The Freak Show

"If Victorian houses assert a sturdy optimism by day, they are also associated in our imaginations with the Gothic – with shadows and cobwebby gimcrack, long corridors. The nineteeth century was remarkable for escalating optimism even as it excavated the backstairs, the descending architecture of nightmare – Freud’s labor and Engel’s."

Richard Rodriguez, “Late Victorians”

6 months ago

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# Richard Rodriguez

# Late Victorians

# personal essay

# Victorian

# architecture

# Victorian era

# history

Beauty History: From the Victorian Era to the 1930’s

As I was cruising through some YouTube makeup tutorials I stumbled upon this interview. Makeup artist Lisa Eldridge interviews historian and writer Madeleine Marsh, who is eccentric and — as one YouTube commenter put it — “the Betsy Johnson of makeup history.” Being an avid consumer of Victorian historical facts (particularly those in the social arena), I couldn’t resist sharing this. As Eldridge points out, the talking points Marsh touches upon are not only about makeup, but about the history of women and the way corporations have been manipulating our insecurities for hundreds of years. Also, the fabulous antique makeup items in Marsh’s house are fascinating from both an aesthetic and mechanical perspective.

11 months ago

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# history

# social history

# women's history

# antiques

# makeup

# beauty

# feminism

# hair

# Victorian

# 1920's