Personal Habits and Personal Style - Hair - Body #1

[ashanti01]

I didn't think any girl of  high social standing could wear makeup.

I doubt Alexandra would have allowed the girls to wear any... I could be wrong but it does seem unlikely.

[Ortino]

I know that she didn't allow the girls to wear makeup, but if the occasion called for it.......I highly doubt though she'd let them have blemishes  or bags under their eyes in formal photos.

[ferngully]

well they didn't show their legs, so i would have thought they didn't shave maybe
selina           xxxxxxxxxxx

[Sarai_Porretta]

I know this may sound silly, but I was wondering if any of woman of the Imperial family shaved or waxed. Or was this even available back then?

I am curious about this too, now that you mention it. Did high ranking ladies of that era even shave, or was it seen as a lower-class practice (such as wearing makeup was looked down upon)? I have heard that the first women to start shaving legs and underarms in the Victorian era were prostitutes, so it was at first something women of ill repute did. Also, even if by the time of the Imperial Family it was more commonplace amongst all classes, was it something generally done in Russian high society or perhaps was it more popular in other European countries instead?

[Alicky1872]

I am curious about this too, now that you mention it. Did high ranking ladies of that era even shave, or was it seen as a lower-class practice (such as wearing makeup was looked down upon)? I have heard that the first women to start shaving legs and underarms in the Victorian era were prostitutes, so it was at first something women of ill repute did. Also, even if by the time of the Imperial Family it was more commonplace amongst all classes, was it something generally done in Russian high society or perhaps was it more popular in other European countries instead?

Just going by instinct here, they MUST have shaved. How nasty would hairy pits look with a court dress! I think all ladies of a certain standing would have shaved because it was just a hygenic practice, and more womanly. In England this most certainly would have been the case--even in the Middle Ages. Maybe not the every day peasant, but most certainly nobles and royalty.

[ferngully]

with what? did they have razors? i've seen mens razors but not womens from the olden days
selina              xxxxxxxx

[Sarai_Porretta]

Just going by instinct here, they MUST have shaved. How nasty would hairy pits look with a court dress!

LOL

Yes, I would also think they shaved but I wasn't sure, or if it was a regular ritual or something done mostly for special occasions (such as for balls and court events).

[ajv123ajv]

I read in The Last Tzar by Edvard Radzinsky that The Dowger Empress Marie Feodorovna and her sister Queen Alexandra of Great Britian underwent early face/skin lift/treatment in Paris in about 1896. This involved the removal of skin from the face and the application of clear lacquer to give a smooth and youthful skin.

[moonlight_tsarina]

I'm glad someone started this thread because I always wondered but was too embarrased to start it!  

I know it's fiction but in the Anastasia Royal Diary she says that the photographer was putting power on Anastasia's face due to her drippy nose;was this type of makeup allowed? It's only blush!  

And the girls did show there legs though, like before they reached the age of wearing long gowns, and they didnt always wear stockings.
Same thing for the armpits!   Lol...
And about using makeup, I don't get how Alexandra had the one formal 1913 AOTMA pic retouched to shopw her chin at the best advantage because they didn't have any extreme technolology at the time. So what did they do?

[ashanti01]

I wasn't too shy about asking this mostly because  I'm really curious.

I would think they would shave or wax but I'm not sure when this even became avaliable. Also, having hair under your arms and on your legs was not disgusting to them back then because it was common. So maybe they didn't shave?

In the photos I see of the IF I have never seen a facial hair, bushy eyebrows ( expect of Ella when she was a teenager), so I have to wonder what they were doing. Even in the informal pictures they look very well groomed. S

[Lanie]

Wouldn't be surprised.  I'm sure that official portraits were touched up and they probably were powdered up, etc - no bags under the eyes!  And like Annie said in the 1913 photos of Alix with the girls her chin was touched up so it didn't show that she had a double chin.  Some people just naturally have thin eyebrows, though; maybe they got lucky!

[Ortino]

And the girls did show there legs though, like before they reached the age of wearing long legs, and they didnt always wear stockings

.

  They never showed there legs, unless of course, they were swimming or something. In all the pictures, they are usually wearing stockings. As they got older, they wore longer dresses, so that covered their legs. As you got older, showing your legs was seen as almost vulgar. And I'm sure they did shave at times, although I can imagine not as frequently as people do today. People undoubtedly brushed their teeth less, so why not shaving?

[ferngully]

i think they might have threaded instead of shaved or waxed (the women)
selina              xxxxxxxxxxxx

[koloagirl]

 :-/

May I ask what exactly "threading" is?  It sounds terribly painful!  

Janet R.

[ferngully]

its where you have the hair 'shaved' off with a thread, and its not quite as painful as it sounds (with paracetamol )
selina              xxxxxxxxxxxx