Red lipstick for protest? Fashion history says yes! From patriotic WWII red lipstick in 1940s fashion to more recent protests against oppression around the world, makeup as empowerment can be a symbol of feminism and social justice, even if there are some myths about its history. Use my code DRAGON30 or go to https://parade.yt.link/Exrhsdo for 30% off at Parade! Excludes sale items/ doesn't stack with other promotions.
The Red Lipstick movement isn't just history, it's a modern trend using red lipstick to protest authoritarianism. Lipstick won't change the world by itself, but fashion history shows us just how powerful symbols are! Beauty and cosmetics are part of dress history, and the history of red lipstick in social justice fashion history is a big one, covering myths, marketing, and facts. Let's do a deep dive into makeup history and find out where the red lipstick movement's political fashion and beauty trend came from.
Not all of red lipstick history is true : a common belief about the history of lipstick is that it was banned in the 18th century. This isn't true, although there was a bill that was never made law attempting to ban all cosmetics in 1650! Also a myth, is the story of Elizabeth Arden handing out red lipstick to marching suffragettes! This is great marketing for the Elizabeth Arden makeup brand, but the lipstick she supposedly gave out didn't exist yet in 1912, and lipstick doesn't appear in any of the extensive documentation of the suffragette fashion branding. What did the suffragettes wear? Nothing as transgressive as red lipstick in 1912, that wouldn't suit their image.
However, it's true that red lipstick was hugely popular in vintage 1940s fashion, because of WWII! Elizabeth Arden really did produce Montezuma Red for women marines during WWII, and 1940s fashion history is full of patriotic names. Makeup history preserves these so we know their politics-- because the German dictator famously hated red lipstick, cementing red liptick as WWII patriotism. It kept morale up for women working in factories as well, showing the many uses of political resistance fashion.
More recently, red lipstick has been a symbol of feminist solidarity during protests in Nicaragua and in Chile! Like everything in the history of fashion, red lipstick has a complicated intersectional history for wearers of color. However, it's become more and more a political fashion choice protesting against authoritarianism! Makeup's politics are an important part of the history of fashion, and understanding them just makes it even cooler how red lipstick can keep us fighting for what's right. Red lipstick alone won't change the world, but it keeps us feeling strong enough to do all the other things that will.
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