18th Century Fashion Editorial Assessment

For my Media Makeup semester 2 fashion assessment I decided to go with period makeup obviously with a fashion twist. I didn't think Id end up choosing this era however I loved the whole thought of the masquerade balls that aristocrats would go to in the French Revolution.

Heres a few bullet points to set the 18th century vibe:

·       In the 18^th century hair and makeup were used as a symbol of aristocracy during the French Revolution.

·       France and England influenced hair, makeup and fashion trends.

·       In the 18^th century the toilette or dressing was a daily ritual where upper class people had their hair styled, makeup done and were dressed. This ritual was created by Louis XIV and is associated with royalty, aristocracy and even members of the bourgeois classes held their own morning dressing ceremonies before limited audiences.

·       Black, brown, blonde or chestnut hair was the trend. Red hair was considered unfashionable and would usually be dyed.

·       King Louis XIII of France started using wigs in the 17^th century as he was prematurely going bald. Wigs were used in the 18^th Century and were primarily worn by men.

·       Some women wore wigs however it was more popular to hire a coiffeur (professional hairdresser) who would apply false hair to their natural hair, use padding, powder and ornaments.

·       Ornaments such as small ribbons, pearls, jewels, flowers, or decorative pins styled together and called a pompom (so called after Mme de Pompadour, the famous mistress of Louis XV).

·       Hair was nearly always curled, waved, or frizzed before styling, in order to create texture.  Styling was accomplished with combs and curling irons, held with pins, and dressed with pomade.  When height was desired, it was raised over pads made of wool, tow, hemp, cut hair, or wire.

·       In the 18th century, both men and women in England and France wore makeup.  Gender differences were less important than class differences. Makeup marked one as aristocratic and à la mode, and were adopted as well by those who were trying to rise in social status or become fashionable.

·       Makeup was worn heavily and not just for beauty. It was used to hide the effects of aging, blemishes, disease or sun.

·       French aristocratic women wore thick layers of white paint, large streaks of rouge, and beauty patches.

·       Beauty patches were worn in different sizes and shapes, worn in various positions with supposed meanings. They were used to cover up blemishes and disease scars.

FINAL ASSESSMENT

I was pretty happy with my assessment until I got my feedback... my tutor and woman who had replaced Louise had told me this would not be used in runway fashion and told me I am usually more creative. Which i'm not gunna lie I was like okaaayyyy. However they have more experience than me but the amount of fashion shows I have watched and images I have seen not every fashion show has a dramatic, crazy bold runway look, the most of them I have seen have little to no makeup and are natural. I thought our assessment was on fashion editorial but then the woman who replaced Louise told me it was Fashion Runway so tbh I don't know and I'm just classing this assessment as a big fat fail. 

This was my face chart during my assessment I decided not to stick to it as I thought it was a little too drag.