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In an important sense she exercises an unsettling influence by making men & women dissatisfied with reality. She proclaims that homeliness is a sin and unnecessary. Her every image assures men that women look like goddesses, while their experience tells them that women only look like women. She assures the women, in their turn, that they can clean a two-story house, take the children to school, make a dress at home, cook a four-course meal, wash the dishes, and then slip into an opera gown, make brilliant conversation and look as ravishing as an ad.
But it was precisely the desire for a bigger & richer life, for more and better things (constantly stimulated by advertising), that created the demand for—and sold—the goods which made American men & women better housed, better clothed, better groomed and better-looking than any on earth. American business civilization—leaving aside the poets and the painters—has not put its cult of beauty and its belief in progress into formal philosophies. Yet in a sense, it is writing a statement to posterity into the glossy pages and towering lights of its advertising.
It was somewhat sobering to imagine that just about all of this message that might remain for the contemplation of future ages might be the image of a pretty girl blowing smoke rings through a seductive smile. But it would certainly give posterity a sight to see.
* This traditional model's badge was accidentally originated some 15 years ago by Model Agent John Robert Powers when he gave one of his models a hatbox he happened to have in his office (having just bought a new hat) so that she could carry sundry necessaries with her on her rounds. Usual contents of a model's hat box: make-up kit, extra dresses, shoes, stockings or slips.
† Some models who have: Barbara Stanwyck, Jennifer Jones, Gene Tierney, Lucille Ball, Joan Bennett, Joan Blondell, Lauren Bacall.
* Worn by almost all models when the occasion requires.