16 ~ Sunday,

April 11, 1983 - North Shore News

TIME-LIFE BOOKS recently released a great new volume grease and dusted with a finishing

in its Library of Curious and Unusual Facts, titled Al] The coat of starch or flour.
Rage. Though it is a slim edition, it is jam-packed with, as
it says, unusual and curious information which is devoted

to the beauty and fashion industries. _ .

Thoroughly researched and
well-illustrated histories of pro-
ducts including the hair dryer,
cosmetic surgery and the first gym
equipment are featured in the sec-
tions cn beauty.

Here are a few other tidbits of

information from All The Rage
which will impress your fashion-
conscious trivia-collecting friends.
In.an item called ‘‘Beyond the
Pale,”? a turn-of-the-century
‘Vogue magazine . advertisement
claims, ‘‘The ‘secret of a good
complexion «. All women who

Carel
Grenna

desire beauty should embrace this .}

opportunity to secure a 60-day
treatment of Dr. Campbells Safe
‘Arsenic Complexion Wafers and
Arsenic Soap for ONE’
DOLLAR.”

The book explains that fashion-
able’ European and American
women of the 1800s made a prac-
tice of nibbling the. poison to pro-

FASHION STATEMENTS.

ment’s toxic effect on red blood
cells.
With fewer red.cells to carry

Truly fashionable ladies’ hair
sometimes rose to nearly a yard,
and perhaps twice that if topped
with bobbing ostrich plumes or
other more elaborate ornamenta-
tion.

By the 1770s, women’ s hairdos
had become grand constructions,
sometimes draped with live
flowers, kept fresh by hidden,
water-filled receptacles moulded
to the curve of the skull.

Menageries with figurines and
cornucopias of fruit and
vegetables were especially popular.

The book reveals, however,
“Big hair was also big inconve-
nience. Women risked  tangling
with low-hanging chandeliers that
blazed with candles.

“Occasionally the hair confec-
tions caught fire. More often there
were rude encounters with door-

ways and coaches of insufficient

height.”

Marie Antoinette easily solved
the difficulty by having some of
the doorways raised in her palace,
and had Leonard make hairdos in

duce a.pale complexion. Since the oxygen throughout the body, the parts that could be disassembled.

open use of cosmetics was frown-
ed. upon in polite society during
the’ Victorian era, with only pro-
stitutes and actresses using it, “‘the
more. genteel (women) accepted
other,. less stigmatizing paths .to
pallor _ , they ate chalk and drank
vinegar.”’ -

It was in the 1830s that Russian
women whose complexions : were
pale:and- clear attributed their en-
viable: skin tone to’ eating arsenic,

" and suddenly, arsenic was in.
» It was given in cream, liquid. or
wafer: form: and was carried by
‘ ‘including the Sears
Roebuck Co..
. Some dectors even prescribed it
as'“‘an excellent medicine for giv-.
_ing to: the complexion a clearness:
_and. brilliancy not obtainable by
external applications.” -

The. arsenic compounds
delivered the promised anemic
look, . the ‘resulting . pale, bluish

lethal beauty ointment caused
poor health and chronic anemia,
though it-is not documented
whether it actually killed anyone.

Its use was discouraged in 1896,
after over 60 years of regular use,
replaced .by cosmetics. which had
then lost their negative stigma. |
_ Ina section titled “‘Head Men,”
the premier hairdresser in. France
during the late 1700s was as highly
‘acclaimed :-as his most prestigious
; client, King Louis XV.

Leonard Autier was one of the
most notable stylists of liis day
due te his elaborate hairdos, per-
formed on women including Marie
Antoinette. —.

He was less of a beautician and
more of a builder than’ our mod-
ern hair designers. -° :

-The creations were..vast com-
plexes of hair stretched over wire
armatures or felt pads, - given |
fullness ‘by wads of horse hair, -

Other fashionably coiffed
women had to kneel or stick their
heads out the window while riding

in a. coach, and at night, many |

slept sitting up to. protect their
giant dos.

‘Another. segment, called ‘‘Patch-
work,’ reveals the
behind the tiny patch ornaments
that were seen on fashionable
faces from the 16th to 18th cenr-
turies. .

Shaped. like stars, - crescent
moons and hearts, these patches,
cut from black’ velvet, silk or fine
leather, were adhered to well-

-appointed skin on the faces of

both men and women.
A’ popular beauty aid
throughout Europe, the patches

‘were applied with a sticky elastic

tree sap called gum mastic.

“They were often: used to hide
disfiguring pits: from a variety of
pox disease, minor lesions caused

tone directly related to the ele- © straw and hemp, slathered with by syphilis and other ailments’’

TABI

INTERNATIONAL! 'S . spring,
; clothes styled’ for, the way women really live.

Photo submitted

lineup combines Practical

_ which left scars and blemishes.
Apart from their masking func-
See Beauty page 6

SOME CLOTHES slide in
and out of your closet again
and again.

When you. . want

to relax,

~ especially on weekends, the best

casuals to reach for are those that
need never see an ironing board,
or even a hanger.

Fine knits, sweaters, denim and
other. thick weaves in cotton
achieve the same kind of comfort
as that of an old slipper.

They. are as classic as the
timeless clothes they were inspired
by, and though most of the styles
were originally worn by men, they
have been reshaped for ’90s
women. .

if your weekend wardrobe
slumps from sweats to worn-out
jeans, try adding a few pieces for

‘.a laissez-faire look that combines
elements that are basic but have :

not-so-basic polish.

Tabi International’s spring
lineup combines practical clothes
that are said to be styled for the
way women really five.

Easily coordinated separates
that mix two, or at most three,

‘pieces are made up of cotton in-

tarsia sweaters, jersey knit tops,

cotton sateen shirts and shorts,

reason’

‘new fit-

“ordinate. with
_pullovers and ‘embroidered T-"

mn tree Th cette ae

el
ee ta Te 8 ete

seg cee!

TRADITIONAL SPRING separates can be given new presen

worn in anew way.

and cotton twill Pants and»

outerwear. °

Denim has the kind of won't.

wilt style that we're talking about,

especially when it’s given a slightly’
with a little .

in jeans,
‘straighter leg.

The only teal update you should
add this spring is a belt; to cinch
the waist and give jeans a finished
appearance. Then,
with denim in other shapes. .

Tabi’s foundation fabric is
garment-washed denim, cut into
go-anywhere-with-anything ., : styles
including pleated pants, long fu!
skirts and walking shorts, .

The indigo blue and pale blue
denims are accented by wardrobe
staple ‘shirts, Ts and sweaters in
white, pink and khaki.
pants, shirts and long gathered
skirts are $35.

Clean, natural tones are a sign.

that spring -is in the air, and you
can push your deep colors to the
back of your closet for another
year.

Tabi’s  country-meadow colors

combine carnation, wedgewood

and white’ -in casual separates.

Lightweight chambray pieces: co-
floral

experiment

Denim.

intarsia~

shirts. Sweaters are © $49, shirts are
$35 and embroidered T-shirts are
$25.

Spring staples don’t have. to
sedate. ° .

Tabi International gives’ the op- “

tion of bright color in its Sport.

Club grouping’s .aavamarine.
periwinkle and. raspberry plaids
and solids.

Yarn- dyed cotton styles ‘include oe

shorts, button-down. shirts, : but-.
ton-front skirts .and polo. Shirts
with a plaid placket accenting the
collar. . The sweaters, ~walking
shorts and polo shirts’ in’ this
group are all $30 each...»

And even the most traditional _
of shirts, trousers and sweaters
can be given new presence in your’
wardrobe if worn in a new way. :

They’ may get layered over. or ©

under something. that you: have
never considered. ,

Why not tie a shirt at ‘the waist,
slip leggings under a long gathered
skirt that’s unbuttoned to the up-_
per thigh, pull a sweater’s sleeves
through your denim belt loops
and. tie them in front, or wear a
woven ‘shirt asa. jacket over’ a
light pullover? : o

— ~ Caro] Crenna