Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the mainstream idea of the “perfect body shape” for women has shifted almost as often as fashion trends. In some cases, the contrast of the perfect women’s idea between decades is shocking, and speaks volumes to public attitudes at the time – the beauty standards, basically, depended on whether or not people thought it was okay for women to have curves.
Countless diets, pills, and celebrity icons later, we’re still going wrong in 2017 by encouraging women and girls to constantly compare themselves to others, rather than loving the female body in their own right. At the very least, however, we’ve come farther than using such beauty trends as cigarettes and Wonder Bread to slim down.
Take a walk back in time with us, and marvel at the varyingly ridiculous expectations of the female figure over the years.
Camille Clifford
Image credits: Leo Delauncey
Alice Joyce
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Image credits: Leo Delauncey
Jean Harlow
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Image credits: Leo Delauncey
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Image credits: Leo Delauncey
Elizabeth Taylor
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Image credits: Leo Delauncey
Twiggy
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Image credits: Leo Delauncey
Farrah Fawcett
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Image credits: Leo Delauncey
Elle MacPherson
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Image credits: Leo Delauncey
Kate Moss
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Image credits: Leo Delauncey
Christina Aguilera
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Image credits: Leo Delauncey
