The Smart Set has an article in praise of the wonders of makeup and how it has been used over the centuries. It is mostly just a recounting of trends that are then linked to musings about the historical moments in which the trends occurred, but she does make one assertion that I have never thought of before and that I have been musing ever since I read it. She implies that part of the reason it is less socially acceptable for men to wear makeup than women is that it is easier for a man to costume himself as a woman than it is for a woman to appear as a man. I don't think this can be evaluated without first dealing with the significance wearing makeup has as a marker of femininity, meaning that if you look like you are wearing makeup, you also look female, no matter whether you are using the makeup to create a more feminine or masculine character to your features, but is this true even once that cultural rubric is taken into account. I don't know, but I think it is worth discussing in greater detail how our ideas of gender are constructed.

Once one is on the subject of gender construction, it is impossible for women's fashion, with its endlessly repeated advice, to not come up so here is a reflection on a fashion article for the 50s summing up all one needs to know about the advice women's magazines give and another piece at The Smart Set about a fashion advice book that is actually helpful.