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To contribute to this collective history project, send pictures and stories about the older women in your life to americanagefashion@gmail.com. The more information you can include (date, place, etc.), the better.-
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Tag Archives: skin
Wrinkle Positivity
Recently I have been following the “body positivity” movement on blogs and Instagram. Women who are larger than those depicted in the main stream media (i.e. most of us) are demanding that they be recognized not only as normal, but … Continue reading
Age Affirmative Advertising
How do you sell products designed for older people? The linguistic twists and turns of advertisers have always interested me, so I took a look at the collection The Aging Consumer, edited by Aimee Doret (New York, 2010.) The most … Continue reading
Fashion Advice for Older Women—Fool the Eye
Women of every age and shape get constant tips on how to look taller, thinner, fitter, and sexier. Older women face an additional challenge: They are also supposed to look younger. How does that trick get done? Distraction Because most … Continue reading
“Ageless”
Do you look ageless? I do not. In fact, I look every one of my sixty-seven years. That is not for lack of trying, as I am very susceptible to the siren song of skin care companies. But upon seeing … Continue reading
A Woman in a Feathered Boa, 1920s
Feathered boas go in and out of style. Searching on the wonderful home economics site Hearth, I found instructions on how to clean them in a housekeeping guide from 1908. You shake them out and then dip them in gasoline! … Continue reading
Mother and Daughter, 1925
Given all the facial similarities, these two are obviously mother and daughter. They even have very similar hairstyles. The photo offers clear evidence of what aging does to facial features. The mother’s cheeks are sagging, the lines around her mouth … Continue reading
Helena Rubinstein and the Fine Art of Photo Retouching, 1932
How did famous beauties control their image before the era of Photoshop? They had their photographs retouched. Apparently altering negatives to achieve different results is a process as old as photography itself. Because she had made herself into the image … Continue reading
Your Cosmetic Portrait by Helena Rubinstein, 1935
I’ve been reading a fascinating book on beauty care expert Helena Rubinstein, Beauty is Power by Mason Klein. It is the companion volume to an exhibit of the same name that recently closed at the Jewish Museum in New York, … Continue reading
“I’m Proud to Admit I’m a Grandmother,” 1947
Most advertisements containing grandmothers refer to their homey, family loving qualities. This is the earliest I’ve seen that praises her as a glamorous figure. It’s worth noting that this stylish grandmother appears over half a year before the birth of … Continue reading
Lace, 1976
Renowned San Francisco photographer Imogen Cunningham has an answer for what tattoos can come to look like on older bodies. “It looks like lace, doesn’t it?” This remarkable photo comes from Cunningham’s book, After Ninety (University of Washington Press, 1977), … Continue reading