By Xin Wen

The Gibson Girl was a feminine figure created by Charles Dana Gibson in his illustrations. From 1890, his pen and ink drawings appeared regularly in Life and other magazines. For over twenty years, the Gibson Girl craze swept millions of American households. Henry C. Pitz in the book The Gibson Girl and Her America: The best drawings of Charles Dana Gibson said:

There was a time when his pictures were known in practically every home in the land. The latest copies of the comic magazine, Life, were opened first to the Gibson pages. The large horizontal Gibson albums, packed with his pictures, were on countless parlor tables, and on the walls were large size reproductions of his most beloved subjects.

What does Gibson Girl look like? Several distinguishing features are attached to a Gibson lady: S-shape, wasp waist, elegant dress, corset, unique hairstyle (often curly hair, upswept). Does this image remind you of someone? It reminds me of the appearance of Rose in the movie Titanic. The Titanic tragedy happened in 1912, when the Gibson Girl was in vogue. And if Mr. Henry C. Pitz’s description was honest, no girl could escape that fever. So we might just consider Rose’s clothing as a reflection of the Gibson fashion. In fact, the character Rose herself basically represented the ideal woman figure Charles Gibson was depicting. The only difference is that the Gibson Girl was not that rebellious. The female model set by Gibson Girl was independent, athletic, confident, dignified, mischievous, but maintained her ladyship on any occasion. It was said that The Gibson Girl, together with Gibson man were poised and patrician--‘They could smile, but seldom laughed.’

Another female Gibson-like figure on the big screen is the heroine from Somewhere in Time. In this movie, Maude Adams, also known as Elise McKenna, an actress, was living in 1912, the same year as the Titanic sank. As we can see from the pictures here: she was more elegant and decorous, perhaps more close to the ideal Gibson Girl than Rose.

The popularity of the Gibson Girl was accompanied and caused by the expansion of the middle class in America. After the civil war, the United States entered into a ‘Gilded Age’ as Mark Twain called it--the economy was developing rapidly, urbanization progressed at an unprecedentedly high speed.

For people who just entered into the circle of middle class, especially for women, the Gibson Girl provided a typical American dream: this is how life should be; this is where style and elegance was achieved and maintained. I have to cite Pitz again because he caught the origin of the fever:‘ For a rapidly expanding middle class, busily climbing up the social ladder, here was a model of what they could hope to reach. His (Charles Gibson) pictures carried a message of hope, a tantalizing reach for a superior life.’

It looks like the Gilded Age was the soil that bred the seed of the Gibson Girl. However sadly, in 1914, with the eruption of the First World War, the Gibson Girl fever faded. Although Charles Gibson captured accurately what the former era needed, he did not catch up with the upcoming one. In 1920, the new image of the flapper girl (reveling in a shorter hairstyle and minimizing curves); replaced the Gibson Girl as the new model for American women. But the spirit of the Gibson Girl could still be found in today’s America – after all, independence and confidence is the kind of value worth pursuing no matter how time changes.

By Sarah Bahl
   
The Heian Period of Japan from 794 to 1185 AD, was one of fashion breakthrough as it was a time of cultural blossoming in Japan. The nation was at peace and the time period is named of the capital Heian, now the city of Kyoto. The Heian Period is considered the height of classical culture in Japan. It is also during this time, that women writers in Japan prospered. A world renowned tale, also known as Japan’s first novel is: The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu, a noblewomen of the court. The Tale of Genji reveals the status of women in court affairs at the time and that of men. It also makes clear the balance of gender relations. Noble women, protected by the court were to study the fine arts and this time period produced some of the world’s best female writers. Though women were not encouraged to participate directly in governance. For the most part, the men governed and lead in affairs while women, though allowed solid educations, were not enabled to be of political power.
    The Tale of Genji is sardonic and at times near scathing toward the shallowness of human nature. Yet, it is incredibly elegantly written and reveals much about court life at the time. Genji is son of the emperor by a woman of the court known to be the emperor’s favorite.  She was beautiful and bullied by the other women as, because she was favored, she lessened the chances of the other children’s position in court. In certain ways, Genji was born the male version of his mother, and was spoiled for his beauty and charm as much as she was punished for hers. His mother died, according to the novel, because of the evils the people of the court were always placing upon her. Genji grew to have many affairs and a few children. The novel ends perfectly embodying the persona of Genji.
    The tale also reveals much about fashion and the importance of dress in communicating hierarchy. Women of the court wore up to twelve inner and outer layers of cloth. Their faces were painted white, their lips pouty, and natural eyebrows were singed off. The natural eyebrows were replaced by gray ones drawn on and arched near the hairline. Also, teeth were blackened, as the effect was considered more lovely than yellowed teeth upon a whitened face. The clothing was meant to be reflective of the seasons, as well. The woman were also to have full faces, signifying wealth, though figures were hidden by the layers of cloth. The woman's hair was  also worn extremely long.
The Heian Period, lead to a sharply contrasting Kamakura period, where militaristic rule settled over the previous widespread court rule based on code. The fashion sensibilities changed as did the pathos of the times leading to much more simplistic kimono type wear with lessened adornment.

Image collected online 11/29/2010 from http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu.