Surprising Traits Men Found Attractive Throughout History
Beauty standards have a tendency to go in and out of style. What was considered attractive a hundred years ago might be considered positively revolting by today's standards. Women throughout history have been subjected to both beguiling and bewildering ideals of beauty, and taking a look at some of the things that were considered beautiful through the ages proves just how arbitrary beauty standards truly are.
Some of these traits are quite mystifying and will make you wonder just what people of the past could possibly have been thinking. Other historical beauty standards, however, will have you wishing that our modern standards of beauty were as open-minded as those of our ancestors. For better or worse, these ideals of beauty shaped the lives of women across the ages. From ancient Greece and Rome to Renaissance Europe, these are some of the most surprising traits men have found attractive throughout history.
Frida Kahlo might have sported a now-iconic unibrow in the 20th century, but her fashion statement went against the grain of modern beauty standards. While many people thought she was flouting more modern ideals of beauty, she was actually embracing a centuries-old tradition. To the ancient Greeks, nothing was more attractive than a woman with just one eyebrow.
Like Kahlo, ancient Greek women did not just let their unibrows grow freely, but would also take pains to make them even more prominent. They would highlight the hair just over the bridge of the nose by applying cosmetics to either enhance an existing unibrow or create the appearance of one. While unibrows aren't typically considered attractive in modern times, thicker brows are making a bit of a comeback. Model and actress Cara Delevingne, for example, doesn't sport a unibrow, but her thick and full eyebrows helped to spark a modern trend for a bushier brow.
Those familiar with the tale of the Trojan War know that Helen, the Spartan queen whose affair with the Trojan prince Paris led to bloody war between their two kingdoms, was famed for her beauty. Sparta was considered to be a land of beautiful women, but the beauty standards were far different back then from what you might expect today.
The historical Helen, who would have lived roughly 3,500 years ago during the Bronze Age, would have, as a queen, had tattoos of red suns on her chin and cheeks. Her hair would have also been shaved when she was in her teens, and, when it grew back, would have been arranged to look like snakes. In classical Greece, which began in the 5th century B.C., Spartan beauty standards had changed a bit. Men kept their hair long and styled it, but women were expected to cut their hair off upon marriage and to keep it short for the rest of their lives.
In ancient Ireland, a woman's worth often came down to what her hands looked like. While light skin and golden hair were also prized, it was a woman's hands that revealed whether or not she came from a good family. The ideal hands were "well-formed, with slender, tapering fingers" according to A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland. Beautiful nails were also a must. Women of the upper classes were expected to have rounded, well-kept nails. Even among the men in ancient Ireland, nail grooming was considered mandatory. It was considered to be shameful for men of the upper classes to have unkempt nails.
Today, many of us consider the color green to epitomize Ireland, especially on St. Patrick's Day, but those desiring a more historical Irish look on the holiday might want to pass up the shamrocks in favor of red hues. The color red was favored in ancient Ireland, and many women would dye their nails, as "crimson-colored fingernails were greatly admired."
Many women in modern times debate over whether or not they should cut bangs, often to make the forehead seem smaller. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, however, it wouldn't have even been a thought since high foreheads were considered de rigueur. In the 14th century, fashion-forward women began to pluck their hair to raise the hairline. While this gave them a higher-looking forehead, the original purpose behind the hair plucking was less about a high forehead and more about creating an oval face shape. Considered to be an elegant and beautiful look, the obsession with face shape gradually morphed into a desire for tall foreheads.
By the Renaissance period, women were taking drastic measures to achieve a high forehead. Simple plucking gave way to rubbing at the hairline with a rough stone, and even burning off unwanted hair with a chemical called quicklime. Women also removed most of their eyebrows, making their foreheads appear even larger.
Japan is no stranger to fashion trends…
Read more:
https://www.thelist.com/138325/surprising-traits-men-found-attractive-throughout-history/
