49 Inspiring Vintage Photos of Extraordinary Women

Like it? Share it!

Facebook

Pinterest

Reddit

Twitter

Google+

The Hourglass Figure, Camille Clifford (1905)

WordPress

Some of us angle our camera a dozen different ways to get a flattering selfie. We wear dark colors, fake a tan, position our arms, and twist our bodies to have that slimming illusion. If all else fails, there are photo-editing apps that can refine our body shape and edit our face, waist, thighs, and other body parts to make them look skinnier.

The Belgian-born stage actress, Camilla Antoinette Clifford, didn’t need an app to become the quintessential model of the Gibson Girl, an image personifying the feminine ideal of physical beauty. She won a contest sponsored by the American graphic artist, Charles Dana Gibson, the creator looking for a living version of his Gibson Girl illustrations. Camilla went on to perform on stage; however, she did not become famous for her talent but for her beauty and her trademark style, a long gown wrapped around her corseted, eighteen-inch waist.