WWI Trilogy

Navigating the Heartache WWI Brings

Gibson Girl

The Iconic Gibson Girl: The Feminine Ideal of the 1890s

March 8, 2016 By Melina Druga Off

Even if you don’t know much about the history of advertising, you’ve probably heard of the Gibson Girl.  She represented the feminine ideal of the 1890s and was the first media image of an ideal woman, establishing society’s preference for an hourglass figure and portraying the image of the girl next door.

Illustrator Charles Dana Gibson developed The Gibson Girl. He did countless sketches. Some based off real models including his future wife, Irene Langhorne, and actresses Evelyn Nesbit and Camille Clifford.

Gibson felt his girl was a composite of women he saw in public.

Feminine Ideal

The image Gibson created inspired other illustrators, and images appeared in magazines and on merchandise.

Some of the features of the Gibson Girl were:

  • Impeccably dressed
  • Upswept hair
  • Body in an s-curve with large bosom and hips, but small waist
  • Tall
  • Youthful
  • Upper class
  • Aloof and confident
  • Glamourous

At the same time, she is usually depicted as having equal status with men. She married only for romance and preferred to stay single. Men, however, fell hopelessly in love with her.

She used her feminine wiles to get what she wanted but was intelligent.

The Gibson Girl remained the ideal for nearly 25 years until World War I when women’s fashions changed. In addition, women no longer needed men to get what they wanted in the world. They were able to forge their own, independent, paths.

Where to Purchase the WWI Trilogy

This post is a companion piece to Melina Druga’s WWI Trilogy: Angel of Mercy, Those Left Behind and Adjustment Year.  The trilogy focuses on Hettie and her family as they navigate the challenges and heartbreak World War I brings.

Angel of Mercy:  A nurse reluctantly sacrifices her career for marriage. An impending war will change her, and her husband’s, life forever.  Available in eBook, paperback and hardcover.  Click here for a full list of retailers.

Those Left Behind:  The brewing winds of war will soon rip the family apart. Available in eBook, paperback and hardcover.  Click here for a full list of retailers.

Adjustment Year:  A war nurse returns home. Society expects her to carry on as if the Great War never happened. But how can she?  Available in eBook, paperback and hardcover.  Click here for a full list of retailers.

CategoryDaily Life - Victorian and Edwardian Eras
Tagsfashion women's history

About The Author

Melina Druga writes about the past because although school history classes may have been boring, the past was not.  Her era of expertise, and obsession, is 1890-1920 with a particular focus on the Great War and how it affected the lives of ordinary people.  Druga is the author of the WWI Trilogy.