Inventing Beauty: A History of the Innovations that Have Made Us Beautiful

By Teresa Riordan

Book Overview

A history of the clothing, gadgets, and other products that were designed to promote female beauty is a tour of such innovations as hoop skirts, cosmetic surgery, face cream, and more, in a volume... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767914511
• ISBN13: 9780767914512
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Broadway
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.1" x 0.8" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

Revising Myths

I have found this delightful page turner invaluable as I try to teach the complexities of cultural critique: Riordan's book helps us revise the usual reading of the beauty industry as repressive and male-produced. She's never pedantic and lets the objects and their histories speak for themselves. It's a thoughtful, and at times gleeful, women's history.

A fabulous history of the invention of beauty

Teresa Riordan is wonderful. She takes the history of a miscellany of inventions such as mascara, bras and dipilatories, links it to humankind's quest for physical "beauty" and turns it into a marvelous rendition of history. Riordan's research appears to be meticulous. She has delved into patent files, old advertising, other historical data such as books and newspapers. "Inventing Beauty" is a wonderful addition to any library on history, pop culture and sociology. Better than all that, "Inventing Beauty" is just plain fun and informative to read. Jerry

Different types of Beauty

It is an interesting coincidence that Teresa Riordan's "Inventing Beauty" is appearing at the same time as the English translation of Umberto Eco's book on the history of beauty. Each author looks at beauty in an original way, but Eco and Riordan come at the same subject from opposite directions. "History of Beauty" (actually, only about half of book's chapters are written by Eco; the other half are   written by Girolamo de Michele) is an erudite dissection of the meaning of beauty. Riordan's effort is much more materially based; she examines the technology of beauty, the implements that women use in the pursuit of self-manufactured beauty. Visually, the books are distinctly different. Eco's book is illustrated with sumptuous color reproductions of art. Riordan's book has a black and white aesthetic and features old advertisements, photographs and, most interestingly, patent drawings. She writes that she considers these drawings overlooked folk art, and I have to agree. Strangely, given that Eco's book is published by the famous art publisher Rizzoli, Riordan's is by far the better designed book. It is gorgeous to hold, even though it is a paperback original rather than a coffee-table book, and even though it is illustrated with naive drawings and advertisements rather than fine art.

Hilarious!

Teresa's book is full of fun facts that were not included in any histories of the 19th & 20th Century I had ever read, until she pulled them together with a deft touch and her witty commentary. Anyone who has ever tweezed, twirled, lined, or moisturized will enjoy learning about the many pioneers responsible for modern beauty devices and products. Beautifying oneself is usually a solitary business, done in the privacy of one's bathroom or bedroom. After reading "Inventing Beauty," I know I am but one member of a devoted sorority throughout history. I'll never feel the same again about my bra or my mascara!

What A Fascinating Book!

My copy of 'Inventing Beauty' arrived just the other day, and I find myself carrying it wherever I go, dipping into it for "just one more" section. I keep wanting to tap complete strangers on the shoulder and say, "Did you know..." and then share with them some bizarre tidbit such as the fact that movie stars in the 1940s used a mechanical contraption called a Hollywood Lift -- made of glue, silk thread, and rubber bands -- to pull their sagging faces upward. Makes me want to rent some old movies and look for telltale signs on those ultra-smooth faces! This book is a lot of fun, and would make a great gift for any woman, of any age. --Janis Jaquith, author of "Birdseed Cookies: A Fractured Memoir"