We may think of Bonaparte’s Josephinian elegance of the regency epoch, the pelerine collars of the romantic era, the hair and hats of the Edwardian era, or even the feathery adornments to hairstyles of the roaring 20’s and early 30’s, and breathe a sigh of relief that we’ve been liberated from such dizzying and time-consuming elements of female life. But long before French elegance, English romance, or Hollywood opulence, there was fashion, there were ladies perfumes and essential oils, and there were both classic and trendy hairstyles. With the array of women’s products bombarding us from all angels with carefully chosen models offering us superfluous superficial super-products, it’s easy to get defensive, to become anti-feminine, to forget that it wasn’t a French cosmetic’s company that pioneered perfume, or an Italian design house that discovered silk, or Vidal Sassoon who introduced crisp, angular trendy hairstyles. Today we may view “what’s in vogue” as a frivolous addendum to our more profound “empowered women” intellectual pursuits, or merely as an annoying appendix to the analysis of our own traumatic neurosis and anxious psychosis, or merely as a byproduct of having to maintain appearances while pursuing a career. Yet, in times past, these three elements: fashion, ladies perfume and hairstyling, were valuable arts, ways of life, even for some a form of science. To know how to dress, how to move gracefully, how to dance, how to perfume the body, how to curl and adorn the hair, was a means of survival, a way to offer pleasure and to seduce, to inspire or to be a muse, to be a lover or an artful courtesan, even a queen who could rule vast empires. As modern women, liberated to the point where even “average females” (as opposed to noble queens) all have political, economic (perhaps religious), and social responsibilities equal to that of out male partners, it’s easy to forget the power of our femininity – the power of knowing the blends of ladies perfume essences that make us desirable, the fashions which flatter our curves and womanly shapes, and even the flattering trendy hairstyles that can enhance our facial features.
What Does A Return To Femininity Mean?
A return to femininity doesn’t necessarily mean a loss of liberty or gender equality, neither does it presuppose a need to be less intelligent while concentrating solely on fashion magazine and changing trends, but rather suggests a quest for the knowledge within our own bodies, for the natural elements that comprise pleasing scents that energize and inspire, and a return to the sensibility of touch - to how fabrics feel when they caress our skin, to how healthy hair feels when left down or how it accents the back of the neck when swept up or how it highlights the temples of our cheeks when curls or wisps fall around them. It implies knowing that the way we walk and talk and move affects how we see ourselves and in turn how other’s view us.
