Tag Archives: fashion and culture
Helena Rubinstein: Beauty is Power
Helena Rubinstein was a Jewish woman born in Poland in 1872. She opened her first cosmetics business in Australia, then in Paris and London, and eventually one in New York. She was the first modern made woman and a famous entrepreneur, fashion icon, and patroness of the arts. By her death at the age of 92, her cosmetics company spanned four continents.
Rubinstein was a pioneer in her business because she changed the idea that makeup and beauty were only things that the wealthy could obtain. She appealed to the immigrant worker woman and to women of all types. She combined her love of art, fashion, and style into her salons and was very successful in getting her image out into the public. She also was very innovative in her cosmetics, being one of the first cosmetic lines to warn women of the dangers of too much sunlight on the skin.
Some of the beauty rituals shown in the video at the exhibition includes “The Rack,” where women would get their muscles and vertebrae stretched out on this rhythmic couch. The video also showed women smacking lotion on their arms and their faces as well as walking on their tip toes with books on their heads. A commercial was shown for Rubinstein’s lanolin formula for the face. The ad suggested women rub it on their faces, especially by their mouth and eyes.
“Advertisement: Mme. Helena Rubinstein (Helena Rubinstein, Inc.).” Vogue 53, no. 9 (May 01, 1919): 130. http://search.proquest.com/docview/904295568?accountid=12261.
Sketch of object from the exhibit:
Elsa Schiaparelli Bolero Evening Jacket – 1938
Rubinstein owned this embroidered bolero designed by Schiaparelli.
Rubinstein was one of Schiaparelli’s earliest supporters and owned many items by the designer who was inspired by surrealist art.
Rubinstein wore the bolero on her honeymoon with her second husband.
Elsa Schiaparelli, Orange Jacket with Straight Shoulders and Patch Pockets. Photograph. Philadelphia Museum of Art. From Baudot, Francios. Elsa Schiaparelli. New York: Universe/Vendome, 1997. Page 26.
Family Tradition Mood Board
Christmas Traditions: Baking cakes and delivering them to family and friends on Christmas Eve, making home made cookies, eating Christmas Eve dinner at Grandma’s, hanging our stockings, and watching A Christmas Story.
A large part of our family’s holiday is centered around food. My mother explained that cooking and baking with the family has always been a huge part of our family, going back to our ancestors who emigrated from Germany in the 1800s to the U.S. and became owners of a farm, a farm that our extended family still has. That is why we would always go over to our grandmother’s house for a proper Christmas Eve dinner. My family has emphasized generosity and hospitality during the Christmas season. We would bake cakes and cookies with our mother and grandmother. My sisters and I would then deliver these cakes to friends and family as a way of saying “we are thinking about you this holiday season.” This recalls an old time American, Midwest tradition for me, of cooking for people you care about. We would also always hang our stockings together which were all crossed stitched by my mother when we were young. The images on these stockings are also old time American, recalling paintings of Norman Rockwell. My dad grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s and one of his favorite movies is A Christmas Story. We always watch that movie with him on Christmas Eve which also brings to mind the old, simple, all American life for me.
