Gibson Girl: The Girl Next Door

            In our recent studies, in Mrs. Lawson’s class, we have learned about America’s commercialization and innovation in the late nineteenth century.  For my research paragraphs I have chosen Gibson Girls.  I had never heard about them before Mrs. Lawson made me go look it up, so I just assumed they were a group of women that had some significance as a club.  Actually, Gibson Girls are a series of black and white drawings of women sporting what Charles Dana Gibson, the illustrator, thought the well kept, American women should look like.

            I first learned about Charles Dana Gibson (1864-1944).  As a child, he caught an awful sickness and was in bed for a few years.  To keep his child occupied, Charles’ dad taught his son how to draw.  They say he had raw talent as an artist, and he built up his skill till he was a master.  When he was older he used his wife, Irene Langhorne, as inspiration for his new set of sketches.  After finding his inspiration, he started sketching his idea of beautiful women.  One of his first and most famous models was Camille Clifford.

            The black and whites were of women who had hour-glass figures, long, tied up hair, nice attire, and of course beautiful.  These recognizable women were on everything possible that could be sold.  They made lots of money just off of selling the face of women in America.  But, it wasn’t just the beautiful face that had everyone fooled, the meaning behind it had a lot of powerful messages that were somewhat new to the nation.

            One source says, “[The Gibson Girls personified] beauty, independence, personal fulfillment (she was depicted attending college and vying for a good mate, but she was never depicted as part of the suffrage movement), and American national prestige.” She also represented self-confidence, strength, athletic but she could still maintain her femininity, and be a role model in fashion and character for women all over.  Some say she was the Barbie of her time.  Gibson even created Gibson Man, so the perfect women could have the perfect man.  He was not as popular, though, because what he stood for was already a strong and traditional conception of American men.  This gave women the opportunity and the green light to show that they were actually good for something.

          Marketing for material thing that would help enhance women's natural beauty, in order to live up to/ with hold the Gibson Girl look, became a new revelation in American.  Manufactured goods were peaking in purchase participation.  One advertisement for Thomson's Crown Corsets says, "These corsets are superior to any others on exhibition.  We recommend them for shape, style, and quality of material, finish and general excellence, and worthy of all merit as claimed for them by the manufactures.  We recommend the Medal of SUPERIORITY."  Along with the enticing description, it also shows a sketch of what resembles the Gibson Girl wearing the corset.  This seems like a great selling technique, because everyone wants what the most popular look has/is.

            Though the Gibson Girls were very famous and were a perfect representation of the American woman, World War I came and changed ideals.  Women went from wanting to be beautiful with long, flowing dresses, to needing something less feminine such as a suit.  They focused more on the practicality of an outfit, which would allow them to fulfill any war related work tasks, with a little more ease.  Once that new tone of women’s fashion came in with the war, the Gibson Girls became an unpractical thing of the past.