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Introduction
The Edwardian Era is the time at which King George the Seventh reigned as monarch. Although this was short-lived governance that lasted from 1901 to 1910, it followed Queen Victoria's reign and preceded the current House of Windsor.
Although his reign was one of the shortest known to us. Edwardian Fashion encompassed an additional 9 years after his death from 1910 to 1919. I am researching this era due to some of Shakespeare's work being set around this era.
Edwardian Makeup
Stevie McGlinchey 1914 Beauty (2022)[Online] Available at: https://glamourdaze.com/history-of-makeup/1900-1919 (Accessed: 22nd September 2022)
Once frowned upon by Queen Victoria, the makeup industry enjoyed a comeback during the Edwardian era (Gio,2011). The beauty standards within this era consisted of, pale skin, rosy cheeks and brunette hair. For the healthy rosy shade on a woman's cheeks, rouge was applied. The pale skin was to show a sign of a higher class as having tanned skin was looked down upon. This was because they believed it to be the mark of lower or working-class citizens.
To create the look of pale skin, many Edwardian women used a product called Enamel. This product was toxic as it contained high amounts of lead. These women would also use geranium or poppy petals to stain their lips to the desired shade.
Although eye makeup was not that desired during this time, many women would use burnt matchsticks to darken the eyelid area. Eyebrow pencils also became quite popular during this time as they became the main focus for most women.
Wordpress user 'OptionL2' (2013)[Online] Available at: https://18centurybodies.wordpress.com/2013/06/05/male-make-up-in-eighteenth-century-england/ (Accessed: 22nd September 2022)
Although makeup was gendered and marketed towards women, some men would wear makeup in the Edwardian era. Men would wear makeup that matches their social status. This means that higher-class men would make their skin pale as a sign of a tan would look as if they had been working outside in a labor-inducing job.
Men wearing wigs and makeup at this time shows us that the defining characteristics of gender were not set by fashion and how a person was meant to present themselves.
Deviant Arts User 'Memoriesoftime97' Edwardian Fashion (2014)[Online] Available at: https://www.deviantart.com/memoriesoftime97/art/Edwardian-Fashion-438997897(Accessed: 21st September 2022)
Edwardian women were known to experiment with fashion. Their willingness to do this filled the Edwardian era with plenty of unexpected choices.
One of the staples of a woman's wardrobe would be a bloused bodice. These would be fitted and would poof out the chest giving a woman the s-shaped silhouette that was so popular. Edwardian women also love large hats. These hats were truly designed for fashion over function (Formichella, J,2020). Another staple of a woman's wardrobe is the tea gown which would be worn when a woman got home from a long day in restrictive clothing and wanted to wear something more comfortable while still looking presentable.
Historical Emporium Edwardian Men's Fashion (Unknown)[Online] Available at: https://www.historicalemporium.com/mens-edwardian-clothing.php(Accessed: 21st September 2022).
While women's fashion changed drastically between the Victorian and Edwardian eras, men's fashion hardly changed at all and kept the usual slim and fitted looks in dark colours. Some changes were however made including the techniques in tailoring, the cuts of the jackets and the collar styles.
Edwardian Hairstyle
https://www.edwardianpromenade.com/beauty/edwardian-girls-hairstyles/ (Accessed: 22nd September 2022)
In previous centuries, women weren't washing their hair but in the Edwardian Era, this all changed as shampoo started to appear around this time.
To change the colour of a woman's hair a few different products were used. Henna was often spread with a toothbrush and let to set for 15 minutes or more to allow the hair to become a copper-like shade while sulfate of iron was used to generally darken the hair and a mix of dioxogen and ammonia was used to lighten the hair, the effect this would have is similar to bleach products many people use today.
https://thevintagethimble.tumblr.com/post/49577290972/victorian-mens-hairstyles-facial-hair-a (Accessed: 22nd September 2022)
The Edwardian era had men's hair in unusual shapes. A couple things all the hairstyles had in common was that they were short and used oils to flatten them. 2 things that define the different hairstyles are the placement of the parting and the texture of the hair.
References
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