The Reign of Ornamentation
In some ways, the seventeenth century started the place the sixteenth century left off. Taking their instance from royalty reminiscent of Queen Elizabeth of England and the queen of Spain, additionally named Elizabeth, girls wore elaborately-constructed robes that featured structured neck ruffs, form-fitting bodices and stiff, extensive skirts. The seventeenth century was a time of change and a time of extremes, nonetheless, and each clothes and cosmetics started to tackle a larger position as indicators not solely of social class, however of faith and nationality as properly. As a result of skincare practices have been intrinsically tied to cosmetics, they assorted as drastically as all different points of trend.
In spite of the growing selection of types, the Baroque interval was predominantly a time of ornamentation. Baroque artists and trendsetters took an architectural method to every thing from music to sculpture to portray to trend. Emphasis was placed on the fantastic particulars. Music featured elaborate trills. Buildings and church buildings have been embellished with twisted spires, embellished domes and beautiful carvings. Trend tried to imitate this ornamentation with complexly-patterned materials and structured clothes. Girls continued to powder their faces with thick, white lead and to color their lips with vermilion.
Extremes and Contradictions
The Baroque Period noticed many extremes in skincare, trend and philosophy. The Puritans, a strict spiritual group who rejected what they noticed as ungodly extra, designed their very own easy clothes to behave as an alternative choice to modern trend. Puritan girls have been anticipated to cowl their our bodies and to cover their pure form. They chastely coated their hair and didn’t put on any of the powders or colorings worn by trendy girls of the day. Like their costume, their skincare regimes have been easy and sensible. As a result of they didn’t cake their faces in powder, water was typically sufficient to take away the dust, oil and impurities from their pores and skin.
Whereas the Puritans could have set British types all through a lot of the century, different European international locations have been far much less conservative of their method to trend and cosmetics. When Louis XIV took the French throne in 1661, he ushered in an age of extra in Western Europe. The French courtroom was identified for its elaborate banquets and its much more elaborate types. Whereas blond hair had lengthy been trendy, each ladies and men started to need more and more pale hair. What began as a light-weight dusting of hair powder quickly grew to become thicker and finally opened the door to elaborate white wigs. Face make-up grew to become more and more elaborate as properly. Girls started to stick black magnificence marks on their faces. Whereas these have been at first supposed to cowl up blemishes, they quickly grew to become works of artwork in themselves. Magnificence marks have been made in ornamental shapes reminiscent of flowers, stars, moons and ships, and many ladies wore a number of magnificence marks at a time. (You may learn extra about Baroque trend right here: http://www.ehow.co.uk/info_8537616_baroque-clothing-styles.html )
Baroque Invention
The Baroque interval noticed a quantity of innovations that influenced trend, hygiene and skincare. The printing press had been refined through the Italian Renaissance and Baroque Europe took benefit of the development in expertise. Trend magazines have been distributed throughout the continent and whilst far-off because the Americas. Very similar to right now’s trend glossies, these magazines confirmed photos of the newest European types and talked about traits in cosmetics and skincare.
A number of of these traits included newly developed hygiene and skincare merchandise. Whereas perfumes and colognes had been well-liked for a quantity of many years, perfumed soaps have been new to the market. These new scented soaps have been all the fad throughout Europe and supplied girls with a classy new approach to clear the powder from their faces. The late seventeenth century additionally noticed the introduction of toothbrushes. Primarily based on a Chinese language design, these brushes gave women and men a brand new software for cleanliness and a brand new method to enhance their general look. (You may learn extra about Baroque soaps and toothbrushes right here: http://www.localhistories.org/cosmetics.html )
Whereas the European Baroque perspective towards fashion and skincare was much like that of Elizabethan England, it was setting itself as much as fail. The Enlightenment of the 18th Century would carry the French courtroom to new heights of extra, however the French Revolution would destroy it, leaving many individuals to take their cues from the staid, simplistic fashion of the Puritans.
