(no subject)

[chocolatepot]

So today I finally read (much but not all of) Consumptive Chic: A History of Beauty, Fashion, and Disease to write an answer on the topic, and I'm ... pretty annoyed at the way it was titled and marketed and written about following publication?? (To be clear, I'm annoyed with someone at Bloomsbury and the people who wrote about it in the Smithsonian and such, not Carolyn Day.) The majority of the book is about the way that pre-20th century people conceptualized it as a disease/constitutional ailment, and how it was viewed culturally; the last third, maybe, is actually about beauty and fashion, and it has loads of nuance and detail and reference.

Consumption’s allure lay in the fact that its symptomology operated within the established parameters of attractiveness. Rosy cheeks and lips coupled with pale skin were qualities with an established pedigree in the definitions of beauty. They were also the product of phthisis.

This is the opposite, in terms of which causes which, from what I've seen in all the coverage on this book. So basically people skimmed it and then reinterpreted it based on their own misconceptions.

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I did buy Besame's Red Velvet and American Beauty. Sometimes I just need to frivolously spend money on a cosmetics purchase. Red Velvet's very very dark on me, with some pink to it; I need to work to get used to it, because it looks fine on plenty of the very pale people wearing it on the page.

I went to the library last weekend and got a couple of books. :O Doesn't happen often. I can't remember what the first one I read was - finished it and took it back very quickly - but I liked it; the other is Alex and Eliza: A Love Story, which I thought would be cute but is sadly cliché-ridden. Man, it's really bothering me that I completely forgot what the first one was. I tried searching the new books in the NCLS catalogue, and it's just not coming up. But I've ordered a Shirley Jackson collection (from that series of collections with black covers, a narrow red/white/blue stripe across the middle, and the name printed with the surname larger - I used to be so into these when I was too young to bother actually reading the novels, for some reason).

But what was that book?!

Comments

[danabren]

(psssst you missed a < / a>

[chocolatepot]

Boo! (Thanks.)

[scripsi]

I like Besame´s lipstick. I used to wear Red Velvet every day when I wore red lipstick every day. :)

[chocolatepot]

Nice! I can see it as a good everyday color. I'm sure it looked lovely on you.

[scripsi]

I think it's a red which suit a lot of complexions. :)

[mala_14]

Sounds like a really interesting read. I enjoyed your reddit answer (as always!).

Red Velvet is kind of medium to darker on me, so it makes sense that it looks dark on you. But could be good when you are feeling more dramatic or wearing a lot of neutral colours?

If you got it from the library, is there any record of what you took out, like library history?

[chocolatepot]

Thanks!

The main issue I have with the darker colors is that they bring out the circles/bags under my eyes, which are unfortunately more or less permanent. Ah well, it's nice to have a dramatic lip sometimes anyway!

Sadly, the "checkout history" viewable online in my account is totally empty, so I have no idea what its purpose is. But I finally remembered!

[theladyrebecca]

I think my library keeps an online record of what books I've checked out. Maybe yours does the same? Even if it's not a list you can access, it might be that the librarian can help you.

[chocolatepot]

Mine is supposed to, I think, but either it doesn't work or it's keeping a record of something else that I don't do! I just don't know. But I did manage to figure it out eventually. Sigh.