Vintage Beauty: Posture
I believe that good posture is something that should be practiced by everyone, but especially by those who wear vintage. Prior to and throughout the mid-20th century, good posture was greatly encouraged, and many young women participated in manners classes, where good posture was a staple of the the coursework. A proper lady did not slouch. Since this was heavily unforced, both by society and undergarments (just think about corsets and girdles), fashion was built around proper posture, thus it is beneficial to yourself and your clothing to practice good posture.
This page comes from Ern and Bud Westmore’s 1947 book Beauty, Glamour and Personality.
I try to have good posture but I fear I probably end up being closer to B and C than I should be! (Love the illustration)
I grew up living with my grandmother, who was born in 1922. She was constantly encouraging me to get my elbows off the table, stand up straight if I wanted to be taller than my mother, that sort of thing. Her teasing paid off and I have such good posture that people notice and comment on it regularly. If you tend to slouch, standing up straight is the fastest, cheapest makeover you can give yourself – you’ll be amazed at how much better your clothes fall and how much better you look!
As a little girl I adored the idea of attending a charm or finishing school, but of course, that being the 90s in a small Canadian town, there was no such thing to be had. Instead I’d practice walking with a book on my head (then a book with a glass of water on it), and made a point to sit up straight and “like a lady” (as one of my relatives liked to say) all the time. To this day, while I don’t go about balancing too many glasses of water any more, I still try to keep up good posture as often as I can.
Have an awesome weekend, hon!
♥ Jessica
Oh my gosh! A book with a glass of water!? That sounds amazing!
My posture has gotten much better after joining a gym. I just wanted to mention that back in the days when good posture was important it had health advantages too – my grandmother who would have had good posture enforced by her mother had osteoporosis and got shorter but not stooped. When you stand up straight you use the muscles in your upper back – if you don’t use them they atrophy away helping to make you stoop.
As a singer, I have to think about this all the time… turns out that not standing up properly causes all sorts of trouble! I need to remember to do it in the rest of my life too, it does make such an amazing difference.
My posture is terrible (I’m slouching on the couch right now!), but this is a good reminder to try to stand and sit up straight. It’s far better for your back, and your body in general.
A friend of mine is a figure skater and she has insanely good posture. I’ve never seen her slouch before!