Howsheblushed

This blog exists because I can't major in fashion history

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Today's 80s does 50s look but in my work uniform!

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I've been inactive and suddenly there are a lot more people on this blog than before! Hi! Ask the summer winds down and my friends start to leave for college your regularly scheduled fashion history nerd dumps will continue, but in the meantime, here's a super fun summer look I did for a 4th of July event I went to with my boyfriends family! I thought the sunglasses were just perfect for the look, and my curls set awesomely! My makeup was a bit more modern than I usually do for vintage looks, but as some of you may know from my Instagram (also @howsheblushed ) I am a makeup artist!

For those of you who are new (and who care) here are a few basics about me! I am an 18 year old fashion history nerd in centeral Indiana. I currently work at a fancy cake shop full time while I save up to move to NYC to work as a freelance special effects makeup artist, and while I'm not going to school for fashion history, it is my favorite things ever. Anything from the 30s to the 70s absolutely captivates me, and this blog is dedicated to exploring the aesthetics and trends of those (and other) decades, particularly in how they relate to feminism and culture! Occasionally I post my own vintage look books and tips and tricks for wearing vintage.

Hope everyone is well!

xx Jordan

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The Mini Skirt: Who wore it and why?

(Part three)

In the late 60s a march held in the streets of London by the British Society for the Protection of Mini Skirts to protest the lack of mini skirts in Haute Couture. Designers like Dior were no longer putting their models in the skirts, but the young women who loved the style would not let it leave the public eye so soon. The mini skirt was more than just an outfit, it was a symbol for sexual liberation and empowerment. I’ve loved reading the quotes from the women who wore the skirts, but I didn’t have room for all of them in my first few posts, so here are some of the things I still want to share but haven’t had the change too!

“It wasn’t me or Courreges who invented the miniskirt, it was the girls in the street that did it.” -Mary Quant

“For, as women gain equal status with men, as men, we are looking for attractive, functional clothes by day and something sexier by evening (establishing sexuality when it counts)” -Mildred Istona, Does Fashion Reflect life, 1978

“The miniskirt- the snippiest bit of fashion you can wear today. Just one snatch of fabric- one foot from hip to hem.” Vogues Own Boutique 1966

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The Mini Skirt: Second Wave Feminism

(Part two)

I’ve already covered what the mini skirt is, but it wasn’t just a fad that horrified protective parents, it was a cultural movement. The mini skirt rose to popularity at the exact same time as the birth of second-wave feminism. It represented feminism making its way into the mainstream, a way of women to take ownership over their bodies.

So what is second wave feminism? It’s not as easily defined as first wave feminism, known as the suffragette movement where women marched for the right to vote and own property, but it’s fewer ambiguous as our current wave of feminism. Second wave feminism had a few main points: reproductive rights, workplace equality, sexual liberation, and domestic violence. Over the course of the 60s and 70s America saw the invention of the birth control pill, Roe v Wade, bra burning, and the addition of gender discrimination to the civil rights act of 1964.

The invention of the mini skirt isn’t as obviously related to second-wave feminism compared to the changes in legislation and policy at the time. The connection is pretty well explained by dress and textiles professor Rebecca Arnold who explained the attachment of women to mini skirts as “It was a sign of a new attitude for those who wore it, it symbolized that times were changing and women were active and visible.” Having the opportunity to present one’s self in a sexualized way rather than just being sexualized by those around you is a way of taking back the control that women have been denied for centuries.

Some feminists, most notably Betty Friedman, the author of The Feminist Manifesto, a book credited with starting second wave feminism, were not a fan of the mini skirt. They saw it as catered toward men, feeding into the precedent of hypersexualization and giving men easy access to women's bodies. I think that’s a super valid point, but I disagree. The idea of wearing a mini skirt was about deciding to wear it, no matter what your intentions are.

I read a few pretty horrifying articles that went in another direction. They note the connection of the miniskirt to sexual liberation, but instead seeing it as positive, they blamed an increase in rape on women exposing their legs. Most were written in the 70s, but I found one article from rather recently claiming that because the author felt the desire to dress up, second-wave feminism had failed. These ideas are ridiculous, and I think the skewed ideas come from a misinterpretation of feminism. It has nothing to do with actual sex and everything to do with control and choice. A man chooses to rape someone regardless of what she is wearing, and a woman chooses to wear what she wants regardless of what people think of her.

It’s hard to find data to back up the connection between mini skirts and feminism, something that really irked my history teacher. The thing about social movements is that while they might not be quantifiable, they’re pretty easy to spot. You can look at the obvious connection between sexualized clothes and the sexual liberation, or the quotes from women, both feminist and not, about what they thought of mini skirts, but the best example of feminism and mini skirts is the ever-present rape culture in America.

I want to write more about rape culture and dress code, but this is already super long. In my next post I’m going to have some mini skirts I found browsing the Vogue archive and some cool quotes from women's magazine! Thanks for reading!!!

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The Mini Skirt: Welcome to the 60s

(part one)

Hello! This blog has picked up a little bit since I introduced myself, so I just wanted to say hi to all the new fashion history lovers that are here! If you have anything/anyone you want me to write about, or to just say hey, message me! I have a big post about makeup in the 50s planned, but I have a presentation about the mini skirt tomorrow (last week of high school! yay!) so I thought it would be cool to talk about that! It’ll be in 3 parts, so stay tuned!

The invention of the mini skirt is credited equally to the designers Mary Quant and André Courrèges who both brought the skirt to the public eye in the early 60s, though they weren’t the only ones experimenting with shorter hemlines at the time. The skirts fell about an inch or so above the wearer’s knees, far shorter than the midi skirts of the previous decade, but a far cry from the tiny pencil skirts of the 90s we picture when we think about mini skirts. The style was accepted by the youth nationwide, seen as a groovy new way for young women to express their sexual identities freely, much to the chagrin of the older and more conservative generation.

While it may have gotten its start in fashion magazines and storefronts, the mini skirt was inspired by the youthful street fashion taking over the mainstream. Mary Quaint commented on this, claiming “It wasn’t me or Courrèges who invented the miniskirt anyway—it was the girls in the street who did it.” Regardless of where the skirt came from, it did have a sort of poster child in the media: Early supermodel Twiggy. Twiggy is seen by many as the face of fashion in the 60s, and she wore the mini skirt so naturally she could have been born in one. Only 17 at the time, she was pretty much the perfect representation of the movement that the mini skirt was trying to capture.

I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that the mini skirt was popularized concurrently with the birth of second-wave feminism, though much like the invention of the style, the subject is complicated. Some historians see the mini skirt as Feminism merging into the mainstream, giving the new generation of young women a sexy and empowered look, but some feminists at the time found the style degrading. Sex was still a very taboo topic in the 60s, and the more professional side of second-wave feminism that represented women’s entrance into the workplace was split on how to interact with the hypersexualized skirts.

I’m going to get into the skirts relationship with feminism and its impact on the style of today in my next post, so stay tuned!

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After prom look, 1957/2019

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Prom 2019 But Vintage Here is the look I did for my senior prom! I wanted to get a vintage dress, but my top priority was to have a green ball gown, so I had to settle with modifying a modern dress. My hair set and makeup ended up looking very Jean Patchett, which surprised me, but I loved how I felt when the look came together. I used some of my great grandma’s pearls, as well as her earrings with pink rosebuds and pearls, but I stuck to a red lipstick rather than a pink to match the accessories. This is probably the most glamorous I’ve ever felt, and while it is not as vintage as I had wanted it, it did feel very me. I had been going for a more early 50s look and I think I ended up a bit more late 50s, but I’d consider staying within the decade a win. Let me know if you have any questions about the look!

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Green Vintage OOTD

This is an outfit I wore to school the other day and I am obsessed with how it all came together! I got my dress from the shop DOTTO on Etsy for a pretty good price. It was clean when I got it, but somewhere in its life this dress was damaged, and the fabric around the arms did need some minor repairs. I paired the dress with black tights and my maroon Doc Martins, but I kept the accessories pretty minimal. I did my hair using a Hedy Lamarr style setting pattern, which I learned from Karolina Zebrowska’s YouTube channel! I kept my makeup pretty simple, the start of the look is probably the Besame lipstick in the 1946 color. I really really like how it turned out, this dress is probably my favorite that I own!

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5 tips to style modern clothes in vintage ways!

It can be challenging when you’re starting out wearing vintage to build your collection while still finding quality pieces you love and not breaking the bank. An alternative to this is wearing modern items to make vintage outfits, and here are 5 tips and tricks to do just that!

Find where modern style borrows from vintage

Almost all of fashion is recycled, far more than I ever knew when I first got into fashion history. While some trends have definitely died, we use a lot of vintage styles today, and being able to recognize vintage inspiration is really helpful. High waisted skater skirts, peasant tops, acid washed jeans, corduroy mini skirts, all of these come from past trends and are available in almost every modern shop. Put these items together and you’ve got the modern version of a vintage look! My personal favorite is using a dress with peasant sleeves, pinning it so that the hem is above my knees, and then wearing a skater skirt over that. Not only does the hemmed dress give an extra layer of poof, but it ends up looking really cute.

Include staples of vintage style (bows, hats, and high waist)

There are certain things that you can use to instantly make something look more vintage. You can use a sun hat, a brooch, a bow, the right pair of glasses, and really any vintage jewelry to make something look more vintage. These things will emphasize the vintage inspiration. Most second-hand shops will have great deals on accessories that can spice up your look so they can be a great alternative to actual vintage clothes.

Add vintage hair and makeup

Back when I first cut my hair, my pin curls turned out looking more like 1930s finger waves. Combine that with some 30s makeup and button down shirt/high waisted jeans outfit, and you look like a badass 1930s power woman. Pin curls and winged eyeliner can turn any dress into a 50s red carpet look, and a Gibson girl updo and natural makeup turns you into a 1900s hottie!

Follow vintage patterns and color palettes

Knowing what colors and patterns were big in what eras is super helpful. If you do enough research, it becomes easy to spot vintage patterns when you’re shopping so you don’t have to inspect the fit of every single item. It’s not always what you expect, the 80s wasn’t all neon, and the 50s wasn’t all pink poodle skirts. It helps to know the technology of clothing manufacturing and the culture of each era. Handsewn embroidery and patriotic colors are very 50s because at the time clothes were often made by hand, and during a time of world war, patriotism was huge.

Know your eras and know your brands

So many brands have existed relatively unchanged for decades, such as converse, and the modern version can give a subtle nod to its vintage predecessor. It is also very helpful to know what was popular within eras so that you can mimic specific syles rather than blindly throwing together anything that looks vintage.

Hopefully these were helpful, stay tuned for things to avoid when mixing modern and vintage style

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5 tips to style vintage clothes in modern ways!

When you’re starting out with vintage, you might not have enough pieces to put together a fully vintage outfit, but it can be hard to wear noticeably vintage things with modern clothes without it looking strange. Here are 5 tips and tricks that can help you style vintage clothing in a modern look successfully!

Use modern hair and makeup

If you’re trying to pull off, say, a skirt from the 50s but a modern crop top, having pin curls and Marilyn Monroe glam can look a bit odd. Instead, integrate the item into your look by wearing your hair and makeup as you normally would. This can help make the look more fluid and not as an extra in a high school production of Grease that didn’t budget for shirts because they splurged on poodle skirts.

Wear ripped jeans or shorts

While women have been wearing pants to go about their day since the 30s and shorts came onto the scene a few decades later, the shorts you get at Forever 21 or American Eagle are just not going to look like they did in the 50s or 60s. If you’ve got a vintage top, 98% of the time it will only look right with high waisted bottoms, but if you want a more functional or modern look, using your normal skinny jeans with rips and a modern fit can make your look more casual while you’re still rocking those poofy sleeves and Peter Pan collars.

80s does 50s items are your friend

It might seem like cheating to use 80s does 50s items when you’re trying to dress 50s, but the fact of the matter is, it’s still vintage and it’s way easier to come by than authentic 50s. 80s does 50s also presents a slightly more modern style while still incorporating 50s patterns and cuts, but the blouses often compliment pants just as well as skirts, and the dresses don’t have quite the poof of a circle skirt. These items will look much more natural with your modern clothes.

Alter items into modern styles

Some items will look out of place no matter what you wear them with, so if you don’t want to fully commit but still wear vintage, it can help to be competent at sewing. If you can, say, hem a pair of shorts or cut a top into a cropped one, it can become a lot more wearable. Be cautious with this one, though, because you don’t want to ruin a one of a kind piece, and you might regret it later.

Find vintage-inspired modern trends and sub in vintage items

There are aspects of modern style that are directly inspired by vintage like the acid washed jeans of the 80s and peasant tops from the 50s. Instead of using your modern versions, get the vintage version of the style. This is the easiest to wear vintage in modern ways because people are already used to these styles, but you’ve gone a bit further and found the real thing!

Hopefully these were helpful, stay tuned for how to style modern clothes in vintage ways!

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Image 1

So this, kind of surprisingly, is an advert from 1955 for the sanitary napkin company Modess! This is Lisa Fonssagrives, one of the world’s first supermodels, dressed in her classy ball gown and coat, dripping in elegance. The last thing you think of when you see this is “pads and tampons”, but from what I can find, this is actually pretty typical for pad advert in the 50s. The selling point of Modess products in the 50s was how discreet they were, as menstruation was far from mainstream. I don’t have any context from this particular ad, but the clean white and yellow aesthetic, combined with how classy and elegant it is would be used to make women feel like Modess products could conceal the fact that you’re starting completely and allow you to look as classy as you want at brunch.

Image 2

According to the text at the bottom of this photo, it is also a Modess ad! I think we get the same idea as we do in the previous ad, and I really wish I could find out more about this ad campaign because clearly, the classy ball gown was a big theme for them in the 50s. This actually makes me want to learn more about menstruation and the culture around it. I reaaaally love this image, the fairy tale vibe makes me think of the late 40s, and the way that the flowers are incorporated into her dress, this isn’t just a really interesting part of culture, but also just a stunning piece of fashion.

Image 3

Moving away from the Modess ads, this is Suzy Parker in a yellow coat, and that’s all I really know. I think it’s definitely from a magazine, maybe Vogue, probably advertising her coat. The bottom of the image reads “prices slightly lower to the west” which is interesting. In magazines like Vogue brands would have ads for their products, and in the back a directory would tell the reader what cities had stores that carried the products, and I’m not sure if price variation was standard, but I’ve never seen it noted directly on the ad. I wish I could find out what brand this was for!

Image 4

This is another picture I can’t find anything about, but I do find it interesting because while a lot of these dresses have a white and yellow vibe, this one is black and yellow, to the point where the model even has black gloves. The contrast there almost seems a little edgy for the 50s, and the style of the dress makes me think it’s more early 50s, but I’m not sure.

Image 5

This is Suzy Parker again, as well as the model Cherry Nelms, wearing Onondaga silk taffeta, a type of silk made by the Onondaga Silk Company, a company that made a lot of really gorgeous silk prints during the 20th century. From what I can tell this was an ad for Vogue patterns, which means that the company was trying to get women to make the dresses out of their fabric rather than buy the dresses pre-made. I love the contrasting aesthetics, with the yellow and black and the plain pastel yellow.

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Some vintage yellow aesthetics <3

Image one

This is Simone D'Aillencourt, a French model. From what I can find this is from 1959, which makes sense. She’s got the matchy-matchy of the 50’s going on, but her eyeshadow is green while her eyes are brown. While that style of makeup did exist in the 50s, I think Dovima is the best example of this, it was a lot more popular in the 60s. I think the pattern of the dress is also very late 50s, early 60s as well. This is a really great example of late 50s makeup, though, so if you need a reference this is an awesome option.

Image two

Speaking of the 60s… this is Twiggy! I have no idea what this photoshoot was for, but I loooove it. You can see a lot of the styles we still use today, such as the t-shirt and shorts, as well as her shoes. I don’t know for sure because I don’t have the source for the image, but they look like Chuck Taylors, a popular type of Converse, meaning this could even be an ad for the shoes. While this look is closer to modern style than most, there are still touches of vintage charm, like her knee-high stockings and the amazing matching of her whole look.

Image three

A little different this time, here is Colleen Corby! This photo is from 1967, and it looks reaaaaally 70s, and again I see the inspiration for a lot of modern styles. While her tights and hat might be very vintage looking, if her dress was a little more form fitting then it would look like a dress that probably half of the girls at my school have. Mustard yellow was big in the early 70s, and it’s coming back, as well as the super retro knit fabric and stripes.

Image four

This dress was designed by Jean Muir in 1973, and from what I can tell this image was used in Vogue, possibly for Vogue patterns. This dress reminds me of the 40s/50s, partially because of the sleeves and neckline, but the silhouette is definitely very 70s, as well as the model's feathered hair. She’s also super bronzed and natural looking, which is a very 70s look, as most of the decades before idealized pale, matte skin.  I really love how relaxed this look is, even though it looks like a staged photo I feel like it also gives us a little peek into the 70s without all the exaggerated hippie/flower child frills that the decade often gets stereotyped with.

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Some vintage yellow aesthetics <3

Image one

This is probably an ad from a 1950s ladies magazine! I wasn’t able to find an exact year, but it looks like it’s from the 50s. Matching was a pretty big thing in the 50s, your eyeshadow would match your eye color and so on, so her matching swim cap and suit would be typical, but the matching set makes it pretty obvious that it’s a staged photo. It looks a lot like the ads I’ve come across in the Vogue archives, so even though I haven’t seen the archives of whatever magazine it’s from, I’m assuming it’s to advertise swimsuits and possibly the matching caps. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the ad was related to her sunglasses or even her lipstick, though, because both are pretty prominently featured. Either way, it’s super cute and everything from the color to the pattern is classic summertime 50s.

Image two

This is an ad from the 60s for the outdoor clothing company, White Stag, which was purchased by Walmart in the early 2000s. White Stag sold sportswear for about a century, and while I couldn't find much on the company in the 60s, they seemed to be pretty focused on ski suits and so on, so this more fashion-focused ad is kind of surprising to me. There are some more practical touches to this, however, like their wicker bucket hats which I assume are also sold by the company, as well as the more modest version of the bikini. To me, this ad says “look fashionable and stylish while still enjoying your vacation”. I think this is where we can see a more practical and everyday implication of the new bikini style from a more function-based brand.

Image three

This was another image I couldn't find the source for, but again it’s another ad, also for beach wear, but I’m positive this one is just a swimsuit ad, as the suits are the only focal point. This is also another obvious 50s look, but I think it might be a later 50s look. I get this from the patterns, which are a bit more graphic and less embroidery based, which looks closer to the style of the 60s rather than the more delicate looks from the 40s. The more romper like the style on the far left also looks a lot like a 60s playsuit, although the neckline just screams 50s. There is also a lot of focus on the model's legs, which makes me think of the popularization of the mini skirt in the early 60s.

Image four

I could only trace this one back to a knitting pattern book on Etsy, where I assume you can find out how to make her knit dress (see the ebook here ) this dress is super intricate and classy, and the fact that it was knit makes me think that the ad is for something other than the dress since most clothes in the 50s were handmade and therefore this would be pretty hard to reproduce. She’s not facing the camera, so I don't think it’s for any of her makeup, and there isn’t much focus on the parasol, so I think it might be an ad for the material the dress is made out of, presumably yarn, or one of her accessories, like the buttons, her belt, or her jewelry. This look makes me think of the early 50s, partially because the dress is longer, but also because the style isn’t quite as big as things got as they got closer to the 60s. The whole vibe is a lot more romantic and simple, rather than eye-catching and loud.

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Evelyn Nesbit, America’s First Sex Icon

If you would like to know more about Evelyn’s life, see my last few posts for her biography!

So, the story of Evelyn Nesbit is really interesting to me, not just because of the role she played in fashion history, but also just because of everything she went through. She was honestly a complete victim of her circumstances, and she still managed to use her situation to her advantage. She went through so much, from the death of her father to the loss of her innocence, and she continued to work to support herself. In a world where nothing was made for her, she was relentless. Evelyn Nesbit was a survivor, not only of rape, but of abuse, addiction, humiliation, and poverty. I wish the media around her focused more on that part of her life, because she deserves the recognition for that.

Evelyn as a picture of early glamour kind of gets ruined after you know her story. Everything about her is just so sad, you can’t really celebrate much about her life, but despite her pain, she was a huge influence on beauty. Evelyn’s famous beauty pioneered the way for later beauty icons. Makeup was very slowly entering the popular culture, and while it was not nearly as prevalent as it would become in the next few decades, Evelyn was the face of many cosmetic products. When you look at her you get a little glimpse at the beauty standards just before America transitioned into the 20th century. Her hair is still long, she has youthful plumpness about her, her features are soft and symmetrical. She really just looks so young and natural, it’s hard to imagine the sex scandals surrounding her.

I wish there was a way to ask Evelyn what her life was like, and for her to answer candidly without fear. There are so many things we don’t know about her, because all of the attention she got was from her beauty, and no one really cared what she had to say. One positive from this story is that with the me too movement and more awareness about rape culture and sexual harassment, Evelyn's experience is less likely to be repeated.

This was a bit of a downer, but I really wanted to talk about Evelyn's life and the experiences she had. Her life was pivotal to fashion and beauty culture in the 20th century, but there was so much more to her life than just her face. I hope you enjoyed learning about her!

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The trail of the century and the fall of Evelyn Nesbit

(see my previous post for parts 1 and 2 about her early life)

After her abusive husband Harry Thaw shot and killed her former nonconsentual lover, Stanford White, Evelyn was pretty much ruined. Thaw was given the press’ sympathy, but even the kind portrayals of Evelyn slut-shamed her. Thaw’s actions were made to seem like he was simply defending his young bride from the male attention she just had to garner with her beauty. Evelyn, left with nothing without the support of Thaw, testified in his defense in exchange for financial security from his family. In court she had to relive her experiences with White, even describing every detail of the rape that took her virginity at the age of 15.

The court found Thaw not guilty by reason of insanity and was sent to an insane asylum. 7 years later he would be once again declared sane, but his relationship with Evelyn was over. She gave birth to a son she claimed to be Thaw’s child, conceived during his stay in the hospital, but Thaw denied this and she brought up the boy with the help of her mother. She was still financially supported by the Thaws because of her help in his trail, but they were not on good terms, and at one point she donated a generous sum to the anarchist Emma Goldman out of spite. Even though she still had money, however, her sex appeal was gone, and Evelyn would never again reach her former status as an icon.

Evelyn did remarry, but the relationship did not last, and she ended up working as a burlesque dancer in the 1930s, and she found herself suffering from a drug and alcohol addiction. She and Thaw got back together after he heard of a suicide attempt a few years earlier in the mid-20s, but this also was not successful. They never remarried, though they kept in touch and he left her a considerable amount of money when he died in the late 40s.

Evelyn herself passed away in a Florida nursing home. She was 82 years old and had lived for over a decade in obscurity, with her last hurrah has been her role as an adviser on the fictionalized account of her life, the 1955 film The Girl on the Red Velvet Swing.

I learned about Evelyn from the musical Ragtime, which is one of my favorites. The show does a pretty good job of portraying complex characters and talking about racial tensions and the hardships of being a woman, but I’m honestly disappointed at the way the portray Evelyn. She’s painted as a ditzy airhead obsessed with getting famous, and every number she appears in she is either playing up her sexuality in a tiny costume with a posse of young girls, or she’s being rude and narcissistic. I was pretty horrified when I found out what her life was really like, because despite her fame, pretty much every single part of her life was horrible.

If you want to know more about the societal implications of her life and why I still think she is absolutely iconic, although maybe not for the right reasons, see my next post!

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The deflowering of Evelyn Nesbit, first American sex icon

(trigger warning- mention of sexual assault)

Evelyn had already lived like an adult for much of her life, see my previous post to learn more about her childhood, but her teenage years were probably the worst of her life, beginning with the growing intensity of her relationship with architect Stanford White. (for more info on her early life see my previous post!)

White acted as a father figure for Evelyn, even taking care of her when her mother had to travel, but like any middle-aged man trying to befriend a 15-year-old girl, he had ulterior motives. At one point when her mother was out, White had her over to his flat, where he then introduced her to a red velvet swing. While this incident is known as her iconic deflowering, neither party admits to anything overly sexual in it’s nature. It wasn’t until a few nights later when White took her to a room full of mirrors, gave her champagne, and raped the unconscious Evelyn.

Not long after this Evelyn began a “relationship” with Harry K. Thaw, an eccentric millionaire who was known for his interest in younger women. Thaw pushed for marriage, even taking her to  Europe without her mother, but Evelyn was afraid to tell him about her previous sexual relationship with White (even though it was involuntary). Thaw ended up forcing the whole ordeal out of her, and once he knew the story he became almost obsessed with her virginity. They continued traveling Europe together, though, and a few weeks after Evelyn’s “confession” she experienced another trama.

After arriving in an Austrian castle, Thaw separated the servants from him and Evelyn and subsequently locked Evelyn in her room for two weeks. During those two weeks Thaw would violently rape her, not only committing acts of sexual sadism but also using substances such as morphine, further altering his state. At the end of the two weeks he was apologetic, telling Evelyn that his violence had been for White rather than her. This is obviously some bullshit, but Thaw continued to use this to convince her to marry him, promising that his violence would end if they were just married. He had total control over the reception, and he continued to be abusive throughout the relationship. I don’t want to diagnose Thaw, because not only am I not qualified, but I also don’t know that much about him, but it seems to me that he was either suffering from some sort of mental illness such as manic depressive, or he was just a full-blown sexual psychopath. Either way, his and White’s violence and rape towards Evelyn are tragic, and I think it is vital that we mention this when we talk about her life. There have been movies made that make light of her deflowering, but there is nothing funny about the abuse and violence that she was put through.

In June of 1906 Evelyn’s life got even worse. At an evening showing of Mam'zelle Champagne Thaw was agitated by the presence of Standford White, and during the finally, he took out a pistol and shot White 3 times, killing him on the spot. Thaw was arrested, and Evelyn, devastated at the turn of events, stayed with a friend as she was unable to go back to the place she had been staying at with Thaw. This incident began the next part of her life, the trail, and her eventual fall from the popular eye.

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The early life of Evelyn Nesbit, America’s First Sex Icon

(trigger warning- mention of sexual assault)

If you’ve heard the musical Ragtime, you know who Evelyn Nesbit is, but there is far more to her story than a flashy court case and fun times on a velvet swing. Evelyn’s real story is actually pretty tragic, but it’s also interesting and says a lot about American culture at the start of the 20th century. So what happened to her that was so bad?

We don’t know Evelyn’s real age because her mother lied about her birth date to avoid child labor laws, but she was probably born in the mid-1880s in America, and as a pre-teen, she began acting as an artists model. She had that Gibson girl look, and pretty soon the modeling was going so well that her mother moved Evelyn and her brother out to New York City so they could pursue it further, as they were in a tough financial spot at home in Pennsylvania. Evelyn’s father died when she was young, and her mother found it hard to support the kids. Evelyn’s mother was not fully on board with her daughter's new career, but it brought in enough money that she could ignore her concerns, and soon Evelyn was posing for artist after artist. Soon Evelyn’s face was on the cover of magazines and being used to advertise products to young women who were desperate for even a little of her beauty.

Now a teenager, Evelyn moved on to acting. It’s said to be her own idea, but the truth is, we really don’t know how much say she got in her life. Her mother was relying on her to support the family at this point, and with Evelyn having already taken on so many responsibilities at a young age, it’s also a possibility that she chose to expand her career as a business move rather than out of boredom. Either way, she started acting in plays, but her beauty always came before her talent. It was at this point that she met the architect Stanford White, a man with a fabulous mustache and a less fabulous personality.

Evelyn’s early life is really interesting to me because she never really got to be a kid. Her mother was not the most attentive and clearly had a lot of trouble holding down the family after being widowed. I don’t put any blame on Ms. Nesbit, it’s hard enough to be a mom, even worse if you’re a single mother in the 1890s, but in most articles you read, she’s portrayed as either neglectful or like she’s taking advantage of Evelyn. I don’t know if either of those is the case, in fact, I think everyone in her family was probably a victim of circumstance. They just didn’t know what would happen when they pursued Evelyln’s career, but I’m sure it seemed like an easy out to their horrible situation. In my next post I’ll talk about the horrors of Evelyn’s teenage years which were definitely the most formative in her life, but I really wanted to take a look at her life before she was famous, as she’s often portrayed as a bit of a ditz, even though in reality she was the main breadwinner of her family.

Little warning, the next post will have descriptions of sexual assault and violence against a minor, I don’t go into too much detail but please be careful!