Sunday, August 14, 2022

Question from Laura - Professional modeling

Back in Tudor England, this may seem like an anachronistic question, but Im terribly curious. Were there such a thing as fashion models? Like on the runway or catwalk? Were there any women (or men) who modeled clothing, for a living, as a career? Answers would be appreciated, thanks.

9 comments:

Lara said...

From a quick Google search it looks like modeling really became a thing in the 19th century, so yes, it is quite anachronistic for the Tudor period.

Fashion was changing throughout the period though, so there must have been some influencing going on between various country's styles. Like Mary Tudor (sister of Henry VIII) bringing back some French fashion trends after her short time as Queen of France. Same for Anne Boleyn after her time at the French court. I'm sure there are many more examples but those are the two that spring to mind.

PhD Historian said...

The short answer to the question is, "No, there was no such thing in the Tudor period as fashion models, no such thing as runways and catwalks, no such thing as fashion shows, no such thing as couture fashion houses or designer labels, no such things as fashion designers or fashion houses in the modern sense, and no such thing as clothing sales via retail clothing stores.

Laura said...

Okay! Thanks everyone for such detailed, helpful answers.

Jessica said...

As a former (photography, as well as nude art) model myself, I can safely type on here, that no, there were no such things as models, back then. Even if there were, at least the body image issues most models nowadays have wouldn’t have even existed, in a world where society used to think that being more overweight, or plumper was healthy, beautiful, and ideal. Just an odd thought😕🧐. P.S., it’s also nice to know that there are some young people/millennials who’ve posted on this site, that seem to be interested in something besides social media or tik tok.

Harvey said...

You got that right, Ms. Jessica! I’m only 16, and I agree. I love history blogs and this site a lot more than what other teens my age may be into.😎

Anonymous said...

I can't remember where I read this, but IIRC, Perkin Warbeck was first seen wearing some luxurious fabrics -- he had been hired to do so by a merchant who chose this method of advertising his products. That is the only thing close to "modeling" I can think of.

Esther

John said...

This may seem like a non-sequitur to this post, but I’d like to point out that people too much like to treat issues like, eating disorders, body image, and/or overweight/obesity, like they’re just “recent, modern-day” maladies/issues, when in fact they’ve been around since after the both the first man and woman came into the world, from The Garden of Eden. I also hate how some people automatically blame the internet, technology, and/or social media, for bad behavior in children/teens, nowadays, but let’s be honest and quit beating around the bush. (I’m sure) spoiled, troubled children, and/or troubled, rebellious teenagers have also existed since ancient times, (even though teens were not called “teens” until the mid-20th century). But going back to body image and obesity issues, hate to burst your bubble, but yes, they existed, too, I highly think the only difference is, is that people just didn’t get as much grief about it from other people, as they do now, whether that’s good or not. However, we must realize there should be a fine line between being fat phobic and a fat-shamer, and actually truly caring about someone and their health, and being aware that carrying extra weight actually isn’t healthy, but NOT because of beauty/vanity concerns, I think that’s where the eating disorders and body image issues come into play.

Howard said...

As a response to your comment, John, I just agreed with everything you just said. I don’t know how many times this has already been said, but yes, “people will be people”, and misbehaving children, promiscuous, adulterous, or even abusive, violent women/wives, and henpecked, abused husbands, or pushover parents who spoiled their children too much, is a side to human life that’s also always existed, since Biblical/ancient times! Lol! It might’ve just been that it was “less socially acceptable” for children/women “to step out of their place(s)”, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t happen! Also, my rule of thumb is this; if a word was used to describe a woman, e.g., such as “feisty”, “outspoken”, or “bossy” that’s was never used (or still isn’t) to describe a man, then it’s sexist. Feel the same way about kids/teens, for, at least, decades and still nowadays, “rebellious or “disobedient”, or “talking back”, come to my mind, that are only targeted at youngsters/minors, but never at adults. It often aggravates me that these were/are words and personality descriptions only of women or children who “step out of”, and/or “don’t know their place.” (In our society).

Nicole said...

I’d also like to think that if Victorian ladies really had the tiny waists pictured in photographs, it was because either “A”, she simply just had a faster, more hyperactive metabolism than other ladies, “B”, she was rather tall, I know the Queen herself, was only 5’0”, most of the time, our ancestors supposedly being shorter is mostly a myth; e.g., a 5’6” lady on average is “naturally” going to be able to burn off more calories, and even get away with indulging in junk food and not have it show, compared to a woman who is only 4’11” or 5’0”, or “C”, she just simply ate in moderation (and enough), and also exercised properly, too, (just as modern day women), NOT because any of them starved themselves, or were deprived of food and favorite treats. Just a thought.