Companies promoted it. Celebrities touted it. Everyday people paid attention, and then spent hours in the sun, trying to get the perfect suntan.
beauty
Brunette Alison and blonde Larisa show off the newest, sexiest ’80s swimsuits for every figure type… yours included. 1986 was time to shine in a swimsuit that makes you look terrific!
See how 50s swimsuits brought ruffles, bright colors and curve-loving cuts to summer fashion, with bold designs from Jantzen, Catalina and Cole of California.
1950s summer clothes brought cool cottons, bold stripes and backyard-ready style to sunny days. Here’s a look back at fun warm-weather fashion.
Perfumes of the 1960s were a fascinating mix of enduring classics and fresh introductions. Take a look back at the most popular fragrances of the decade here!
Caboodles & Sassaby were the go-to beauty organizers of the ’80s and ’90s, keeping makeup, jewelry and hair tools in check with colorful style and smart design.
Jayne Mansfield took Broadway and Hollywood by storm in the 1950s with her mix of beauty, wit, and ambition. Look back at her fascinating rise to stardom.
’70s hairstyles were feathery – shiny – bouncy. Here are some real vintage tips from salon experts so women in the disco decade could always keep their hair stylish.
Discover 1940s makeup tips that kept women looking fresh and polished despite wartime shortages. Simple routines, soft colors, and smart tricks made all the difference.
So hot in the 60s, the dramatic, dome-shaped beehive can be created at home! With instructions directly from that decade, find out how to get the vintage beehive hairstyle that creates the illusion of tall elegance.
Take a look back at these talented and glamorous actresses of the 1920s, who were some of the first nationally-known celebrities because of their presence on the big screen.
These vintage bullet bras (also called sweater bras) were considered flattering and sexy around the ’50s. Take a look back and see what you think of the style!
Not only would these vintage sexist ads not sell well today, but they’d also cause a huge social media backlash. See 50 of the most obnoxious examples here.
See portraits of vintage Halloween pin-up girls from the 1930s and 1940s – themed photos featuring famous actresses and beautiful models.
The iconic Breck shampoo ads were meant to look sweet & wholesome, and a few of the Breck Girls went on to become famous actresses. Take a look!
From volumizing wonders to moisturizing miracles, these 90s shampoos played a significant role in making hair look fabulous.
Check out more than 100 different colors of discontinued Revlon nail polish from the 1980s, from Super Platinum and Spunsugar Pink to Blackberry and China Almond.
Vintage 1940s swimsuits often featured ruching, boy short cuts, and halter straps. This old-fashioned swimwear like modest one-pieces and high waist bikinis had more class than sass.
The judgments are harsh, and nobody is worried about subtlety in these mean and bad ads that ran in popular magazines many decades ago.
Take a look at these modest old-fashioned swimsuits for men and women, seen on real beachgoers and early movie actresses, with many high-quality and colorized vintage photos!
Teens and girls were wild about having blonde hair in the ’70s, trying at-home methods and a variety of new products to lighten and brighten their hair.
Want to try out some short 1950s hairstyles, or just are looking to see what they were like? Here, check out more than a dozen authentic retro ‘dos from the 50s!
Liquid soaps like these were still somewhat of a novelty in the 1980s and 1990s, and people were happy to get a break from using bar soaps when they washed their hands. See some of the old brands here!
Take a step back in time and check out some of the most awesome 80s shampoos (and conditioners!) — including a lot of brands you can’t find anymore!
Explore how vintage drugstores and the pharmacy apothecary once sold not just tonics and elixirs, but also narcotics like cocaine & heroin with ease.
Take a scented stroll down memory lane with this look back at lots of the most popular vintage perfumes from the 80s, from both fashion designers and drugstores.
These old-school vintage blow dryers from the seventies were more than just hot air – the handheld tools could dry! Style! And came in retro-popular colors like yellow, orange and baby blue.
Get unforgettable ’50s eye makeup with these vintage beauty tips straight from the fifties! Find out the best ways to use eyeshadow, liner, mascara & more.
Unlock the secrets of ’80s eye makeup through these vintage magazine how-tos. Learn how to nail that retro glam today.
America flipped over Farrah Fawcett’s famous feathered hair back in the seventies, and the trendy retro Farrah hairstyle was copied by millions of women. See lots of pictures of the style, and find out how they created the look!
Barbie wasn’t just a doll – she had an empire! Look back at vintage Barbie play sets, complete with friends and family, fabulous dollhouses, pools, pets… and lots and lots of fashionable vintage Barbie clothes.
Perfumes from the 1950s do more than just smell wonderful; they capture the spirit of the era! Here’s a look back at some of popular favorites.
80s lingerie trends presented an intriguing dichotomy: a nod to tradition with an eye towards inclusivity and diversity. Here’s a look back at some of the hottest underwear, bra and slip styles of the eighties!
Want to make real retro 1980s hairstyles? Here’s how to re-create these 80s looks, with this step-by-step guides and retro beauty tip sheets!
From awful double entendres to horrible diseases to the just plain bizarre, here are some vintage bad product names that used to appear on grocery store shelves.
This collection of advertisements captures the evolution of vintage press-on nails from their inception to the end of the 20th century.
Let’s consider for a moment the soap on a rope phenomenon — a peculiar fusion of the useful and the whimsical that once occupied a
With their daring cuts and bold designs, 1970s swimwear wasn’t just about catching some sun – it was about making waves.
The nineties was a huge decade for fragrances, coming from the top fashion designers as well as drugstore beauty brands, and pitched by supermodels and actresses. Here’s a look back at some of the most popular vintage perfumes from the 90s!
Here’s a look back in time to see some of the popular old bar soap brands from decades past – many long forgotten, and some that still are available to this day!
Here is a look back at more than 100 vintage fragrances for women – 70s perfumes, colognes, eau de toilettes and more – delicious aromas from the decade of disco.
Take a trip back to the land of ‘lather, rinse, repeat’ with this collection of vintage 70s shampoos – and the many brands and fragrances popular back then.
Direct from ’50s fashion experts come these tips for calculating a woman’s body measurements for the ideal figure. See how much things have changed!
Unlike some other vintage beauty products, makeup crayons and pencils never went away — which means you can recreate some of these 70s makeup looks for yourself.
Based on the state of plastic surgery in the 1920s, and with regular improvements in science, one journalist suggested in 1922 that soon women wouldn’t have to age – ‘I mean shriveled or waddling old and all that.’
Do you remember tasty vintage Maybelline Kissing Potion, Kissing Glosses, and more from the 70s & 80s that came in mouthwatering flavors like strawberry, bubblegum, peppermint & watermelon?
Along with some great vintage hairstyle photos below, you will also get real-life beauty advice from newspapers published in the 40s and 50s, which offered readers tips on how to get perfect pin curls every time.
They didn’t call Illinois-born Cindy Crawford a supermodel for nothing! Check out a selection of 11 of her fashion magazine covers from the mid- to late-eighties.
What was the retro pastel eye makeup look all about? Making the eyes look big and soft by creating a natural look with pale eyeshadow shades. See it here!
Though she was born famous, then grew her fame as an actress, Jane Fonda’s workout videos were one of her greatest successes. Here’s how it happened.
100 years ago, famous actress and soprano Lina Cavalieri said she thought women would rather have beautiful necks than almost any other feature, and offered her tips on how to improve the curve and beauty of the neckline.
We’ve collected various 1920s makeup tips that millions of flappers used to get fabulous and rebellious for a night of jazz clubs, speakeasies and dancing.
In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, anyone who wanted to give their hair a healthy, voluminous bounce could get it with the help of vintage hot rollers like these.
Red, pink, gold & beyond – See the top vintage nail polish brands and colors from the 20th century, with shades & styles from decades ago – see how manicures have changed over the years!
Look back at these cute vintage Tinkerbell manicure kits, BO-PO (Brush-on, peel-off) nail polish and other beauty treats marketed to little girls back in the ’70s and ’80s. Lots of memories here!
Even though permanents had been available for years, in the 1970s, home perms became easier and more affordable than ever as new products and formulations gave people more hairstyle options.
Although the most popular vintage 1920s hairstyles were dominated by the bob cut, there were lots of different ways to style bobbed hair. Here’s a look back at short and long haircuts (plus old-fashioned styling tips) from the flapper era!
Look back at some vintage ’40s beauty salon services in New York City – ladies getting perms, dye jobs, manicures, sitting under hair dryers – along with a peek at the front desk staff running the business.
When vintage Dial Soap debuted in the late forties, one of their selling points was ‘Dial smells good — not strong, not sissy.’ See how the product – and the message – changed over the years!
Back in the fifties, hairstyles took a lot of work just to be presentable. To help all that hard work stick around, millions of women used these popular 1950s hairspray brands. Here’s a look back!
Women have destroyed the beauty of their hands by trying to transform with the scissors the blunt, thick finger ends that belong on the practical or elementary hand into the dainty or tapering fingertips.
Even though the girls who used liberal amounts of 80s hairspray were born before beehive and bouffant hairstyles, they still took part in a grooming ritual dating back to the fifties.
Look back at these vintage nail polish ads from the ’80s to see the most awesome colors and brands that were out there for a retro DIY manicure.
Look at some of the loveliest old Victorian hairstyles for women, from back when they were called coiffures, and when getting the perfectly elegant look took hours to manage.
Girls who grew up in the late 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s: Do you remember these little ‘Lip Lickers’ brand of lip glosses that came in metal slide-top tins?
No doubt that several of these vintage hairstyles for women from the 1910s could be adapted for use today, and would look as elegantly stylish as ever. Take a look!
Donning a brilliant red leotard, Audrey Hepburn demonstrated a series of yoga-like exercises. ‘I’ve tried to incorporate what I’ve seen in animals so the human body can benefit from them.’
Once people accepted that pregnant women could be stylish and need not remain hidden, the designs of vintage ’50s maternity fashion were surprisingly varied. Here’s a look!
For the vintage Pompadour hairstyle from the turn of the century, the hair was arranged as to make the head a great fluffy mass, round like a globe – what they called ‘a great ball of beauty.’
‘It takes more character to be an attractive woman than to make a million dollars,’ said Lux Radio’s Dr Susan. From her, get celebrity vintage ’30s beauty tips for an ugly duckling
In the sixties, up-and-coming actresses were the starlets who helped sell vintage versions of Coppertone suntan lotion – and the popular look of tan, tan skin.
Priscilla Presley wasn’t just the former wife of mega-star Elvis Presley – she was a model and actress in her own right, and has the receipts to prove it.
Compared to now, teenage girls in the 1950s had a lot of strict rules and etiquette considerations – and the consequences of falling short in certain areas could have a pretty considerable effect on her life. Here’s a look at the kind of messaging teens got back then.
Here’s a look back to the days before handheld blow dryers were common, when you needed fancy salon-style vintage hair dryers to get your look just right!
Check out these vintage lipsticks from the ’60s that came in plum and peach colors, honey and mocha shades, sheer and creamy finishes.
Take a look back at dozens of vintage gift sets for women from the ’50s, ’60s & ’70s, filled with fancy fragrances, makeup, skincare products & more!
Vintage fashion watch: Jackie Kennedy and her fabulous clothes The elegance, the chic, the supertaste that comprise… The Jackie Kennedy Look (but what is that
What were the most fashionable Victorian hairstyles in the 1890s? Glossy plaits, graceful coils and twists, and the fluffiest and most coquettish of bangs,
Back in 1862, a woman wrote to a top fashion magazine to lament the work involved with Civil War-era hairstyles. Here’s what she said – plus see 8 hairdos from the time.
Take a look at more than 40 vintage ’40s hairstyles – long hair and short cuts, curled and waved, with and without hats – and see what was fashionable!
Supermodels like Iman and Paulina came together for this ’80s ad series from Pantene, with the memorable tagline, ‘Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.’
Here’s a look back to the most beautifully stylish vintage 1920s dresses and other clothing for women from the roaring twenties – and how to choose the finest fashions.
What’s the history of Q-Tips – the little cotton swabs found all around the world? This big brand had a little baby-sized beginning. (Also find out their terrible former brand name.)
The perfect 1938 figure must have curves, but it differs from the perfect figure of past decades in relationship of curves to straight lines.
Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific shampoo & conditioner are extra rich, extra thick — so it leaves your hair shiny clean and fresh. Slightly spicy. Slightly flowery. And ready for compliments.
Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Connelly started out as a child model. Here’s a look back to those days in the early ’80s when she was just getting her career off the ground!
Through the 40s, 50s & 60s, you’d see a new set of vintage calendar girls & pin-ups in garages, diners and dens each year. Take a look back!
Betty Grable’s legs: They have now achieved the stature of a major Hollywood landmark LIFE – June 7, 1943 No one since Paavo Nurmi has
Long nose? Thin mouth? Here are some ways to minimize your facial flaws with the help of vintage-style glasses, with based on fashion tips direct from the fifties!
When it came to popular ’60s hairstyles, there were several ways to wear the hair short and look smart. Here are some of the hottest retro looks!
See more than two dozen examples of vintage makeup, showing the evolution of blue eyeshadow from the ’50s to the ’80s. As you will see, sometimes it works… and sometimes it really, really doesn’t.
If women of the ’60s needed slimming or trimming for their legs, they might have tried these retro leg exercises, created for maximum leg-watching appeal.
Remember the old Palmolive dish soap ads, featuring Madge the Manicurist (actress Jan Miner), who was always telling women how terrible their hands looked?
Find out about Marvelous Men, Cosmopolitan’s 1974 bestselling guidebook for women, with dozens of tips on ‘how to know’ guys & ‘make them love you!’
Hot ’80s beauty product Aapri was made with crushed apricot seeds in a creamy base that was supposed to scrub off dead skin that could clog pores.
Exercises to take off inches, and diet to drop off pounds – this program was planned for the readers of Woman’s Day by the famous beauty expert Elizabeth Arden.
If you want that gorgeous, ingenue-like retro makeup style popular in the ’60s and ’70, here’s how to apply false eyelashes just like they did back then!
Legendary beauty Lillie Langtry was a statuesque blonde with blue eyes, a perfect complexion and a ravishing figure. She was acclaimed by the social set, and became the mistress of The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII.
