The History of Women's Fashion, What I'm Reading is Helping Me Heal From Fashion Addiction, How To Style A Black Jacket
Is it just me, or is the history of women's fashion cringy? Fashionopolis by Dana Thomas is opening my eyes.
Greetings and thank you for reading Light Loves Color, where I’m passionate about giving people timeless style tips for getting out of the fashion hamster wheel. I received great feedback about last week’s article about detoxing from fast fashion. It’s a commendable pursuit, and I was thankful to hear you loved it. This week I write about the historical pattern in fashion and beauty: one that has disproportionately oppressed women.
Enjoy this week’s content and stay timeless, my friends!
-Tatyana
PS: I’ve been listening to Fashionopolis by Dana Thomas on Audible. It’s a wake-up call for sure. It dives deep into the dark side of fashion with the exploitative labor practices, environmental damage, and the relentless push for more, more, more!
As I develop my outlines for the various new guides, I’m unable to recommend just any brand. Some of them have a terrible reputation for damaging the environment and using human beings like slaves. Because high-quality pieces from good designers are very expensive and almost cultish, I have always used sites like TheRealReal, eBay, and Poshmark for my quality designer staples. Even the online Goodwill shop is pretty decent if you have a good eye. Depending on your budget, you may be able to afford pieces directly from reputable designers. I try to be conscientious about who I buy my clothing from so that I don’t perpetuate the cycle of irresponsibility. It’s not to say I have no fast fashion brands in my closet, but I usually don’t shop fast fashion brands because they tend to cater to trends and have lower quality garments. I’ll have better recommendations as I find them.
You’re reading Light Loves Color, a weekly publication by The Image Architect featuring timeless wardrobe strategies using biologically correct colors and figure-balancing proportions. The goal of this publication is to free people from clothing confusion and never-ending trends. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support this work, as this is a passion project. A big thanks to all subscribers, paid or not.
You will find the “shoppable” versions of these looks at the bottom of the page.
Anti-aging colors: Knowing which colors biologically make your face look better and which ones make it look worse doesn’t mean everything in your closet has to be in your best colors. We already know that a biologically correct color worn next to the face can even out the facial skin tone and give you a healthy glow. This is a big power tool in your wardrobe toolbox. Often our basics aren’t even in our best colors. Neutrals such as navy, black, white, beige, brown, etc. can always be hacked by wearing the correct accessories and a great color to bring the focus and the light up to your face.
Flattering Capsule Wardrobe Basics: We can have an arsenal of basics that we love, such as my fun second-hand Rachel Zoe Kristen jacket and black high-waist trousers. These staples should always be of good quality, durable textiles, and tailored to fit like a glove to flatter your figure, or else tailor them or donate them and get a replacement. Who has time for ill-fitting clothing?
Impactful Accessories: Accessories serve so many purposes in life, they communicate our individuality, tell about our detail-oriented personality, and often, they are just a practical tool to draw the eye to a focus point. Where should the focus always be? Our lovely faces, of course! This is also why we don’t wear anything too sexy. It distracts from your face.
Breaking Free from Fashion's Shackles: Empowering Women Through Timeless Style
Fashion has always been more than just clothes. It's a powerful reflection of society, culture, and the prevailing standards of beauty. But throughout history, these standards have often been tools of oppression, particularly against women. From ancient times to today, fashion has shaped—and shackled—women's lives in ways that are both subtle and profound.
Looking back through history, one can say, “Nothing’s changed!” And indeed, so much is the same today, as not only clothing but also facial and body modifications are more trend-dependent than ever. Looking through this history, how can we feel we’re more advanced than societies of the past when in our own society, the shapes of one’s nose, bust, buttocks, and many other seemingly genetic parts are all now dictated by trends?
Is this an inclusive model? Let’s take a look at some patterns in history and decide.
In ancient Egypt, beauty equaled power, but it came with rigid standards. Women were expected to adorn themselves with extensive makeup—kohl for the eyes, ochre for the lips and cheeks—to maintain the perfect appearance. The ideal body type was slender, with a narrow waist and full bust. Similarly, in ancient Greece, while the female form was celebrated in art, societal expectations imposed strict limitations. Women were expected to embody 'kalos kagathos'—physical beauty coupled with virtue—yet they had no public voice and were confined to the household.
Fast forward to Medieval Europe, where the Church dictated much of life, including fashion. Women's bodies were concealed under layers of fabric, with standards of chastity and piety dictating how they were expected to dress. The discomfort was tangible—tight corsets and heavy gowns made daily life impractical and painful, yet women had to conform to these oppressive norms.
The Renaissance brought a revival of art and culture, but for women, it also meant increased pressure to conform to idealized beauty standards. The 'perfect' woman of the time had an impossibly tiny waist, achieved through tightly laced corsets that deformed ribs and displaced internal organs. The Baroque period only intensified these demands, with women enduring even more exaggerated hourglass figures.
As we move into the 18th century, fashion became synonymous with opulence and excess. Women's clothing grew even more elaborate and uncomfortable, with towering wigs, heavy makeup, and voluminous skirts supported by panniers. The beauty standards of this era were not only unattainable but also deadly, with the application of lead-based makeup causing severe health issues.
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"A color is as strong as the impression it creates."
Ivan Albright
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The Victorian era, often associated with prudishness, brought intense scrutiny over women's appearances. Corsets became more constrictive than ever, leading to widespread health problems. The 'ideal' woman was expected to be delicate, pale, and doll-like—a standard that denied women their health and freedom.
The 1920s offered a brief rebellion against these restrictive fashions. Women bobbed their hair and donned shorter, looser dresses in a bid for freedom and self-expression. But by the 1940s, the pressure to adhere to an exaggerated hourglass figure returned, symbolizing domestic stability in the post-war era.
The 1950s further idealized the perfect housewife—cinched waists, full skirts, and high heels reinforced subservient roles for women. However, the 1960s and 70s saw the rise of the feminist movement, and fashion began to reflect women's desire for liberation. Even so, women were still judged by how well they conformed to new standards of youthful rebellion.
The 1980s introduced the 'power suit' as more women entered the workforce, but this was not true freedom. Women were expected to dress like men to be taken seriously in business, yet still maintain a certain level of femininity.
The 1990s brought the supermodel era, with towering, impossibly thin women like Kate Moss setting a new, unattainable standard of beauty. The 2000s continued this trend, with media promoting ultra-thin bodies as the ideal.
Today, while we see more diverse representations of women in the media, we’re not free from the pressures of conformity. Social media has amplified the scrutiny of women's bodies and appearances, whether it's the pressure to achieve the perfect Instagram look or to keep up with ever-changing beauty trends. Women continue to navigate an oppressive landscape, albeit in new forms.
So, what can we do about it? First, we need to recognize how fashion and beauty standards have disproportionately oppressed women since nothing like this has existed on any substantial scale for men. By acknowledging this history and vulnerability we have, we can work towards a future where fashion is no longer a set of shackles that we choose for ourselves. It takes a strong desire to break free of those shackles to finally do something different.
At Light Loves Color, I’m committed to teaching the beauty of color and figure-honoring styles. The right colors, styles, and accessories are exactly the key to finding and keeping a wardrobe we can finally really love. When we see for ourselves that biologically correct colors and well-fitting styles look better than whatever trend is floating around, we can feel empowered NOT to fall for the next big trend. There’s a freedom in that.
I guess it’s kind of like a good marriage. When it’s working, it’s working!
For those who are unfamiliar with this work, I am walking in the footsteps of my late teacher, the world-renowned image consultant Sandy Dumont, The Image Architect.
Our content is meant to empower readers to create a timeless style that serves them instead of the other way around. We believe that fashion should be a source of confidence, not conformity. Please feel free to check out the generous amounts of free information about color and style on the site at www.lightlovescolor.com.
Light colors stand out (look larger) and dark colors recede (look
smaller).
This basic premise can enable you to change the appearance of your body’s shape and size. Most women are larger on the bottom than on the top, so wearing a dark color below and a lighter color on top can balance out the figure.
Doing the reverse or wearing white or patterned pants would make one look larger on the bottom.
This rule is quite easy to master and especially easy to apply, as our body shapes don’t tend to change much over time. If you have always been top-heavy, you will want to emphasize darker colors on top to balance things out. If you’re like most women, however, you can pull off all kinds of brighter and lighter colors on top and use darker colors to “shrink” the lower body if you desire.
Shoppable Links:
Click on the images below to get shopping ideas for the two looks of the week with Pinterest AI.
