN THE MIDDLE AGES

In the Middle Ages, women spent a lot of time in prayer vigils, fasted and seemed like a corpse, because then deathly pallor and terrible thinness were valued. The ideal was the complete absence of any roundness in principle. For example, in Spain, girls had lead plates placed on their chests at night to prevent them from developing. In Germany, wooden plates were used for this. This is how they were described then: “Girls swaddle their breasts tightly with a bandage, because full breasts are not cute to the eyes of men.”

HOW WOMEN'S BEAUTY CHANGED DURING THE RENAISSANCE

During the Renaissance, the taboo imposed by the church was removed from the human body. In the paintings we see girls and women enjoying life. You can see rounded shapes, beautiful elongated necks, and the body! How majestic and well-fed it is.

The Italian poet and playwright of the Renaissance Ariosto describes the ideal of a beautiful woman with the following words:

“Her neck is white as snow, her throat is like milk, her beautiful neck is round, her chest is wide and lush. Just like sea waves running up and disappearing under the light caress of the breeze, her breasts are so agitated. The gaze of Argus himself would not have been able to guess what was hidden under the light dress. But everyone will understand that it is as beautiful as what is visible...”

“Ah, Owl, I love the laughing wrinkle near your eye, not a creature of juicy youth, but a creature of experience. When my greedy hands embrace your magnificent figure, your daughter’s breasts do not seduce me. I love ripe autumn, and for it I forget spring. Go "I'll rock you until winter covers the grapes with a white veil."

They began to love curvaceous forms in a woman, exceeding prettyness and grace. The woman was supposed to be Juno and Venus in one person. A woman whose corsage foreshadows luxurious breasts is valued above all else. That is why the girl is already flaunting her magnificent breasts.

The preference given to a mature mother over a newly blossoming daughter, the idea that the mature charms of the former were more seductive, was expressed directly in the most diverse forms. Breasts, which have already become the source of life, most of all attract and interest men. That is why artists were so willing to depict Mary nursing a baby. That is why also in the 15th and 16th centuries. wells and fountains were so often built in the form of a woman from whose breasts water splashes.

The most refined form of flaunting the beauty of the body, and especially the breasts, was the image of a Madonna. The most famous historical example is a portrait of Agnes Sorel, mistress of Charles VII, in the form of a Madonna, created by Jean Fouquet. Holding a baby on her lap, la belle des belles (the beauty of beauties), as the Madonna was called in the gallant language of the era, exposed all the splendor of her beautiful breasts. It was indeed a tempting motive. In the image of the Virgin Mary one could at the same time depict the most sacred, sublime symbol and serve the world by flaunting earthly beauty in the most piquant way. The woman thus became both saint and devil, seductress and savior in one person.

The apotheosis achieved by the beautiful female breast in art is not only not inferior, but even surpasses the hymn composed in her honor by poetry. Never in painting has the beauty of the breast been depicted with such ardent rapture as in the Renaissance. Her idealized image is one of the inexhaustible artistic motifs of the era. For her, a woman's breasts are the most amazing miracle of beauty, and therefore artists draw and depict them day after day in order to immortalize them.

Demonstrative emphasizing of the breasts was achieved with the help of a corsage, and in case of its insufficiency - with the help of stuffing with cotton wool. Women, at all costs, wanted to appear plump and have curvaceous figures. They tried to artificially lift the chest up. “The custom of wearing corsets, which has existed for centuries, was intended not so much to hide the breasts (which was the tendency of the Middle Ages: not having breasts corresponded to the ascetic worldview. - E.F.), but, on the contrary, to allow it to come forward more clearly above the ever-lower sagging the upper edge of the dress" (S. N. Stratz. "Frauenkleidung" - Stratz. "Women's clothing").

The Renaissance held the view that "a naked woman is more beautiful than one dressed in purple." Since it was impossible to always be naked, they showed at least as much as possible that part that was always considered the highest beauty of a woman and was therefore always revealed through fashion, namely the breasts. Baring the breasts was not only not considered a vice, but, on the contrary, was part of the universal cult of beauty, as it served as an expression of the sensual impulses of the era. All women are gifted beautiful breasts, more or less decollete their breasts.

In order to better draw attention to the beauty of the breasts, to their most valuable advantages - elasticity and splendor, women sometimes decorated their halos with diamond rings and caps, and both breasts were connected with gold chains, burdened with crosses and jewelry. Catherine de Medici came up with a fashion for her court ladies that drew attention to the breasts by the fact that in the upper part of the dress, on the right and left, two round cutouts were made, revealing only the breasts, but completely and usually naked, or by the fact that the breasts were artificially reproduced externally. A similar fashion, due to which only the chest and face were revealed, reigned in other places. Where custom required that noble ladies cross the street only under a shawl or a mask, as in Venice, they, it is true, hid their faces, but they showed off their breasts all the more generously.

Among the burghers and urban nobility, women did not wear as much décolletage as in the courts of absolute sovereigns. But the bourgeois women also wore their low necklines very noticeably. There were several fashions among the burghers that allowed the dress to be cut so deeply that even the halos of the breasts were visible. This fashion can be traced in the drawings of Holbein and Durer. One description of costumes dating back to the beginning of the 15th century says: “Rich girls wear a dress with a cutout in front and back, so that the breasts and back are almost naked.” The Limburg Chronicle, also dating back to the 15th century, says: “And women wear wide necklines, so that half of the breast is visible.”

HOW WOMEN'S BEAUTY AND IDEAL BREASTS CHANGED DURING THE BAROQUE ERA

The female body in the Baroque period, as before, should be “rich” with a “swan” neck, wide shoulders thrown back and curvy hips. But the waist should now be as thin as possible, and whalebone corsets are coming into fashion. In addition, the corset performs another function - it visually lifts the chest, usually almost open with a bold neckline.

Yet well-fed women began to be valued even more. Artists strive to depict all the beauty of the female body (according to the concepts of that time).

IDEAL BREASTS OR HOW WOMEN'S BEAUTY CHANGED IN THE ROCOCO ERA

expose female breast, touching her and kissing her was now considered quite decent. Modesty only caused ridicule: since a girl is ashamed, it means she has nothing to boast about. The gentlemen sighed that “it is easier to touch a woman’s breast than to win her heart.” The ladies constantly found a reason to show their breasts - either a rose fell and pricked, or a flea bit - “look!”

HOW WOMEN'S BREASTS DEVELOPED IN THE CLASSICAL ERA

After the Rococo era, the time of classicism came. During this period, bodily excesses were not encouraged. The figure had to be neither fat nor thin, so as not to offend the gaze of the beholder.

And finally, brunettes have come to power over men:

The short era of the Empire style was the era of transparency and bare breasts. The ideal of beauty is a woman of Greek build, but with a fairly wide pelvis, with full and strong breasts in a translucent, close-fitting dress.

HOW WOMEN'S BEAUTY CHANGED IN THE 19TH CENTURY

In the 19th century, curvaceous figures returned, which were supposed to protrude from corsets both above and below. There were, of course, disagreements: the Impressionists, for example, preferred loose and plump ladies, whom you couldn’t grab with two hands at a run, and the Pre-Raphaelites tended to be more slender, but both agreed on the obligatory presence of outstanding forms.

THE IDEAL OF BEAUTY OR HOW WOMEN'S BEAUTY CHANGED IN THE XX CENTURY

After almost a century, men got tired of crushing their curvy figures, and the plump ones were replaced by nervous, passionate and demonic ladies.

In the 20s of the 20th century, girls began to resemble greyhounds: a thin figure, long legs, short haircuts emphasizing the length of the neck, eyes lined with pencils, thin plucked eyebrows and pearl necklaces around the neck.

But after the Second World War, everything changed dramatically: thinness was terrifying. Most likely, this happened due to lack of food during the war. Instead of the cold divas of previous times with shoulder pads and small breasts, graceful fairies with small heads, sloping shoulders, large high breasts and wasp waists appeared on the catwalk. In general, men again began to be attracted to well-fed but slender girls:

HOW WOMEN'S BEAUTY CHANGED IN THE XXI CENTURY

But after the 60s, when the people “thawed out” from war fears, the skinny ones returned again, and they are still thriving.

Beauty is one of the most subjective and changeable categories. What was the standard of female attractiveness just a few years ago is not only no longer such today, but may even seem provocative and inappropriate. How ideas about beauty have changed in different eras? And what will become the benchmark in the near future? Let's try to figure it out.

Ancient Egypt (XIII-XI centuries BC)

real beauties in Ancient Egypt girls were considered to have long and straight dark hair framing their faces. This is evidenced by numerous images of Egyptians that have survived to this day. At the same time, by the way, the first semblance of cosmetics appeared: Egyptian women were the first to learn how to apply black paint around their eyes to give expressiveness to their eyes.