Mid-century Pan Am stewardesses seemed to exude beauty and glamor.  They traveled the world and . . . → Read More: Wise Words of the Day: Confidence]]>

No man has a right to expect others to display confidence in him if he has no confidence in himself.  ~ Roy L. Smith

Grooming Tips, Everywoman's Family Circle, c. 1957; Image courtesy of Alsis35 on Flickr.com

Mid-century Pan Am stewardesses seemed to exude beauty and glamor.  They traveled the world and met some of the most influential people in the world.  Young girls wanted to grow up and be just like them.

What was their secret?  They had confidence in themselves.

And, as we’ve learned from studying John Robert Powers’ books on mid-century beauty, self-confidence is the most mesmerizing thing in the world.

Carry yourself with confidence and others will have confidence in you.

And if you’re having a less-than confident day, just pretend you are a Pan Am stewardess and fake it until you are feeling confident again.

You can be the most . . . → Read More: 1950s Charm School: Model Posture]]>

This post is part of a series examining 1950s era charm, poise, and beauty using  Secrets of Poise, Personality, and Model Beauty written by modeling agency and schools icon John Robert Powers and published by Prentiss-Hall in 1960.

Posture can make or break a beauty ~ John Robert Powers

You can be the most beautiful woman on earth but poor posture can destroy your appearance.  Our mid-century beauty mentor, Mr. Powers, dedicates an entire chapter to the importance of good posture.  But before we examine his lessons, let’s take a few minutes to discuss the impact of poor posture on our health.  The truth of the matter is that our posture is indicative of our body’s core strength.

Without proper alignment and strength in our core, our diaphragm is unable to do its job and our lungs are unable to fully expand so that our bodies and brains get the oxygen they need to fully function.  If you’re feeling foggy-brained, your posture may be the culprit.

If our upper back isn’t strong to counteract the constant forward motion of our arms (we don’t type or chop food behind us, after all), our shoulders slump forward and our chin starts to jut out.  Our breasts sag and hang down by our waists instead of our chest where they belong.  Sometimes it isn’t the bra but rather the posture that needs adjusting…

A swayback (my own nemesis), encouraged by weak abdominal muscles, gives the illusion of a poochy stomach while also causing all sorts of low back problems.  “Lose” five pounds instantly by tilting the hips under where they belong.

My favorite description for proper posture and body alignment is to imagine that there is a string that is pulling through the top of your head.  There should be a straight line going from your ears through the shoulders, down to the center of the hips, through the center of your knees and ending at the center of your foot.  This gives us effortless posture…after all, we don’t want the exaggerated posture of a Marine who just finished Basic Training!  You know you have it right if your hips are “tucked under,” your chin is parallel to the floor, and you will be able to wiggle your toes around.

Many readers have joined me in the “Only Own Beautiful Clothes in 2012 Challenge” (see the calendar for the date of the next virtual retreat so that you can join in, too).  But owning clothes that reflect our own personal styles can only go “so far.”  If we have poor posture, we are going to look and be unhealthy.  Even a $10,000 dress can’t counteract that!

Since a woman is the sum total of her experience, every year of her life can add . . . → Read More: 1950s Charm School: Fountain of Eternal Charm]]>

This post is part of a series examining 1950s era charm, poise, and beauty using  Secrets of Poise, Personality, and Model Beauty written by modeling agency and schools icon John Robert Powers and published by Prentiss-Hall in 1960.

Since a woman is the sum total of her experience, every year of her life can add to her charm and beauty.  If a woman is constantly striving toward successful self-expression, each year adds to the luster and glow…Your beauty and charm is what you make it.  There may be no fountain of eternal youth–but there is a fountain of eternal charm and it is available to any woman who takes the trouble to drink from it. ~ John Robert Powers

Mr. Powers calls the years from 35 on as “The Age of Realization.”  He says that the golden, joyous years of a woman’s life should begin at 35.  Okay, I’m going to be honest here and say that I do not consider “35″ to be the golden years.  Heck, in today’s modern world, 50 isn’t even considered “golden” anymore! When I hear “golden,” I think “retirement age.” But let’s not quibble about numbers and instead focus on the heart of what he is trying to say:

1963 Cadillac advertisement; Image courtesy of Jordan Smith on Flickr.com

• Physical beauty is a state of health.  Take care of your body and watch your health!  What you put into your body really impacts whether you look like you have a healthy glow or a pasty shine.  Exercising and eating right is a prescription for beauty that doesn’t require a trip to the cosmetics counter.

• Age is a state of mind.  I know some perfectly healthy women who are ready for the deathbed at 65 years old and other women who are so full of life at 80 that I get the impression that they will live forever.  The “fountain of youth” is found by having an active and open mind, trying out new things, and staying out of a rut.

• Charm is a state of spirit. Charm springs from the heart and soul.  Is she feminine, considerate, compassionate, understanding, and kind?  A charming spirit moves with grace, glows with good will, shines with her sparkle, and endures with her loyalty.

Those of us “of a certain age” have time and experience on our side.  We have been able to outgrow most of the angst of our youth because we have more successes under out belt that enable us to have a bit more confidence.  But we have to make sure that we don’t hold onto anger and/or judgment over unwise choices or devastating situations because the ugliness of those feelings shows on the outside, too.  With age comes the wisdom needed (we hope) to regroup and move on with a joy filled life.

Mr. Powers reminds us that it is never too late to be beautiful because charm is the most important beauty asset of all and has no age limit...”if a woman nurtures it!”

The figure should be better than ever now, but needs care to retain its firmness.  Muscle-toning exercises . . . → Read More: 1950s Charm School: Beauty is a By-Product of Good Health]]>

This post is part of a series examining 1950s era charm, poise, and beauty using  Secrets of Poise, Personality, and Model Beauty written by modeling agency and schools icon John Robert Powers and published by Prentiss-Hall in 1960.

The figure should be better than ever now, but needs care to retain its firmness.  Muscle-toning exercises are important even though measurements are perfect…It’s time to keep a consistent plan of exercise…Beauty is a by-product of good health.

Reflecting mid-century attitudes, Mr. Powers tells women from 26-35 that they have achieved a “mature beauty” but that they need to make sure that they don’t get complacent about their beauty or they will suffer the consequences of it later.  In the 21st Century, I think his advice is true for all of us, don’t you?

Mr. Powers encourages us to:

Working Off Holiday Excess advertisement, 1940; Image courtesy of Paul Malon on Flickr.com

• Exercise so that our bodies remain trim and fit
• Review our diet habits
• Make sure our clothing choices stay within the boundary of good taste and “becomingness of line and color”
• Laugh.  A lot.  Because laughter is one of the best youth and beauty preservatives there is
• Avoid becoming materialistic and discontented
• Look for the happy things around us
• Avoid being caustic and brittle (and, I would add, being cynical and sarcastic)
• Make time for ourselves every day
• Make sure our voices are well modulated and our language is devoid of slang as much as possible
• Strive for graceful, rhythmic movement
• Embrace our femininity
• Be ambitious at work without being aggressive (remember, being aggressive is not the same as being assertive…in fact aggression undermines our efforts as assertiveness)

When Mr. Powers wrote this book, he probably had no idea that Grace Kelly would still be considered an icon 50 years later.  Yet, he uses her as a role model of someone we should strive to emulate!  So many times we try to reproduce her fashion style and her hair and makeup but forget that a major factor in beauty and radiance was that she came from a highly athletic family and participated in sports all of her life.

I love that Mr. Powers tells us throughout his book that external attractiveness will only get us so far.  If we really want to have 1950s-era model beauty, we have to focus on our mental and physical health.  Beauty really is from the inside out!

The time that used to be available for beauty routines, reading, and personal pleasures seem to be . . . → Read More: There Is No Excuse For Self-Neglect]]>

This post is part of a series examining 1950s era charm, poise, and beauty using  Secrets of Poise, Personality, and Model Beauty written by modeling agency and schools icon John Robert Powers and published by Prentiss-Hall in 1960.

The time that used to be available for beauty routines, reading, and personal pleasures seem to be swallowed up by unending demands from the family.  The hands that Daddy loved to touch become the hands that babies love to clutch.  It is all too easy for a girl to let these changes serve as an excuse for self-neglect.

I get it.  Modern women are pulled in a million different directions.  And it just becomes easier and easier to put your own self-care last.  And before you know it, you’re looking in the mirror wondering who is staring back at you.

Stretchy pants are oh so comfortable to wear.  But they hide weight gain.

No one sees you all day except for the baby, so why bother putting on your face?

1930s General Electric Kitchen Advertisement; Image Courtesy of Sally Edelstein on Flickr.com

Because you are a role model.

For your children.

For your significant other.

For others in your circle of influence.

And, most importantly, for yourself.

If you start making excuses for why you shouldn’t bother, then, eventually,  you will stop bothering.

And so will everyone else.

I mean, if you don’t care about yourself, why should they?

I once met two cousins of my grandfather when I lived in New Jersey.  My grandfather was visiting me and we traveled down to Baltimore to visit with them.  My grandfather, in his 80′s at the time told me that they were much older than him.  We were greeted by two rather fashionable Southern Belles in their 90s but who were not old at all.  They were beautiful and full of life.

Their secret?  They made it a priority to always take care of themselves…physically, emotionally, spiritually, and aesthetically…during good times and bad times, while taking care of their husbands and families, when the nest was empty and then into widowhood.

They never lost their sense of self and the importance of self-care.

There is just no excuse for self-neglect.

Unless she acquires the taste and fortitude to discriminate between the patterns which are limited fads of the . . . → Read More: Forget the “Zoo-Look” and Cultivate the YOU Look!]]>

This post is part of a series examining 1950s era charm, poise, and beauty using Secrets of Poise, Personality, and Model Beauty written by modeling agency and schools icon John Robert Powers and published by Prentiss-Hall in 1960.

Unless she acquires the taste and fortitude to discriminate between the patterns which are limited fads of the moment and the true values which will equip her to assume her proper place in the outside world, she will face a trying adjustment when the time comes to break away from the old ties.  ~John Robert Powers, speaking to teenagers

Coca Cola Ad from 1955; Image courtesy of Paul Malon on Flickr.com

Mr. Powers calls them “tribes” and it is an accurate word to describe the groups that teenagers form around them.  When I was a teenager all those years ago, the tribes at my high school consisted of the popular people, the drama people, the potheads, the athletes, the nerds (who are all probably insanely wealthy by now, I’m sure), the spiritual, and so forth.  Each tribe had a distinct look about them and it was easy to identify a classmate’s tribe.

But tribes aren’t limited to the teenage years.  What groups do you belong to?  Is your “group uniform” in alignment with how you want to be perceived by yourself and others?  Whether you like it or not, you are constantly telegraphing to others how you feel about yourself and how you expect to be treated by your clothing choices, your grooming habits, and how you carry yourself.  Even your behavior telegraphs information about how you view yourself and others.  Again, is it in alignment with how you want to be perceived by yourself and others?

Mr. Powers says that it is okay to seek the security of a group.  But, you also must not lose sight of the bigger picture.  He warns that it is important to not look ridiculous in the process of trying to fit in with your group and undermining your chances “in the real world.”  Wearing black fingernail polish, adding green highlights to your hair, and wearing a mesh top with a leopard print bra underneath may get you noticed by a principal but probably won’t help you get that teaching job (or taken seriously by your child’s teacher).  I’m not saying that you can’t wear those things when you are hanging out with your group.  Just don’t be surprised when you encounter road blocks when you wear them outside your group.

Recently, I looked in my closet and discovered that it was filled with the “college student uniform” which generally means t-shirts and skirts or jeans.  I realized this was a result of spending two to three days a week for the past couple of years in a sewing lab while I was working on my custom clothing certificate. But, I can’t stand up in front of classroom full of graduate students looking like an undergraduate and expect them to believe that I know what I’m talking about when it comes to teaching college.  Fortunately, I learned how to develop a wardrobe the same way a designer develops a collection and am in the process of rebuilding a classic and timeless collection that is a better reflection of who I am and who I want to be (I discuss this process on my Grandma’s Sewing Cabinet podcast).

What groups do you belong to?  What is the uniform of your group?  Listen to the podcast that I linked to above and tell us your “story” that you want to create about yourself.

At what age is a woman really at her best?  This is a question that will arouse . . . → Read More: 1950s Charm School: At What Age Is A Woman Really At Her Best?]]>

This post is part of a series examining 1950s era charm, poise, and beauty using Secrets of Poise, Personality, and Model Beauty written by modeling agency and schools icon John Robert Powers and published by Prentiss-Hall in 1960.

At what age is a woman really at her best?  This is a question that will arouse debate in all quarters.  The real answer, of course, depends upon the woman.  My experience has taught me that this year, and every year, can be a woman’s best if she will strive to understand her age and its possible rewards…When a woman blames her problems on her age she will rarely find a solution to them.  Any age is an asset if one learns to regard it as such. ~John Robert Powers

I was one month shy of my 39th birthday in this photo. Mr. Powers has helped me realize that I will never be this woman again. I need to embrace who I am now.

Dear Friends,

One of the things I love about Mr. Powers is that he gives it to us straight on.  And, today, I needed him to “sit me down” and tell me that my problems are not about my age.

You see, and this is really hard for me to share, I used to be a beautiful woman but I don’t feel like one anymore.  My forties were not easy on me on many levels and I’ve got the battle scars to show it.  I know I lost a lot of readers when I started exploring mid-50s glamor and charm but the truth of the matter is that before I began the series, I felt like I was flailing about trying to regain what I had lost.  This exploration is an extremely personal one for me.  I want to feel beautiful again.

I tell myself that I’m just trying to age gracefully but I catch myself trying to replicate my younger days.  And it simply isn’t working out very well.

Mr. Powers tells us,

We have become a nation of youth worshipers.  The only ones who don’t agree wholeheartedly to the idea that the fledgling years are the best are the very young themselves.  Teenagers wait impatiently for the future, believing that time in itself will somehow solve their problems.  Yet older women all too frequently look back and imagine that their golden years are behind them.  The youngsters tend to overlook the advantages of youth, while older women tend to overemphasize  them…The best years of a woman’s life come when she attains a harmony between her body and her spirit.

I’ve often said that I wouldn’t want to return to my youth and all of the angst associated with it.  I love the wisdom that has come with being “a certain age.”  Now I need to embrace the wisdom of my body so that I can attain harmony between it and my spirit.

To fabulous Technicolor beauty at any age,

Dr. Julie-Ann

As you eliminate the negative aspects of your appearance and your personality, you must continue to accentuate . . . → Read More: 1950s Charm School: Creating An Aura of Magnificence™]]>

This post is part of a series examining 1950s era charm, poise, and beauty using Secrets of Poise, Personality, and Model Beauty written by modeling agency and schools icon John Robert Powers and published by Prentiss-Hall in 1960.

As you eliminate the negative aspects of your appearance and your personality, you must continue to accentuate the positive.  Not every model possesses overall perfection, but each successful one capitalizes on what she does have and makes it the very best of its kind. ~John Robert Powers

Modess advertisement published in the October 1954 issue of Family Circle magazine; Image courtesy of clotho98 in Flickr.com

In today’s lesson, Mr. Powers entreats us to focus on our positive traits — no matter what what our negative traits may be.  He points out that everyone is a work in progress and if we examined the women we find to be absolutely wonderful and beautiful, we will will find all sorts of “issues” with them.  But we don’t usually notice those issues because she has create an Aura of Magnificence™ about her.

American women, I think, have forgotten how to create an Aura of Magnificence™.  Perhaps it is because we are so overwhelmed by the many hats that we wear that we are too exhausted to feel magnificent.  Or, maybe we think no one will notice that we’ve worn the same shirt (with the Chunky Monkey ice cream stain on it) three days in a row.

But someone very important does  notice: ourselves.  When we take the steps needed to create an Aura of Magnificence™, we not only gain more confidence, we also gain more positive energy.  And, when we possess and radiate positive energy, relationships become richer and drama melts away.  We seem to have more time to accomplish what needs to be done.

Creating an Aura of Magnificence™ doesn’t have to be overwhelming.  It starts with making sure you are impeccably groomed (or, at least well groomed as you work up to impeccably groomed).  It means finding a signature style — but not getting into a fashion rut– that guides you to the most flattering looks regardless of the whims of fashion.  And don’t forget that our inner beauty is the foundation of outer beauty.  We can’t have an Aura of Magnificence™ without it.

As we go about our day, we might want to hum the classic song by Johnny Mercer that reminds us to

If we focus on accentuating the positive, others will focus on our positive attributes as well and then, before we know it,  we have created our own Aura of Magnificence™.

Going to bed at night and wishing you would wake up ten pounds lighter–or more graceful–is not . . . → Read More: 1950s Charm School: Even the Ugly Duckling Had to Grow Into a Swan]]>

This post is part of a series examining 1950s era charm, poise, and beauty using Secrets of Poise, Personality, and Model Beauty written by modeling agency and schools icon John Robert Powers and published by Prentiss-Hall in 1960.

Going to bed at night and wishing you would wake up ten pounds lighter–or more graceful–is not going to accomplish anything for you.  I, John Robert Powers, cannot wave a magic wand and transform you into the woman you want to be.  You and you alone must do that.  I can show you the methods others have used with great success but it is up to you to put them to work for yourself. ~John Robert Powers

Carlay Company, Incorporated’s Ayds – Now! Lose Weight Without Dieting (1952)

I don’t know about other parts of the world but in the United States the idea of  an “overnight success” has reached mythological proportions.  We love stories where people come from seemingly nowhere to achieve a meteoric rise in their career, sport, or art form.  But what those overnight success stories often leave out as that it took a lot of time and hard work to get there.  There is a famous quote by 20th Century entertainer Eddie Cantor that it only took him 20 years to become an overnight success.

Unfortunately, that mythology can lead to magical thinking when it comes to transforming ourselves from an ugly duckling to a swan.  Like the contestants on The Biggest Loser, we want to be swept away to the magical ranch that will solve all of our weight and health problems within a matter of weeks.  After all, some people on the show lose 20 pounds the first week on the ranch!  But even the contestants discover that the weight won’t magically disappear.  They work hard, very hard, exercising for hours and hours every day in order to achieve their “overnight weight loss.”

Some people have gotten very rich off of the magical thinking message that transformation can happen overnight…without having to make lifestyle changes.  We can go from fat to having a beach body in six weeks (and lose two sizes in 10 days).  We can go from poorhouse to Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous in 30 days if we “just follow the program” being hawked to us at 3:00 a.m.  Overnight transformation is ours for only easy 3 payments of….!

The truth of the matter is that personal transformation takes time and effort and we may feel overwhelmed with the 20, 30, 40, 50 pounds or more that need to be lost.  But we don’t have to be overwhelmed.  All we have to do is put one step in front of the other.  And keep taking those steps.  And, before we know it, we are walking out the door!

Sadly, there is no magic bullet, no magic pill, and no magic wand.  But if we have the will and determination, we can be like Eddie Cantor and be an overnight success.

Do you have the patience and determination to transform into the woman you want to be?